SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for CIA Season 1, Episode 1.

The first episode of CIA is what happens when the best parts of TV procedurals are thrown into a blender. The new CBS drama pulls tried and true pages out of the playbook, but makes them feel new because of some excellent casting decisions. Almost as importantly, it’s able to prove to viewers why CBS greenlit another FBI spinoff.

There’s still plenty of consternation around the cancellations of FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted, especially since the former had created some new excitement with the arrival of Jesse Lee Soffer. CIA turns to Soffer’s TV brother Nick Gehlfuss to lead the charge, alongside fan-favorite Tom Ellis. The duo are inspired choices to front the latest iteration of the “buddy cop” subgenre, while CIA as a whole feels like a combination of the two shows that came before it.

Viewers know entirely what to expect from “Directed Energy.” The two seemingly opposite main characters are like oil and water, until the duo learn to work together to save the day and decide to stay partners. This episode hits all the necessary notes across that chord progression, from Ellis’ character Colin Glass getting on the bad side of Gehlfuss’ protagonist Bill Goodman right away, to Bill finding out that Colin is actually a really good guy, to a cameo from FBI regular Jeremy Sisto to remind viewers that this show is in the same universe (and maybe draw a few extra eyeballs). The episode’s final plot twist, that there’s a mole in the CIA’s operation, would be more daunting if the audience hadn’t been watching a mostly empty office for the last 40 minutes. There were more available suspects in the “Mole Hunt” episode of Archer, which was coincidentally that show’s pilot, too.

But there’s an Archer-like charm to CIA, mostly because Ellis and Gehlfuss are the “odd couple” that a premise like this requires. Ask anyone who was watching USA in its blue skies era—White Collar worked because Matt Bomer was effortlessly charming, but also because Tim DeKay was his perfect foil. Ellis and Gehlfuss have an immediate chemistry. Audiences know how charming and deadpan funny Ellis can be; most of his characters are built on those qualities. That makes him perfect to play a spy. The bigger surprise is actually Gehlfuss, because Chicago Med viewers watched him get into a lot of trouble as Dr. Will Halstead. To see him now portraying someone by the book and proud of it is a fun change of pace. But what hasn’t changed his expertise at playing indignant, which matches up so well with the flippancy that Ellis has perfected. These actors’ strengths bounce off each other, and that’s the secret to long-term success.

They’re not the only ones either. It’s lovely to see Necar Zadegan from Mayor of Kingstown as Colin’s boss Nikki Reynard. For one, just because it means she gets a break after the Paramount+ show almost killed her character last season. But also because anyone who’s watched Mayor of Kingstown knows that Zadegan can be tough as nails. She won’t be playing the typical supervisor who sits behind a desk and wrings their hands while Colin and Bill do something out of order. There’s less for Chicago PD alum Natalee Linez to do in “Directed Energy,” but room for her character Gina to grow, especially since Nikki and Gina are the only two agents that Bill and Colin seriously interact with. Maybe it’s due to the whole security issue, but CIA could do with some more background folks like FBI.

From a production standpoint, it’s really interesting that CIA has five credited creators. That’s a big number for any TV show, and prompts the question of how that translates into the on-screen product. Is what fans are watching the end result of five people putting one idea together, like a sort of procedural Voltron? Or will one or two people’s creative vision be steering the ship going forward? Also, there are little stylistic touches that separate this series from FBI; it actually has a title sequence, albeit a brief one. Plus, being a 10:00 show, there should be room for CIA to go to darker places than its predecessor.

But it doesn’t necessarily need to. CIA can handle harder topics like FBI: Most Wanted, and it can go abroad like FBI: International. It has a versatile premise. Yet what’s going to make this series a hit is the two actors at its core being so engaging and fun. It would be interesting if this ended up being a lighter show than FBI and turned into more of a caper-of-the-week program. There hasn’t been a good one of those since ABC cancelled Deception, and with this cast, this is going to be one excellent adventure.

CIA airs Mondays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Photo Credit: Courtesy of CBS.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.