Published Feb 11, 2026, 8:47 PM EST
Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant's Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars, The Boys, and Game of Thrones. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2022, became a news writer in 2023, a senior staff writer in 2024, and an editor in 2025.
Even more crossovers than expected are going to be happening between FBI and CIA.
FBI season 8 is on its midseason hiatus and will return on February 23, the same night when its new spinoff will premiere on CBS. The cast of CIA features Lucifer star Tom Ellis as CIA Agent Colin Glass, who marches to the beat of his own, and is paired with the rule-following FBI Special Agent Bill Goodman, played by Chicago Med actor Nick Gehlfuss. Their secret CIA and FBI task force undertakes covert operations in New York that uncover global threats and terrorist plots. Natalee Linz, who has previously appeared in Tell Me Lies and Chicago P.D., will also be playing a key character, CIA Analyst Gina Gosian.
Deadline now reports that in addition to FBI's Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine (Jeremy Sisto) being in the CIA premiere, Special Agent in Charge Isobel Castille (Alana De La Garza) and FBI Special Agent Maggie Bell (Missy Peregrym) will appear in CIA season 1. CIA's Deputy Chief of Station Nikki Reynard (Necar Zadegan) will also be in FBI.
Mike Weiss, showrunner and executive producer of FBI and CIA, spoke to Deadline about why the decision was made to feature so many characters crossing over between the two shows, and why it felt particularly important to have Jubal be in the CIA premiere. Check out his comments below:
Fans get to see their favorite characters flex their muscles in cases and in situations that can differ from their work in their ordinary worlds. And we get to expand the universe of BOTH shows – the CIA and FBI might be racing to keep people safe from various threats, but in crossing characters over, we get to show that both agencies are hard at work in the same city, on the same timeline, in the same shared reality. That’s fun! Isn’t it?
Well, it was organic to the story. When Necar Zadegan, in the CIA pilot, needs a top-flight FBI agent to allow her team to operate in the U.S., she turns to her FBI counterpart for a recommendation. Of course, Jeremy is great throughout the pilot and is fantastic with Necar.
After the cancellations of FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted, Weiss was asked whether the characters from these series could cross over into future episodes of FBI and CIA, especially given the number of crossovers that have already been planned between the two series. He does not confirm that the characters from the canceled shows will return, but he does clarify that if the actors come back, they would be playing the same individuals they previously portrayed in the FBI universe, as he knows fans would be disappointed by any other choice.
I’m genuinely curious as well! I kid, of course. The rules are that this is a real universe. So that, somewhere out there, Wes Mitchell is still hunting down bad guys and closing FBI cases. If an actor did come back, they’d be returning as their former FBI character. I think if they didn’t, we’d hear about it from the fans. They’re watching closely – and we love that they are.
Crossovers are not uncommon on network television, but FBI and CIA's versions will look different compared to One Chicago's crossover events on NBC. Instead of FBI and CIA having crossover episodes as One Chicago does, their respective characters will appear at certain points throughout both series. While fans inevitably have their preferences, the approach being taken on CBS does allow for the crossovers to be more frequent instead of only happening during a special episode.
FBI season 8 returns February 23 at 9:00 p.m. ET, followed by CIA's premiere at 10:00 p.m. ET, with both on CBS.
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