The upcoming new spinoff of CBS’ FBI seemed underwhelming upon its initial announcement, but a recent update makes FBI: CIA feel a lot more promising. Fans naturally weren’t over the moon to see both FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted canceled, and the knowledge that another spinoff would be taking over one of their time slots alongside FBI season 8 didn’t necessarily soften the blow. At the same time, however, there was at least some cause for comfort in the way FBI: CIA was intended to be set up.
Since FBI: CIA takes place in New York, the show’s characters would likely have some professional relationship with the FBI cast members from the New York field office. As such, CBS intended to introduce FBI: CIA through a backdoor pilot on the flagship series. The pilot was going to introduce at least three main characters from the series ahead of its release, easing any fan concerns about the people replacing the other spinoff characters they’d grown to love. And this felt like a necessary marketing strategy, since the new spinoff wasn’t really generating the hype CBS likely hoped it would.
Why FBI: CIA Spinoff News Hasn’t Been That Exciting
Even The Title Is Hard To Take Seriously
Dick Wolf has already had issues with introducing a fourth series to his franchises before, with both Law & Order: Trial by Jury and Chicago Justice canceled after just one season each. In many ways, it felt like FBI: CIA was just another fourth series without much of anything interesting to add. The title is clunky, and the premise of a task force geared toward fighting domestic terrorism mirrors numerous episodes of Most Wanted in which the suspect has been a terrorist. On top of that, FBI: CIA was announced during a rather uncertain time for the franchise.
The flagship series already lost two characters this season, with FBI’s Sydney leaving offscreen mere episodes after replacing Tiffany. Although Jubal’s teased departure was predictably nothing to write home about, the reality is that fans will have to say very real goodbyes to the casts of two well-received spinoffs this year. It’s no secret that CBS’ slate was overcrowded, but that implies FBI’s other series were cut to make room for this one. Not only does this leave many fans less than enthusiastic about the upcoming new spinoff, but some will likely meet it with active hostility.
CBS Scrapping FBI: CIA’s Backdoor Pilot Suggests How Confident They Are With It
The Network Doesn’t Feel An Urge To Prove The Show’s Worth
Aside from descriptions of the main FBI agent as “straight-laced” and the main CIA agent as “street smart,” not too much is known about FBI: CIA’s characters. But it looks like it’ll take a little longer to meet them now that CBS has canceled plans for FBI: CIA’s backdoor pilot. Given the pilot had already been pushed back, this could just mean that CBS couldn’t fit the pilot in with FBI’s other planned storylines. However, they wouldn’t cancel the pilot at all unless they had some measure of faith the show could succeed on its own merit when it premieres.
There’s good reason for CBS to have confidence in the show. As much as fans of the other spinoffs don’t want to see them go, FBI: CIA’s basic premise has the potential to make improvements to FBI: International. Despite being set in New York, the task force could easily fly overseas when investigating suspects with ties to terrorist cells in other countries. And thanks to the covert nature of the task force and the CIA in general, the series is perfectly set up to deliver a spy-centric flair that sets the series apart from the franchise’s typical procedural format.
Will There Be Any Other FBI Franchise Characters Appearing In The CIA Spinoff?
Characters From Any Of The 3 Shows Are Fair Game
Its New York setting means that FBI: CIA could easily feature anyone from FBI’s field office. Jubal could offer intel and support the same way he did in FBI: International’s season 4 episode “They May Get Their Wish,” but nearly any other New York-based character could offer additional boots on the ground. This may include Maggie and Scola from FBI, Remy and his task force from Most Wanted, etc. As noted above, the potential for international beats in the investigations makes room for FBI: International’s Fly Team to lend a hand as well.
Smitty’s the likeliest International character to appear, given that domestic terrorists with foreign ties would likely be known to Europol. But that doesn’t mean Wes or anyone else from his team couldn’t appear if the FBI: CIA team ever has to fly out for any reason. Even OA actor Zeeko Zaki would like to see the spinoff characters continue appearing in the future. So, rather than think of the new FBI spinoff as a potential catalyst in ending those characters’ stories, perhaps it’s best to recognize it as a new beginning that allows them to feature in more covert investigations.
