The FBI franchise is getting one more slight shakeup regarding its newest spinoff. According to Deadline, viewers will likely have to wait a while longer to get their first look at the upcoming FBI: CIA, but it’s for a good reason. Although the series will no longer be introduced with a backdoor pilot episode in the mothership this spring, it’s now expected to gun for a straight-to-series order in hopes of earning a spot on CBS sometime either in the fall or early next year. As of right now, casting negotiations are still underway to find the male lead in the latest branch of the Dick Wolf universe. Assuming the show sees the light of day, it’s also highly likely to have a different title.
Scrapping the planted spinoff was partly reported due to the show taking a bit longer than planned to cast. Sources told Deadline that Episode 19 of FBI Season 7 was targeted for the backdoor pilot, but that was quickly pushed back to Episode 20 and then 21 due to negotiations before the decision was made to try and earn a series order. The choice ultimately gives the team more time to put everything together before presenting it to the network, and it seems likely to get the green light when that happens. After the recent cancellations of FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, only the flagship show remains locked in for the 2025-26 season thanks to a three-season renewal last year. Everything right now is hinging on how casting negotiations progress for CIA.
FBI: CIA hails from a stacked procedural team including the mega-producer Wolf, Most Wanted showrunner David Hudgins, Nicole Perlman, and former CIA officer David Chasteen, with Universal Television joining Wolf Entertainment as a producer. The series marries the worlds of the two titular organizations, following a strait-laced and committed FBI agent who joins forces with a street-smart CIA operative as part of a clandestine task force created to prevent acts of domestic terrorism before the people in and around New York City are hurt. For the backdoor pilot, three new characters will’ve been introduced to the Zeeko Zaki and Missy Peregrym flagship, but with that no longer happening, potential actors for the third of the three roles have been let go.
An ‘FBI’ Star Is Already Raving About ‘CIA’
The new spinoff already has a vote of confidence from Zaki, who saw some of the scripts thanks to a friend who was auditioning and called the material, “really, really, really strongly written.” He added, “With the banter between the [FBI and CIA] agents, it’s going to be a different dynamic. It’s going to be really cool.” As the latest addition to the FBI family, it will be tasked with continuing the long run of success the procedural franchise has had on CBS, with the flagship and its two spinoffs enduring as major ratings draws for the network. For now, the flagship series is nearing the end of production on its seventh season, which airs its 15th episode tomorrow night, and Most Wanted and International are continuing with their sixth and fourth seasons respectively, gearing up for their unexpected series finale in the coming months.
An exact date has yet to be set for FBI: CIA as it seeks a series order. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the new spinoff and the entire FBI franchise as news comes out.
