EXCLUSIVE: Mothership FBI will be the only representative of the crime drama franchise on CBS‘ fall schedule. Offshoot CIA starring Tom Ellis, which received a straight-to-series order in April, is being delayed until midseason and is undergoing a showrunner change. Watson, which had been set to return for a second season in midseason, will now be on for fall.
FBI: Most Wanted showrunner David Hudgins, who originally was tapped to lead the series and co-write the pilot script with FBI, Law & Order & Chicago franchise boss Dick Wolf, has exited. He is being replaced by Wolf universe veteran Warren Leight, known for his two stints as showrunner of Law & Order: SVU.
There had been early signs that CIA may not be ready for fall. The original plan was for three characters, including the one played by Ellis, to be introduced in a planted spinoff episode of mothership FBI which was pushed a couple of times over casting delays until a decision was made not to proceed with it. There were questions about the creative of the project at the time of the straight-to-series order in late April.
While the writers room is up and running, I hear there may not be finished scripts approved for production, and there have been no additional castings on the series since the initial pickup announcement that included Ellis. That is about to change.
With Leight at the helm, the series is expected to forge ahead, and casting is set to begin shortly for an early fall production start. It is unclear whether the project’s original concept about two unlikely partners – a fast-talking, rule-breaking loose cannon CIA case officer (Ellis), and a by-the-book, seasoned and smart FBI agent who believes in the rule of law — will be tweaked.
Wolf and Leight executive produce CIA alongside Nicole Perlman, David Chasteen, and Peter Jankowski. Eriq La Salle remains attached to direct and executive produce the pilot episode. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, produces in association with Wolf Entertainment and CBS Studios.
With CIA not coming together as fast as CBS had hoped, the network may have been making contingency plans as, despite being benched until midseason, Watson has already started production.
It is unclear whether Watson, from Kapital Entertainment and CBS Studios, will replace CIA on the fall schedule, taking over the post-FBI Monday 10 PM time slot, or whether the network will make scheduling changes. That will be revealed shortly when CBS announces fall premiere dates. (UPDATE: Watson will return for Season 2 in the Monday 10 PM slot, giving Kapital 3 series on the night, The Neighborhood at 8 PM, new comedy DMV at 8:30 PM and Watson at 10 PM.)
The move to fall will give Watson, which launched with a 13-episode run earlier this year, a typical air pattern. New scripted broadcast series launching in midseason usually return in the fall (unless it is designed for a limited-run seasons, which Watson, starring Morris Chestnut, is not) because a midseason run is not considered long enough to get a new series fully established, and a long gap after the short initial may hurt its longevity prospects.
