FBI’s Shocking New Spinoff Sparks Concern After One Chicago’s Failed Fourth Series

The FBI universe is set to grow in 2025, and while another spinoff is exciting on the surface, one can’t help but worry about it when reminding the fate of One Chicago’s fourth show. CBS’ police procedural franchise kicked off in September 2018 with the premiere of FBI, created by Dick Wolf and Craig Turk. As its name implies, the series follows a group of FBI agents working in New York City. Given its success with critics and ratings, CBS ordered a spinoff — FBI: Most Wanted, which premiered in January 2020 after its backdoor pilot in FBI in April 2019.

FBI: Most Wanted revolves around the FBI’s New York Fugitive Task Force (FTF), which tracks the country’s most dangerous criminals who find themselves on the bureau’s Most Wanted list. The first spinoff was also successful, meaning CBS greenlit a second spinoff — FBI: International. Although the third series in the franchise didn’t get a backdoor pilot, its first episode (which aired in September 2021) concluded a crossover that began in the FBI season 4 premiere and continued in the FBI: Most Wanted season 3 premiere. Now, four years later, CBS is ready to add another show to the FBI franchise.

FBI Is Launching A New Spinoff — FBI CIA

The New Spinoff’s Backdoor Pilot Will Air In The Spring

Per TVLine, a new FBI spinoff is in development at CBS called FBI: CIA. The fourth TV show in the FBI universe will chronicle the complicated relationship between a “dedicated, strait-laced” FBI special agent and a “street-smart” CIA agent. They team up in the spinoff due to the creation of a cover task force that focuses on domestic terrorism cases in and around New York City. Unfortunately, more details about the two characters have yet to be revealed.

CBS is in the process of casting three FBI: CIA series regulars as of the writing of this article. It’s assumed that two of them will play the aforementioned FBI and CIA agents, while the third role is unknown. Thankfully, fans will know more come the spring of 2025 when CBS airs FBI: CIA’s backdoor pilot in an episode of FBI season 7. If the network orders the spinoff to series, FBI: CIA’s first season will air during the 2025–2026 TV season.

Wolf Entertainment’s Last 4th Franchise Spinoff Was One Chicago’s Failed Chicago Justice

Chicago Justice Was Canceled After 1 Season

Of course, the FBI franchise adding a fourth show to its repertoire is thrilling for many fans. However, considering what happened when the One Chicago universe (also produced by Wolf Entertainment) grew with a fourth series, the upcoming spinoff’s fate (and how it will affect FBI as a whole) is quite worrisome. NBC has experienced much success with the One Chicago shows — Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med. Consequently, the network greenlit a fourth series, Chicago Justice, but it epically failed.

Chicago Justice centered around the State’s Attorney team of journalists and investigators in Chicago. Its backdoor pilot took place in Chicago PD season 3 in May 2016 before its pilot premiered in March 2017. Unfortunately, Chicago Justice had a short run. It only released 13 episodes before NBC canceled the series due to low ratings, lack of sustainability, and the need for more space in the network’s lineup for other shows.

In addition to ending the series, Chicago Justice’s cancellation affects Chicago PD. Jon Seda, who played Antonio Dawson, was a series regular in One Chicago’s first spinoff but transferred to Chicago Justice when his character joined the State’s Attorney’s office. After the series’ cancellation, Chicago PD tried reintegrating Antonio into the Intelligence Unit. But, the execution was clunky, and Antonio ultimately exited Chicago PD after season 6.

How FBI CIA Can Prevent Running Into The Same Issues That Chicago Justice Did

The Spinoff Must Learn From Its Predecessors

The FBI franchise has to learn from One Chicago’s mistakes regarding a fourth series. It would be for the best if no existing characters in the universe joined the cast of FBI: CIA, so as not to significantly affect with the other shows. Additionally, the spinoff has to have a similar tone to the other FBI series.

Chicago Justice was too different from Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med, and contained dull stories, meaning it wasn’t appealing to the franchise’s established audience. FBI: CIA must also bring something new and intriguing to the table. The difficulty lies in finding the perfect balance between new and familiar for the new FBI spinoff.

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