'CIA' starring Tom Ellis promises fresh take beyond FBI franchise

A new television series, titled CIA is set to expand the FBI franchise after its premiere today in Canada.

Starring Tom Ellis and Nick Gehlfuss, the new procedural follows CIA agent Colin Glass and FBI Special Agent Bill Goodman as they team up on covert operations in New York.

While the show connects to the FBI universe, Ellis says CIA will stand on its own.

"Initially, it was going to be sort of a full-on crossover show. The more we've talked about it, the more I think that we're intending it for it to be more of a standalone piece," Ellis told Yahoo Canada.

"There will be some crossover, ... but I don't think it will be exactly the same. ... We're trying to give it its own identity, and in its delivery, I'm hoping it will be slightly different."

Ellis also emphasized the show’s focus on character development, saying: "He wanted to kind of move away from the strict procedural thing slightly and make it more of a character piece than the other ones, ... within the boundaries of a procedural, Dick Wolf drama.

“We're trying to bring some levity to the piece, ... as well as it being a procedural drama."

The show premiered today at 10:00 PM ET on Global TV and will stream on StackTV in Canada.