CIA: Chicago Med alum Nick Gehlfuss onboards the cast of upcoming FBI spin-off alongside Michael Michele 

Nick Gehlfuss, best known for playing Dr Will Halstead on Chicago Med was announced as a series regular on CBS’s upcoming FBI spinoff, CIA. The casting notice names Michael Michele as a co-star and Tom Ellis as the project’s lead.

The show is set at the CIA’s New York station and centers on a pair of agents from different agencies who must work together. Gehlfuss will play a rule-focused FBI agent whose emphasis on procedure contrasts with Ellis’s character, a fast-talking case officer.

Michele is cast as the Central Intelligence Agency supervisor who manages both agents. The casting frames the series as a story about two very different approaches to the same threats; with attention on how personal styles affect teamwork and outcomes.

Casting that pairs two different kinds of agents

Gehlfuss’s role is described as methodical and by the book, which sets him against Ellis’s maverick CIA officer. That contrast is central to the show’s setup: two agencies, two viewpoints, and pressure to cooperate on domestic threats handled out of a Central Intelligence Agency station in New York. Michele’s character is meant to hold the team together while also navigating political and operational pressures.

Series development and schedule

The project was developed earlier in 2025 and at one point carried the working title FBI: CIA. Plans shifted so the show will now launch as a standalone series in midseason 2026 instead of debuting through a crossover on FBI.

The series also underwent a showrunner change in recent months, with Warren Leight stepping in as showrunner after David Hudgins backed out. Production and scheduling adjustments led CBS to move the premiere window.

What this casting means for the actors?

For Gehlfuss, the move puts him in a new TV universe while he also reportedly makes a guest return to Chicago Med’s upcoming season. That suggests he will balance a brief comeback to the medical drama with a longer commitment to the new series.

Michele brings recent crime-drama experience and a history of strong supporting roles, which fits the supervisory part she will play on CIA. These shifts are typical when actors move from one long-running show to a new franchise entry.

How will CIA fit into the FBI franchise?

The original FBI series began in 2018 and has since spawned other spinoffs. Two earlier spinoffs, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, were canceled before the CIA moved forward.

With a different launch approach and fresh casting, CIA represents CBS’s next attempt to expand that franchise while changing how a spinoff can start, not through a backdoor pilot, but as its own entry. The new series will reveal how a show focused on interagency dynamics performs in a crowded procedural field.

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The casting announcement narrows some questions about tone and focus. With Gehlfuss’s steady agent opposite Ellis’s brash officer and Michele supervising, the show looks set to explore teamwork under strain rather than rely on crossover ties to other series. Viewers can expect the first episodes in midseason 2026, when CBS places the show on its schedule.

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