It turns out Tom Ellis’ character in upcoming FBI spin-off CIA is a lot like Lucifer – full of lies, deceit, and a lot of moral ambiguity. As production ramps up and anticipation grows, more details about Ellis’ character have emerged. In a chat with TVLine at CBS’ recent Upfront event, the actor goes into detail about his character for the first time since he was billed to headline the show. The brand-new series is set to follow Ellis’ character, an intelligent, unorthodox CIA case officer, Hart Hoxton, alongside a rule-following veteran officer who is yet to be cast. Much of the show’s plot is centered around the dynamic between the unconventional duo, who will team up to work out of the CIA’s New York Station, investigating cases and criminals posing threats on U.S. soil.
“So, my character is called Hart,” Ellis began while detailing the character to the outlet. “He is an experienced field officer from the CIA, but he finds himself stuck in what some CIA agents might think was the boring end of the job in, you know, on home soil in New York. But he’s someone who, like many people who work for the CIA, has to use guile and deceit and lies to get what he wants. So there’s a large dose of moral ambiguity that comes with him, but that’s part of his job. So whilst that is, you know, not great for people in actual life, for a TV audience, it’s wonderful entertainment. So, yeah.”
‘CIA’ Centers Around the Institutional Failures Leading Up To 9/11
Set to be written by FBI: Most Wanted showrunner David Hudgins, Nicole Perlman, and former CIA officer David Chasteen, FBI: CIA is shaping up to be a thriller more akin to Homeland than its FBI predecessors. Ellis reveals that the premise of the show was directly inspired by the systemic failures that became apparent following the September 11 attacks. Agencies within the national security ecosystem had failed to collaborate effectively, and the result was an attack that forever changed domestic law enforcement. “Well, I mean, it’s the CIA, so it’s very secretive. That’s where we’re at with it,” continued Ellis while speaking on the premise. Adding:
“No, it’s, I mean, obviously, we’re going to work in the world of the procedural format that we’ve set up on FBI. I think what we’re looking to do is explore the notion of why these agencies don’t normally work together. And I think David Hudgins is writing the show. Part of his inspiration for it was the fact that after 9/11, it became very apparent, if these agencies were a bit more collaborative with each other, then they could have, like avoided that, for example. And what they learned from that is that maybe if they shared a bit more information, they could do that. Now they haven’t necessarily done that on every case, but what we’re exploring with this show is what would happen if you teamed up this experienced field agent from the CIA with this guy from the FBI, and it becomes a very productive relationship, but also a very difficult relationship, because they have very different philosophies about how to achieve their goals.”
While casting for the co-lead has yet to be announced, it’s obvious that Ellis’ Agent Hoxton will play bad cop while his colleague plays by the rules as they both navigate inter-agency intrigue.
