CIA spinoff of FBI sees departures, midseason premiere planned

CBS's new FBI spinoff CIA has undergone multiple creative departures as production continues ahead of a planned midseason premiere, with one lead actor and an executive producer exiting the series. Michael Michele, who had been set to play the head of the CIA's New York Station, left the show in early November, and director and executive producer Eriq La Salle has also stepped away after directing the pilot. Filming, which began in September, is reported to be ongoing and has not been halted by the changes.

The series, ordered straight to production in April, stars Tom Ellis and Nick Gehlfuss as an odd-couple pairing: Ellis portrays a rulebreaking CIA case officer and Gehlfuss plays a by-the-book FBI agent assigned to work out of the CIA’s New York Station. Natalee Linez has been cast as a CIA analyst. Producers have not confirmed whether Michele’s role will be recast or rewritten; those decisions are expected to be made as production moves forward.

CIA was originally slated for a fall 2025 debut but was moved to midseason after a showrunner change. David Hudgins, who had been attached to the project, was replaced by Warren Leight in July, prompting a retooling of the series’...