Development The series, a
spin-off of the
FBI television franchise and tentatively titled
FBI: CIA, was in development at
CBS in January 2025, originally intending to begin with a
backdoor pilot airing as an
FBI episode. After the proposed backdoor pilot had been repeatedly pushed toward the end of the season,
FBI was nearing the end of production for the season, while casting for
CIA was still underway, so the series was instead being considered for a straight-to-series pick-up without the backdoor pilot launch and with a new script. The series was created by
Dick Wolf and
David Hudgins, with Hudgins initially planning to be the
showrunner. CBS made the straight-to-series order in April with Wolf and Hudgins executive producing along with former CIA officer David Chasteen,
Nicole Perlman, and
Peter Jankowski. Production companies for the series are
Wolf Entertainment,
CBS Studios, and
Universal Television.
Eriq La Salle joined the series in July to direct the pilot and executive produce. By July,
Warren Leight took over as showrunner for Hudgins, and the series was delayed to adjust. While in production, La Salle left the series, followed by Leight, with both stepping down as executive producers, with Mike Weiss,
FBI showrunner, expected to take over on
CIA as well. The premiere ended up being directed by
Ken Girotti.
Casting Upon the series order announcement in April 2025,
Tom Ellis was cast to star as the CIA case officer. However, Ellis later met with executive producer Dick Wolf, who had apparently changed Ellis's character at the last minute to be British - he would have a dual British-American citizenship, but speak with a
received pronunciation accent. The second lead opposite Ellis was not cast until September 2025 when
Nick Gehlfuss was cast as the FBI special agent working with Ellis' CIA officer.
Michael Michele was also cast as chief of the CIA's New York station, and
Natalee Linez joined the cast as a CIA analyst. After production began, Michele left the series in November,
Jeremy Sisto also features in the series, crossing over from the larger
FBI franchise.
Filming The series began filming in September 2025 in
New York City. After the departures of Michele and La Salle, production was planned to continue, but it was ultimately put on hold when Leight left as well. ==Reception==