FBI: CIA Spinoff Eyed at CBS, Backdoor Pilot to Air This Spring
Another FBI spinoff is in the works at CBS, TVLine has learned, with its backdoor pilot slated to air this spring.
In FBI: CIA, as the prospective offshoot is titled, a dedicated, strait-laced FBI agent and a street-smart CIA agent join forces as part of a new, clandestine task force charged with solving and preventing domestic terrorism in and around New York City.
Casting is now underway for three series regular roles for the potential spinoff, which will air its pilot as a springtime episode of the FBI mothership. If ordered to series, FBI: CIA would premiere during the 2025-26 TV season.
The prolific Dick Wolf, with David Hudgins (FBI: Most Wanted), Nicole Perlman (Captain Marvel) and David Chasteen (former CIA officer, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan technical consultant), will serve as writing executive producers on the Universal Television/CBS Studios co-production; Peter Jankowski will be a non-writing EP.
FBI: CIA marks the latest of several spinoffs currently in the CBS/Paramount pipeline. Fire Country has already begat Sheriff Country (starring Morena Baccarin and debuting during the 2025-26 TV season) and potentially a Jared Padalecki-led Fire Country: Surfside; The Neighborhood has not one but two offshoots in the works, the former of which is earmarked for Paramount+; The Equalizer just cast a spinoff that will air as a backdoor pilot this season; and the NCIS-verse’s latest addition, NCIS: Tony & Ziva, is expected to premiere on Paramount+ this year.
FBI is currently the third-most watched broadcast drama of the 2024-25 TV season, averaging 8 million total viewers (with delayed playback) and only trailing CBS’ own Tracker and Matlock.
FBI debuted in September 2018, and is currently airing Season 7 (Tuesdays at 8/7c) — the first in a three-year renewal; Zeeko Zaki, Missy Peregrym, Jeremy Sisto and Alana De La Garza (at first a guest star) remain from the original cast. FBI: Most Wanted, the well-watched franchise’s first spinoff, premiered in January 2020 and is in the middle of Season 6 (Tuesdays at 10 pm). FBI: International, the most recent offshoot, launched in September 2021 and is now in Season 4 (Tuesdays at 9 pm).
“#TheFBIs” have also spawned over the years The FBI Declassified (a De La Garza-narrated docuseries that aired in fall of 2020, during the first year of the pandemic) and FBI True (another docuseries that has streamed five seasons thus far in Paramount+).
Want scoop on any of the FBI shows? Shoot an email to [email protected], and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!
FBI: CIA sounds like a joke that people would make mocking excessive spin-offs.
You beat me to it.
Adult Swim did a great series parodying police procedurals called NTSF:SD:SUV::
They’re not even in the same section of government. You might as well have FBI: NASA
Don’t give them ideas!!! lol
Hmm I might want to see FBI: NASA or CSI: Moon
Seriously! Why not just “FBI: Task Force”? Still sounds odd but not nearly as ridiculous.
Good grief – how many more spin-offs do we need?
It’s not a question of need. They require less effort to come up with than original programming ideas.
Thank you Dick Wolf and CBS, laughed for a solid 90 seconds when I read this news.To be clear this potential series could be good, it is the title combined with endless spinoffs that got me to LMAO.
Hopefully they come up with a better name than that.
yes…how about CIA/FBI/WTF
I can’t with CBS anymore. This is ridiculous.
NTSF:SD:SUV says ‘hi’
Does that mean one of the current FBI spinoff will be canceled? and why can’t we get one Blue Blood spinoff?
NCIS: JAG wants a turn.
You know it’s the other way around, right? NCIS is a spinoff of JAG.
You missed the joke.
NBC really fumbled the bag with JAG. If NBC really gave them a chance, NBC would be the powerhouse of dramas!
needs a better name. that means possibly either international or most wanted is going to end soon or something. My guess is probably most wanted cause there’s so many characters have left already.No it’s basically down 2 main characters cared for so long from the first pilot episode And its only season six. Same thing with international, and it’s only in the fourth season. Honestly I could go either way but to between those two. Do it I hope that to the honorable thing.And don’t sprang it on us a couple of episode away from the final episode.Wait for the finale , give us like another season. Like they did with ncis: New Orleans and macgyver.
Along with these other spin offs aswell, i wonder if SWAT will be cancelled for definite this time.
I just want to know which spin off gets sacrificed for this one. I hear MW is the lowest rated this season and with the 100th ep would seem good to end it. I also lost a lot of love for International Jesse Lee Sofer just plays the same angry hothead like he did on CPD. We know the flagship is safe for at least a couple years so.
All three shows got renewed for three extra seasons back last April . So we have at least 2 more seasons of each show after this season concludes. So none of the 3 shows are at risk of cancellation.
But only MW and Int got one year renewals while original FBI got three seasons. MW or Int is on the chopping block maybe MW as Int is filmed overseas and has less budget because of it
Next on the list: please find another show for Jesse Lee Soffer. He was great on “Chicago PD”, but he is all wrong for “FBI: International”. The show needs someone tough but polished and a little more mature.
I agree with you. International isn’t a good fit for him and it’s throwing off the whole feel of the show. JMO of course.
I totally agree. Jessie was good on Chicago PD but I’m having trouble liking him on International. The feel of the show is off now.
They could at least call it FBI/CIA (slash) or something.
Come to think of it, it’s worse
Dick Wolf should either focus on the Law & Order: Hate Crimes show that was teased a few years ago or on totally new/non prime time shows. On Call is such a good show.
Next, CBS will develop FBI: WTF.
I just can’t understand this network anymore.
Hmmm… I thought Alana De La Garza joined in the second season.
She guest starred in the Most Wanted backdoor pilot towards the end of season 1 then joined full time in season 2. She’s been on long enough to basically be considered an original cast member.
Thank you; people were going to split hairs either way
That’s a confusing name lol
My money is on FBI: Covert Ops or something
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ridiculous title. They better change it. It cannot be both FBI and CIA. Maybe they should drop FBI and call it just CIA
It should be called FBI:SPOOKS or FBI: Spies.
Just do the one Ultra Three Franchise Crossover already!
FBI Chicago & Order! Ten Episode Epic Crossover event… Just do that instead of doing this endless Spin-Off grift.
Why not in another city. FBI already focuses on NY. Why not FBI/CIA in DC then they can argue do we go to Langley or Downtown DC to the Hoover building.
Oh my college years when the club I used to go to was across the street from FBI headquarter. So weird at first.
Maybe we can just run through same show over and over for the 22 hours of prime time. Anyone remember genres?
What’s with all of these FBI spin offs….cop style shows? Do they not think all story lines are pretty much the same on a large scale lol. How is the going to be any different 😆
Coming to CBS in 2026:
Tracker: Origins. Learn how teenagers Colter and Russell Shaw pushed Ashton off that cliff and why.
NCIS: Greenland. Now that Trump has purchased the island from Denmark, the NCIS team investigates Navy crimes from the land of the ice and snow where the midnight sun, where the hot springs flow.
Matlock’s Ghosts. Andy Griffith and company are paranormal paralegals as they litigate cases in cloken seersucker suits.
Also coming this fall:
The Neighborhood Karen
Ghosts in the AI Machine
Fire Country: Pacific Palisades (because they have no self-awareness.)
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the network being led by Amy Reisenbach.
Yup, that’s Amy for you.
Get rid of any original programming and/or beloved/well-rated shows and keep churning out prequels, sequels and remakes.
Does she even watch these shows she greenlights?