The FBI universe is already connecting its latest FBI spin-off to the flagship series by staging a cameo appearance for Jeremy Sisto in the upcoming series. CBS confirmed that the FBI fan-favorite will appear in CIA's pilot episode set for February 23, 2026. Sisto will reprise his FBI character, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine, who appears in an undisclosed arc. Jubal and Alana De La Garza's Special Agent in Charge Isobel Castille have been common faces in the now-canceled FBI spin-offs, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, making this appearance a continuation of the trend.
CIA stars Nick Gehlfuss and Tom Ellis as FBI Special Agent Bill Goodman and CIA case officer Colin Glass, respectively, two people with wildly different personalities. Goodman is a by-the-book agent who is loaned out to a clandestine CIA/FBI task force and finds himself teamed up with the secretive, roguish Glass. "Together they will work covert operations in New York, uncovering international plots, terrorist cells, and geopolitical secrets. On CIA, Bill will learn the rules of this murky world on the fly as Colin leads him deeper into spy games where only one thing is clear – their work keeps America safe, even if no one will ever know what they did in the shadows," teases the show's official logline. Introductions are made in the series premiere "Directed Energy," whose description reads:
When a top-secret weapon is stolen in broad daylight from a U.S. defense contractor, CIA agent Colin Glass is paired with FBI agent Bill Goodman to investigate. Their new partnership gets off to a rocky start, but they soon realize their opposing viewpoints may be their greatest asset.
'FBI' Sets Midseason Return with a Special Appearance
The flagship series returns on the same night as the spin-off, with Shantel VanSanten guest-starring as Nina Chase. "When an undercover operation being led by Special Agent Nina Chase goes sideways, the team works together to flip their only witness to help them hunt down a rip crew at a cartel wedding. The aftermath leads Nina and Scola (John Boyd) to realize they are ready to tie the knot," the logline for FBI Season 8, Episode 11, "Confetti" reads. VanSanten starred in FBI before moving to the spin-off FBI: Most Wanted. Following its cancellation last year, the character's fate has remained in the air, so this will be a great opportunity to update fans on what she's been up to.
FBI and its spin-off CIA return on Monday, February 23. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
CIA Season 2's Fate Officially Decided By CBS After Rocky Season 1 Production
The fate of CBS' new FBI spinoff series, CIA, has now been decided.
CBS confirmed that CIA has officially been renewed for season 2, following impressive viewership numbers from its series premiere. According to Paramount, the premiere episode saw 8.4 million multiplatform viewers via broadcast and streaming within the first seven days of its release.
Ratings for the first three episodes of the series showed a 39% improvement on Monday at 10 p.m. compared to the same timeslot in fall 2025.
Behind the scenes, though, CIA has had a rocky production. FBI: Most Wanted showrunner David Hudgins was initially in charge of the series, but Warren Leight later replaced him. That wasn't the end of the turnover, though, as he eventually departed, along with executive producer Eriq La Salle. Mike Weiss, who was the showrunner on the original FBI series, was hired as the CIA showrunner.
All of this turmoil, plus Michael Michele's departure from the cast, caused production delays, and CBS decided to give CIA a mid-season 2026 premiere after previously announcing it would debut in fall 2025.
CIA stars Tom Ellis and Nick Gehlfuss as CIA Agent Colin Glass and FBI Agent Bill Goodman, respectively, who are tasked with working together on a secretive joint CIA/FBI task force. The two agents couldn't be more different, with the latter a rule-follower and the former more mischievous in nature.
While on the job together, Glass and Goodman stay in the shadows as they solve domestic and international crimes away from the eyes of the public.
Before CIA, Ellis was best known for his role as Lucifer Morningstar on the Fox/Netflix drama Lucifer, while Gehlfuss has starred in The Newsroom, Shameless, and Chicago Med (another Dick Wolf-created series).
Their CIA co-stars include Necar Zadegan and Natalee Linez. Zadegan, who plays Nikki Reynard, will guest star in the March 30 episode of FBI season 8, in which the Deputy Chief of Station is called in to help following a double homicide. The episode will mark Maggie Bell's return to the team after suffering a major loss.
Wolf created the hugely popular Law & Order and One Chicago franchises on NBC, and then went on to create the FBI crime procedural franchise for CBS. The first FBI series debuted in 2018 with star Missy Peregrym and is currently airing its eighth season.
Two years later, the first spinoff, FBI: Most Wanted, launched and aired for six seasons. FBI: International followed in its footsteps and aired for four seasons.
CIA, which currently has a 63% critic score and 51% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, marks the third FBI spinoff, with Wolf, Weiss, Ken Girotti, Paul Cabbad, Nicole Perlman, David Chasteen, Anastasia Puglisi, and Peter Jankowski serving as executive producers.
CIA airs Mondays at 10 p.m. EDT on CBS.
Be the first to comment on this article!