Love a good cop show and crime procedural? From network staples like Blue Bloods and FBI to newer hits like Elsbeth and Sheriff Country, CBS is chock-full of them. And the network will get another high-profile entry into the guns-glazing genre early next year in the form of CIA, a new crime drama from David Hudgins and Dick Wolf, the Emmy Award-winning executive producer and creator of the Law & Order and Chicago universes.
The new one-hour drama centers on the odd-couple pairing of a by-the-books FBI special agent and a more renegade and roguish CIA case officer, who have to work together on a secretive task force to prevent domestic terrorism in New York City. It’s an exciting addition to CBS’s 2025-2026 slate, especially for fans of another long-running procedural franchise, of which CIA is a spinoff.
Curious about the CIA show? Here’s everything you need to know about the CBS crime series, including release date info, casting intel, teaser trailers and more.
What is the new CIA show on CBS?
“Two agents. One mission. Two methods,” reads the one-liner for the new CBS original drama CIA. The show synopsis delves slightly deeper: “When a fast-talking, rule-breaking CIA case officer (Tom Ellis) teams up with a by-the-book, seasoned FBI agent working out of CIA’s New York Station, they must learn to work together to investigate cases and criminals posing threats on U.S. soil, finding that their differences may actually be their strength.”
Ellis, whose casting was announced early on, exclusively shared details about the upcoming series with Parade this past June. “Part of the inspiration for this show from David Hudgins, who’s writing it, was that after 9/11, it became very apparent that these two, the FBI and the CIA, these two massive agencies, didn’t cooperate with each other and they didn’t share a lot of information. And as a result, there were huge issues with intelligence failures,” the actor said.
“There was talk that if they maybe had shared their information with each other, 9/11 might not have happened, so the notion that the CIA can’t work on home soil became very different,” Ellis continued. “I think they’ve got very different philosophies about how they go about things, and I think from an entertainment point of view, that’s where our show’s going to sing. So, it’s not just about the cases that we’re doing, but it’s about the two people tackling the cases and how they are with each other.”
Is the CIA show a spinoff of FBI?
Yes, CIA is a spinoff series of the CBS franchise FBI, another Dick Wolf-created procedural that has been airing on the network for eight seasons since September 2018.
Along with CIA, there have been several FBI offshoots over the years, including FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International. However, both of those series were cancelled this year after six and four seasons, respectively.
Who is in the new CIA show?
The aforementioned Tom Ellis — of Lucifer, Tell Me Lies and The Thursday Murder Club fame — leads the cast as CIA field officer Hart Hoxton. He’s paired with a familiar face from the Chicago Med world: Nick Gehlfuss as the more straitlaced FBI special agent Bill Goodman.
Elsewhere, another Tell Me Lies alum, Natalie Linez, plays CIA analyst Gina Rojas, while Necar Zadegan (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, NCIS: New Orleans) portrays the chief of the CIA’s New York station. That latter role was originally meant for actress Michael Michele; however, she departed the series several weeks after starting production.
Is there a trailer for the CIA show?
Yup! Check out the first-look teaser below:
When does CIA premiere on CBS?
CIA will debut on CBS on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026 at 10 p.m. ET.
How to watch the CIA show:
CIA will air on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. CBS is included with most basic-cable packages. As for streaming, if you have the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan, you can watch CIA live as it airs on CBS. All other Paramount+ subscribers will be able to tune into episodes the day after they air on CBS.
