FBI’s Dropped Season 7 Storyline Could Spell Trouble for Its New Spinoff

The ongoing problems around the latest FBI spinoff are somewhat predictable, considering that the flagship series abandoned a potentially exciting story in season 7. The franchise originally had two other spinoffs, but after CIA was greenlit, FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted joined other popular shows that CBS canceled in 2025 despite relatively high ratings.

FBI season 8 was supposed to air alongside CIA season 1. However, there have been delays in casting and production that have caused CBS to push CIA’s premiere back until the spring of 2026. These delays are unsurprising in light of the decision CBS and Wolf Entertainment made about how to kick off the new series.

FBI Season 7 Was Originally Going To Include CIA’s Backdoor Pilot

FBI season 7 was supposed to have an episode that introduced the characters and premise of CIA. This is a common practice for launching spinoff series. Most of the time, backdoor pilots are only tangentially related to the original series and the characters audiences are used to only appear in the opening scene or sequence.

It makes sense to have this type of pilot because it allows the established audience for the original series to get to know the new show and how it relates to the series they already love. The FBI franchise had already done this successfully in 2018 when it introduced FBI: Most Wanted in an episode of FBI.

However, at the last minute, CBS and Dick Wolf Entertainment decided not to have a backdoor pilot for CIA, and shortly afterward, the scheduling change for the new series was announced. These changes suggested that there were already issues with the development of the new show.

Scrapped CIA Backdoor Pilot Hinted Its Difficult Development

The most likely explanation for the change in plans was that CIA was not able to produce a backdoor pilot in time for one to air during FBI season 7. Instead, the FBI season 7 finale hinted at CIA’s existence by introducing the rogue terrorist group Forefront, but the series and characters were not introduced or explicitly mentioned.

CIA‘s development has been rocky. Other than the lead, there have been no major casting announcements, suggesting the producers are having a hard time finding the right people to carry the show. Additionally, the series changed showrunners midstream and will now be spearheaded by SVU alum Warren Leight.

These developmental issues have put CIA far behind its original schedule. The series will not be able to produce a pilot until it has cast all major roles, and it is unknown if a pilot script has been finalized yet.

Hopefully, FBI season 8 will be able to include a backdoor pilot. However, the fact that no introductory episode was able to be made during season 7 demonstrates that CIA was having problems launching from the start.