What To Know
- FBI and CIA showrunner Mike Weiss discusses the two series crossing over.
- CIA‘s Tom Ellis and Nick Gehlfuss hope to work more with the FBI characters.
“Dick Wolf calls crossovers ratings crack,” Nick Gehlfuss says with a laugh. Wolf would know. He has three successful franchises taking over primetime TV each week: Law & Order, One Chicago, and the latest, FBI (now with CIA). Gehlfuss starred on Chicago Med for eight seasons and is now part of the cast of CIA, heading into its second season in fall 2026. It will air after FBI on Mondays at 9/8c.
In the newest of Wolf’s series, Gehlfuss plays FBI Special Agent Bill Goodman, who becomes part of the fusion cell, working as a partner to CIA Case Officer Colin Glass (Tom Ellis). But Bill went into this with established relationships with some of the FBI characters, as we saw onscreen with Special Agent Maggie Bell (Missy Peregrym) and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine (Jeremy Sisto) in Season 1. There were crossovers of one or two character between the two shows during the 2025-2026 season, but what are the chances of getting a two-show event next year?
“Don’t give them ideas,” Mike Weiss, who serves as showrunner of both series, joked to TV Insider before pointing out, “Those are hard to schedule.” He would know; he worked on Chicago P.D. in Seasons 3 and 4. He remembered those crossovers with Med and Fire as being “very fluid.”
The goal is to cross over “as much as possible,” he continued. “What’s fun about the CIA crossover is that we think of it as there’s this invisible line that the CIA characters are allowed to cross over into the world of the FBI, but the FBI characters are not able to cross over that invisible line into the CIA world. If they find themselves working in a CIA story, it’s because they’ve been dragged over that invisible line. So I think just the very different ways in which the shows and the agencies operate is a fun differentiating factor to doing these crossovers, and I love it.”
We saw that with how easy it was for Deputy Chief of Station Nikki Reynard (Necar Zadegan) to be in 26 Fed on FBI; on the other hand, Special Agent in Charge Isobel Castille (Alana De La Garza) got a first-hand look at how secretive the CIA’s New York Station office is and the protocols in place to even enter. And, as Gehlfuss pointed out to us, “It was a big deal for Colin to come to the FBI station in the finale. I mean, that’s a huge moment, the first time obviously for the season. I don’t know how often that happens in the real world.”
The stars do love the crossovers, with Gehlfuss expressing hope for “a few two-hour crossover events” next season. “There’s real opportunity for that,” he added.
Ellis noted they weren’t sure how many they’d be able to do this past season, “but actually, it became quite organic and yeah, I liked it. I think the FBI guys coming onto our set was so much fun, certainly in a first season of something where you’ve got people coming in that really know who the characters are and what they’re doing, and for them to be excited — for Jeremy to come onto our set and just be like a little kid, excited about being there and different challenges.”
When Peregrym crossed over in CIA Season 1, we saw her be skeptical of Colin as Bill’s partner. So, what will it take for him to win her over?
“He’d probably have to do something pretty honorable for her to drop her guard,” suggested Ellis, and added Gehlfuss, “Maybe a little charm.”
But, Ellis pointed out, “I think as long as they keep saving the world, then you can’t really argue with that.”
Looking ahead to next season, Weiss wants to see Scola (John Boyd) and Colin meet “and have a sarcasm contest. I would love Gina [CIA‘s analyst played by Natalee Linez] to meet all of the JOCulars and be like, ‘Oh, you call yourself an analyst. Well, let me tell you something.’ I think that there’s a thousand different combinations that we can introduce into the show, and I’m just excited about all of them.”
Mark Schafer/CBS
Gehlfuss wants to dig more into Bill and Maggie’s dynamic as well as what his character’s like with OA (Zeeko Zaki). Ellis, meanwhile, wants more of Colin and Jubal.
“I find Jeremy offscreen incredibly funny, but also I just think he’s great. And there was something in the way he talks about Colin to Bill in that first meeting in the finale, I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s something more there,’” he explained.
What do you want to see in terms of FBI and CIA crossovers next season? Let us know in the comments section below.
FBI, Season 9 Premiere, Fall 2026, Mondays, 8/7c, CBS
CIA, Season 2 Premiere, Fall 2026, Mondays, 9/8c, CBS