Tom Ellis' FBI Spinoff Rockets to a Sky-High Rotten Tomatoes Score and Rave Reviews
Tom Ellis kicks off CIA on CBS, expanding the FBI universe with a Feb. 23, 2026 premiere that’s already scoring big on Rotten Tomatoes—even as early reviews are still trickling in.
CBS rolled out CIA, the newest branch of the FBI universe, and early signs point to a sturdy network thriller with a splash of spycraft. Tom Ellis headlines, the pilot did the press rounds, and the show is already pulling a solid early score from critics.
The setup
Nick Gehlfuss plays FBI Special Agent Bill Goodman, seconded to a hush-hush joint task force and paired with Tom Ellis as CIA officer Colin Glass. The duo operates out of New York, where covert assignments yank them into international conspiracies, terror threats, and the kind of geopolitical messes that keep briefcases handcuffed to wrists on TV.
- Premiere: February 23, 2026 on CBS
- Franchise: A spinoff expanding the FBI world
- Leads: Tom Ellis (Colin Glass) and Nick Gehlfuss (Bill Goodman)
- Vibe: New York procedural with spy-mission seasoning, teasing a mole hunt
- Rotten Tomatoes: 80 percent from five critic reviews so far; an audience rating has yet to appear
What critics saw (so far)
The network sent out the pilot, which gives everyone a taste but keeps the long game under wraps. The early chatter lines up around dependable-procedural energy with room to grow into a twistier spy story.
As one critic put it:
"So far, CIA works well as an average New York City-set law-enforcement procedural. Perhaps that will be enough."
Another early take framed it like this:
"CIA is a full house bingo card of procedural expectations, as desired by viewers and network executives alike. The pilot hints at some possibly fun spy drama and a hunt for a mole, but don’t expect too many shocks. That’d be beside the point."
And a third review highlighted the leads and character pull:
"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."
The early scorecard
On Rotten Tomatoes, CIA opened with an 80 percent critics score from five reviews. With only the pilot in circulation and more episodes about to roll out, expect that number to move as additional critics weigh in. For now, the show lands as a classic CBS play: solid casework, promising chemistry, and a spy edge that could sharpen as the season digs into its mole thread.