Though theFBIfranchise has been very popular for CBS, the network surprised audiences when it canceled spinoffsFBI: Most WantedandFBI: 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: Internationalwas different because it based its team in Budapest and dealt with international threats, mostly in Europe. That’s especially different for anFBIseries since the organization is known as a domestic group.
FBI: Internationalsaw its Fly Team take on a variety of cases, but they also had to work with groups outside of their own wheelhouse. Because of that, the group of agents were assigned a liaison from Europol to help them in other countries. CBS has a newFBIspinoff on the way that could fill the void left in the series’ wake.
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FBI: International’s Cancelation Explained
FBI: International Was Canceled After 4 Seasons
CBS made the decision to cancel bothFBIspinoffsin early 2025. CBS and parent company Paramount have said thatthe decision to cancelFBI: Most WantedandFBI: Internationalcame down to financial concerns. Even thoughFBI: International’sratings 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 ofNCIS: 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 theNCISfranchise overall, spinoffs likeNCIS: Sydney, which shares costs with Australia, andNCIS: Originswere less expensive to produce.
The same may be true of an upcomingFBIspinoff 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 newFBIspinoffseries,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, unlikeFBI: 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 toFBI: Internationalthan the flagshipFBIseries.
The aspect of the CIA and FBI agents having to learn to work together will also likely incorporate similar elements ofFBI: International, which saw the agents frequently having to cooperate with other law enforcement in other countries and learn new procedures.
Of course,CIAwill be a little more of a buddy-cop seriesthan 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.
CIAwill air on CBS as part of the 2025-2026 TV season.
Will Any Member Of The Fly Team Appear In CIA?
Familiar Faces Are Possible
While it was initially believed thatCIAwould be introduced through a backdoor pilot inFBIseason 7, that did not happen. Instead, speculation has indicated that the events of theFBIseason 7 finale, which featured a terrorist organization infiltrating the ranks of the FBI, might actually lead to the initial events of the spinoff series. TheFBIfranchise has not been shy about crossover appearances in the past, soCIAwill likelysee some familiar faces from other shows swing by.
What’s less sure is whether those familiar faces could be members of theFBI: InternationalFly Team. After all, the two shows are set in completely different places.TheFBI: Internationalseries 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 decision to leave some of those storylines open-ended, like not knowingwhich 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 promotedand 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 theCIAspinoff. His character does interact with the CIA inFBI: 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 theCIAspinoff, it’s difficult to know which characters could be stopping by from the rest of theFBIfranchise.
