FBI: CIA Casting Shake-Up Brings the Perfect Balance to Tom Ellis’ Loose Cannon

The FBI spinoff CIA has been in development for a while, but it’s finally cast the perfect actor to star opposite Tom Ellis’ agent Hart Hoxton. One Chicago veteran Nick Gehlfuss has been cast in CIA as his partner. Michael Michele was also announced as joining the cast in the third lead role, and it’s expected that she’ll be playing the boss of the CIA’s New York department.

The CIA-focused FBI spinoff, as noted, will bring together both worlds, with the work happening across both law enforcement agencies. Tom Ellis has confirmed that CIA will start shooting this month, and that the scripts are in a really great place. This is all great news, as it was announced earlier this summer that CIA was being pulled off the fall schedule for script retooling.

With the new show aiming to be more than just an FBI spinoff, but a show that has its own identity and can stand on its own, casting the right people in the right roles is more crucial than ever. As such, CIA made the right call in its two new additions, especially adding Gehlfuss as the co-lead.

We Know Gehlfuss’ Character Will Be A Rule-Following FBI Agent Who Balances Hart Hoxton Out

While we don’t know much about the details surrounding CIA yet, we do know a few character details. Ellis’ Hart Hoxton, in the actor’s own words, will be a bit of a “renegade” with “a lot of moral ambiguity.” It’s that last bit that makes it a more interesting take than the overused trope of the lone wolf type who doesn’t play by the rules (as well as a slightly more sinister take on his role of charming rake Lucifer Morningstar).

Interesting though that may be, it means that a partner who can balance him out is necessary, and, from what we know, that’s exactly what Gehlfuss’ as-yet-unnamed character will be. He’s been described as a “by-the-book, seasoned and smart FBI agent who believes in the rule of law.”

With Hoxton taking the lion’s share of energy, playing the role of his partner requires an actor who can hold their own and make a more straightlaced character just as interesting. That’s where Gehlfuss’ previous experience in the One Chicago universe will really come in clutch.

Nick Gehlfuss’ Run As Will Halstead In Chicago Med Primed Him Perfectly For His CIA Role

Experienced network TV watchers are likely already familiar with Nick Gehlfuss, as he played the role of Dr. Will Halstead in Chicago Med for eight seasons. As the older of Chicago P.D.‘s detective Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), Will often crossed over with the other shows in the franchise. As Will, Gehlfuss got to flash character qualities that he can polish and bring to his role in CIA.

Will’s abundance of screentime gave him plenty of time for character growth, though some qualities remained the same. The doctor was ambitious and determined, often going above and beyond to help his patients. However, his conviction that he was right made him uncompromising; one could even say Will Halstead had a god complex in Chicago Med. While that sometimes led to him breaking the rules, it’s that rigid determination that will serve him well in his new role.

It will be interesting to see how Gehlfuss can take the stricter and more uncompromising elements of Will Halstead’s personality and rework them for CIA as a rule-following FBI agent. Though their moral frameworks differ, the two characters share the same inflexible morality, setting up a fascinating foil dynamic in CIA. If Gehlfuss’ character remains rooted in that uncompromising moral code, he’ll be more than up to the challenge of balancing Ellis’ wild card charisma.