Tom Ellis' brand new FBI spinoff's title is misleading after seeing CIA's first trailer. Just before the unexpected cancelation of FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, the new offshoot from Wolf Entertainment was announced. Marking Ellis' return as a network TV leading man after playing the titular role in Fox's Lucifer, CIA is a more grounded project for the actor.
Due to the cancelations of its earlier spinoffs, the FBI franchise opened 2025-2026 network TV cycle with a significantly slimmed-down offering, only having the flagship on its roster. CBS originally wanted to launch CIA with FBI, but after a series of setbacks, they decided to push back its premiere to the midseason. Now, the show is set for its February launch, with its first trailer introducing the public to Ellis' Hart Hoxton and Nick Gehlfuss as FBI Special Agent Bill Goodman.
CIA Is Not Just About Tom Ellis' Agent
Ellis has long been positioned as the leading man of CIA, which makes sense, considering the show's title. He's the entity that represents the organization, similar to how Olivia Benson is synonymous with Law & Order: SVU. However, the newly-released trailer for the series establishes Gelfhuss' character, not as a side-kick, but an actual partner. This means that despite Hoxton technically being the titular character of CIA, its story is really about the dynamic between him and Goodman.
Instead, a more appropriate title for the project is FBI: CIA — which, interestingly, was its tentative name during its development days. Much has changed to the show since then, and yet, the original title would have best encapsulated what the new CBS procedural is really about. It also makes it clear that CIA is part of the established FBI franchise, which would help ramp up interest in it.
CIA Is The First Show In The Franchise To Be An FBI Partnership Instead Of An Expansion
Admittedly, when the CIA spinoff was announced, there were questions about how it ties to FBI, since it's technically an offshoot of the CBS franchise. Both FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International's places in the universe were easy to understand because those shows simply follow a different branch of the same agency from the the New York Field Office. However, since CIA is an entirely different organization, it was unclear how the FBI will be involved in the new offshoot.
That issue is resolved by pairing Hoxton and Goodman, as they represent separate entities. In this regard, the FBI may even have a bigger role in the storytelling simply because they have jurisdiction over the CIA. Unfortunately, while this addresses the storytelling, the misleading title of CIA remains an issue.
