The long run of FBI on CBS still has plenty of mileage left. The cancellations of two FBI spinoffs, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, haven't stopped the procedural's momentum in primetime. That said, the network is making some changes for the next season of Missy Peregrym's drama, but fans don't have to worry about the immediate future.
Season 8 got off to a bloody start when a team member was killed, although not the character who was on death's door in the previous finale's cliffhanger. Alana De La Garza's Isobel survived, while Agent Dani Rhodes lost her life. It was a game-changing twist in a show that doesn't usually kill off the series regulars.
The hits kept coming for some characters. Isobel's decision to pass on a promotion has had worrisome consequences for OA, and possibly Maggie. That was on top of OA's relationship with Gemma falling apart. Maggie's sister was brutally killed by her old nemesis, and Jubal nearly lost his son in a city-wide terrorist crisis.
That's not to say that there haven't been good moments as well. Scola and Nina got married, Agent Eva Ramos joined the team as Scola's new partner, and CIA quickly became a hit as the newest spinoff. The two series wasted no time in delivering small crossovers with one show's cast members appearing on the other.
CBS has had the future of FBI locked down for a while now, and there should be plenty to look forward to regardless of whether there's another bloody cliffhanger to end season 8.
FBI Season 9 Has Already Been Confirmed By CBS
CBS delivered two big cancellations in the spring, with medical drama Watson ending after two seasons and freshman comedy DMV getting cut despite the talents of Tim Meadows. Fans of FBI were far luckier, as the network had renewed the procedural for a ninth season years before.
Back in April 2024, CBS announced the renewals of FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, and FBI: International. While that didn't result in Most Wanted or International continuing, the original series was much more fortunate. The network ordered a renewal for three more seasons while FBI was still airing season 6.
At the time, CBS cited the fact that FBI was averaging more than 12 million viewers per episode on CBS and Paramount+, which was a notable increase from the year before. Most shows don't get multi-season renewals, but FBI had a lot going for it to get that guarantee through season 9.
FBI isn't going quite as strongly in season 8. The drama missed out on the list of Top 20 network and streaming shows over 28 days in April, while CIA made it to No. 13. FBI did make the Top 20 for the first week of March, however, over the course of one week.
When Will FBI Season 9 Release?
CBS has not yet confirmed a premiere date, but FBI will be back for the network's fall lineup. Except for the season that was affected by the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the drama has always returned between late September and mid-November. Based on the past few years, a season 9 return is likely in mid-October 2026.
The network is changing the time slot for FBI on Mondays, although not by much. After being moved to 9 p.m. ET for season 8, CBS is airing new episodes at 8 p.m. ET for the upcoming season. The slot was wide open after the cancellation of Watson and the ends of both DMV and The Neighborhood.
CIA takes over the 9 p.m. slot to keep the two Dick Wolf TV shows paired in primetime. Harlan Coben's Final Twist, a true crime show hosted by author Harlan Coben, will air at 10 p.m. It remains to be seen if CIA and FBI will deliver a two-part crossover, but the pairing on Monday nights bodes well.
What FBI Season 9's Story Could Be
As a hit procedural, FBI stories generally don't carry over from episode to episode. There are notable exceptions, however, and season 7 ended with Isobel collapsing without a pulse into Jubal's arms. The season 8 premiere undid that twist by revealing that Isobel was just fine after a hospital stay, but another agent was killed off.
It's therefore likely that storylines from the later episodes of season 8 will carry over to season 9, possibly including OA considering a potential promotion. The new ADIC punished him for disobeying orders by benching him out of his usual field work, and a passive role doesn't seem sustainable if Zeeko Zaki remains in the cast.
Maggie has shown no sign of wanting to stop honing her analyst skills by working BAU cases, while the episode focusing on Eva ended without any closure. FBI delving further into Scola's marriage may depend on Shantel VanSanten's availability to reprise her role as Nina.
Isobel and Jubal seem pretty solid as the most hands-on leaders for the agents at 26 Fed, although that may change for season 9 if ADIC Lawrence Green decides to involve himself in their work on a daily basis.
A cast change also can't be ruled out. FBI has cycled through new partners for Scola ever since the departure of Katherine Renee Kane as Tiff, and Dani Rhodes seemed like she was there to stay when season 7 ended. Eva has fit in well with the team, but that doesn't guarantee longevity. If nothing else, fans will have the option to revisit FBI season 8 on Paramount+ over the summer hiatus ahead of season 9's arrival this fall.
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.
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