'Lucifer' star Tom Ellis tapped to lead new crime series 'CIA'

Tom Ellis may be the only one who can bring the FBI franchise back from the dead.

Deadline confirmed on Tuesday, April 22, that the Lucifer star is set to lead CIA, a brand-new spinoff in CBS’s ever-expanding FBI universe. The casting comes just weeks after the network axed FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, clearing space for a fresh addition to the franchise.

Ellis will play a “fast-talking, rule-breaking loose-cannon” CIA officer paired with a “by-the-book” FBI agent in what’s being billed as an odd-couple crime-fighting duo.

“When this odd couple are assigned to work out of CIA’s New York Station, they must learn to work together to investigate cases and criminals posing threats on U.S. soil, finding that their differences may actually be their strength,” reads the show’s official logline.

Behind the scenes, the series is backed by procedural heavyweight Dick Wolf, alongside showrunner David Hudgins and producers Nicole Perlman, David Chasteen, and Peter Jankowski.

Originally announced as FBI: CIA, the show was rebranded simply as CIA and is expected to premiere later this year. 

The concept has evolved from its earlier iteration, which focused on a covert task force handling domestic terrorism in New York.