Lucifer Star Tom Ellis Set to Lead New FBI Spinoff Series

A new FBI spinoff series is officially moving forward, and it’s also been revealed that Lucifer actor Tom Ellis will be one of its leading stars.

Per Variety, Tom Ellis is one of two leads signed on to star in CIA, a new series set in the FBI universe that focuses on CIA agents. As of now, Ellis’ co-star hasn’t yet been named. The show has been ordered to series by CBS with plans to debut during the 2025-26 television broadcast season. This update follows previous reports in January when it was revealed that a new FBI spinoff was in development. It was also reported at the time that the plan was to have CIA begin with a backdoor pilot that would introduce its characters in an episode of FBI.

The official logline for CIA reads, “CIA is a one hour crime drama centered on two unlikely partners – a fast-talking, rule-breaking loose cannon CIA case officer (Ellis), and a by-the-book, seasoned and smart FBI agent who believes in the rule of law. When this odd couple are assigned to work out of CIA’s New York Station, they must learn to work together to investigate cases and criminals posing threats on U.S. soil, finding that their differences may actually be their strength.”

CIA comes from writers and executive producers Dick Wolf, David Hudgins, Nicole Perlman, and David Chasteen. Hudgins will be serving as series showrunner, and Peter Jankowski is also on board to executive produce.

Tom Ellis is very well known for playing Lucifer Morningstar in the hit TV show Lucifer, based on the original DC Comics story. After airing for three seasons on Fox, the series moved to Netflix to live on for another three seasons amid fan demand to keep it going. Recently, Ellis appeared in the Hulu series Tell Me Lies, and he is set to appear in the upcoming Hulu adaptation of Washington Black alongside Ernest Kingsley Jr. and Sterling K. Brown. Other TV credits include Miranda, Rush, and The Strain.

FBI Gets a New Offshoot After Canceling 2 Spinoffs

CIA going forward comes after two FBI spinoffs were given the boot. It was previously reported that both FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International would not be getting renewed at CBS. As for the original FBI, the series has a much brighter future after it was previously given a three-season renewal in 2024. The series is now currently in the first of those three guaranteed seasons. Whether another FBI offshoot will be introduced later on remains to be seen.

Other franchise expansions continue to be developed at the network as well. A spinoff of The Equalizer is in the works, while Fire Country and Blue Bloods both have new spinoffs, dubbed Sheriff Country and Boston Blue, on the way.