EXCLUSIVE: Eriq La Salle is set as director and executive producer on the first episode of CIA (working title), the upcoming FBI offshoot starring Tom Ellis, which has a straight-to-series order from CBS for the 2025-26 season.
Created and executive produced by Dick Wolf and showrunner David Hudgins, CIA centers on two unlikely partners – a fast-talking, rule-breaking loose cannon CIA case officer (Tom 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 the 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.
Nicole Perlman, David Chasteen, and Peter Jankowski also executive produce the series, produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Wolf Entertainment and CBS Studios.
Known for his starring role on ER, La Salle has been focused on directing over the past decade. He has worked on various Wolf Entertainment series over the last 4 years, serving as executive producer and director on Chicago P.D. in addition to directing episodes of Law & Order. Most recently, he directed multiple episodes, including the pilot, executive produced and starred on Wolf Entertainment’s first streaming scripted seires, On Call for Prime Video, and directed an April 2025 episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime.
