More often than not, procedurals live or die depending on how well the main dynamic works. Sure, the cases can sometimes be fun. And there’s a certain allure to knowing you’ll get more or less the same every week, and you don’t always have to be wary of the next wild twist. But the best procedurals, the ones that last, do a good job of making us care about the characters. Not just that, they keep us wanting more of at least one dynamic. CBS’s new procedural CIA, a spinoff of the FBI franchise, does just that.
Starring Tom Ellis as Colin Glass and Nick Gehlfuss as Bill Goodman, CIA feels less like a spinoff of FBI—Jeremy Sisto’s Jubal Valentine notwithstanding, and more like a show that’s ready to stand on its own two feet. That’s a tall order for a franchise that already cancelled two spinoffs that never quite clicked the way the mothership does.
CIA looks like it might, and it’s all thanks to the excellent chemistry between Ellis and Gehlfuss. Ironically, at times, it feels like Ellis is playing more or less the same character he played on Lucifer without powers—the same charisma, the same disregard for the rules. It’s clear, the more you look, though, that this is only the mask Colin is wearing, whereas in Lucifer, that was just pretty much the character.
Gehlfuss, meanwhile, is doing a complete 180 from the character we grew to love on Chicago Med, Will Halstead. Never one to really follow the rules, Will was often the character that made us shake our heads and go “Why, Will, why?” We loved him for it, but we couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever grow up. Bill Goodman, meanwhile, is a grown-up from the first second. In fact, at times, he might be too much of a grown-up.
That’s where the dynamic between Ellis and Gehlfuss is the most interesting. Opposites attract indeed, and that holds true for most successful procedural partnerships. The show starts from this setup and, from very early on, does a great job at showcasing what each of them can learn from the other. It’s just that these things take time. Trust takes time. Especially when you’re the FBI and CIA.
As intriguing as the dynamic between Ellis and Gehlfuss is, Necar Zadegan and Natalee Linez do a good job of rounding up a cast that doesn’t really need many more people. Jeremy Sisto’s Jubal Valentine is also around in this episode, and we might end up seeing him and other members of FBI around this season. It makes sense, considering Bill is an FBI agent. He will have to interact with other FBI agents at some point. But Sisto is just there for the continuity and the setup; he doesn’t feel like an essential character to what the show is building, and that’s a good thing.
Instead, Ellis, Gehlfuss, Zagedan, and Linez build a very good dynamic that feels interesting enough, just from the setup, to make us want more. And sure, it all hangs on the shoulders of Ellis and Gehlfuss. We’re here mostly for their partnership. They’re the ones in the poster. They’re the dynamic we’re focused on. But a good procedural always understands that the more people we care about, the better. And CIA already has a good foundation to make us really, really invested.
Another show in the FBI franchise? I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t sure I wanted it or needed it. But here we are, and I’ll also be the first to admit this one’s got me more excited than I expected to be. Guess my Monday night plans are set from now on.
Will you be watching?
CIA premieres Monday at 10/9c on CBS, right after a new episode of FBI.
