Though the FBI franchise has been very popular for CBS, the network surprised audiences when it canceled spinoffs FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, but it is offering up the perfect replacement for the latter in the 2025 TV season. While most of the crime procedurals offered on CBS center their work in the United States, FBI: International was different because it based its team in Budapest and dealt with international threats, mostly in Europe. That’s especially different for an FBI series since the organization is known as a domestic group.
| FBI Franchise Series | Years On Air |
|---|---|
| FBI | 2018-Present |
| FBI: Most Wanted | 2020-2025 |
| FBI: International | 2021-2025 |
| CIA | 2025 |
FBI: International’s Cancelation Explained
FBI: International Was Canceled After 4 Seasons
CBS made the decision to cancel both FBI spinoffs in early 2025. CBS and parent company Paramount have said that the decision to cancel FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International came down to financial concerns. Even though FBI: International’s ratings might have been better than a lot of other shows on the network, it’s also expensive to produce.
CBS has had to undergo quite a few cost-cutting measures in recent years. As they develop newer (and hopefully, less expensive) shows for the network, it has led to them trimming more expensive shows from their slate. The same is true of NCIS: Hawai’i, which was canceled the previous year. Despite the show being a landmark series in the franchise with a female-led team, and the popularity of the NCIS franchise overall, spinoffs like NCIS: Sydney, which shares costs with Australia, and NCIS: Origins were less expensive to produce.
The same may be true of an upcoming FBI spinoff series, which is set to be set in New York. It allows CBS to develop a new arm of the franchise while cutting the two more expensive spinoffs from their schedule.
Tom Ellis’ CIA Show Fills The Void Left By FBI: International Ending
CIA Is The Latest FBI Spinoff
Tom Ellis is set to front the new FBI spinoff series, CIA. While the other shows have all centered on FBI agents, this series will be different in that it centers on a CIA agent who is tasked with partnering with an FBI agent to cooperate on specific cases.
While the show will be based in New York, unlike FBI: International, it may still be able to fill the void left by the other show’s cancellation. That’s because the CIA is actually better known for taking on international threats to the United States than the FBI is. While the series might be set within the US, some of its actual stories and investigations may be more similar to FBI: International than the flagship FBI series.
The aspect of the CIA and FBI agents having to learn to work together will also likely incorporate similar elements of FBI: International, which saw the agents frequently having to cooperate with other law enforcement in other countries and learn new procedures.
Of course, CIA will be a little more of a buddy-cop series than an ensemble piece, as the focus is on the two agents who are very different from one another. Ellis will star as the CIA agent who is used to manipulating those around him in an effort to solve cases, and is not afraid to bend the rules to achieve a win. The FBI agent who will be paired with him has not yet been announced.
Will Any Member Of The Fly Team Appear In CIA?
Familiar Faces Are Possible
While it was initially believed that CIA would be introduced through a backdoor pilot in FBI season 7, that did not happen. Instead, speculation has indicated that the events of the FBI season 7 finale, which featured a terrorist organization infiltrating the ranks of the FBI, might actually lead to the initial events of the spinoff series. The FBI franchise has not been shy about crossover appearances in the past, so CIA will likely see some familiar faces from other shows swing by.
What’s less sure is whether those familiar faces could be members of the FBI: International Fly Team. After all, the two shows are set in completely different places. The FBI: International series finale, however, did leave some cliffhangers that could still feed into other shows, despite knowing ahead of filming the finale that the show would be canceled.
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.
The decision to leave some of those storylines open-ended, like not knowing which Fly Team member got a promotion, means that those questions could be answered in other shows in the franchise. Both Vo (Vinessa Vidotto) and Raines (Carter Redwood) were waiting to find out who would be leaving the team after they applied for the same job. It’s possible the Fly Team’s Vo or Raines could appear after being promoted and returning to the US to work. They seem like the most likely candidates to appear, but that does not necessarily rule out anyone else.
Fans have also speculated that Jesse Lee Soffer could actually move to the CIA spinoff. His character does interact with the CIA in FBI: International, and Soffer only just made the move to the CBS series, likely signing on to a multi-year contract, only for the show to be canceled. It’s possible that if the producers believe the new addition to be popular enough, he could make the move to the new show.
The Fly Team could also easily be tapped to coordinate with the CIA on big cases, though that could be done with mentions of phone calls, or even video calls, rather than bringing the characters into the show for a longer arc. Without knowing more details yet about the CIA spinoff, it’s difficult to know which characters could be stopping by from the rest of the FBI franchise.
