“That’s part of his job”: CIA star Tom Ellis reveals he’ll have a ‘morally ambiguous’ character in the FBI spin-off

Ever since CBS announced that Tom Ellis will star in an FBI spin-off titled CIA, fans have been excited to see the Lucifer star’s foray into procedural dramas. The show was greenlit in April this year and is a part of CBS’s 2025-2026 release schedule.

It will follow a case officer and an FBI agent, who have starkly different personalities and methods of operation, but have to team up for some high-stakes missions. Ellis will play the case officer, Hart Hoxton, who does not like to play by the book.

The actor has now opened up about his character in the upcoming show, revealing that Hart is a morally ambiguous man who does not shy away from deceiving and lying to accomplish his missions. He said in an interview with TVLine:

"He’s someone who, like many people who work for the CIA, has to use guile and deceit and lies to get what he wants. So there’s a large dose of moral ambiguity that comes with him, but that’s part of his job. So whilst that is, you know, not great for people in actual life, for a TV audience, it's wonderful entertainment. So, yeah.”

Tom Ellis talks about his character in the FBI spin-off, CIA

Further revealing some details about Hart Hoxton, Tom Ellis said he is an experienced officer, but his job is not as exciting as his colleagues' at the intelligence agency:

“He is an experienced field officer from the CIA, but he finds himself stuck in what some CIA agents might think was the boring end of the job in, you know, on home soil in New York.”

Ellis also talked about how the spin-off will be different from the FBI. He said that while the new series will follow the same procedural format as its predecessor, it will focus on the theme of two agencies working in collaboration, something that could have prevented a tragedy like 9/11:

“No, it’s, I mean, obviously, we’re going to work in the world of the procedural format that we’ve set up on FBI. I think what we’re looking to do is explore the notion of why these agencies don’t normally work together. And I think David Hudgins is writing the show.”

He added:

“Part of his inspiration for it was the fact that after 9/11, it became very apparent, if these agencies were a bit more collaborative with each other, then they could have, like avoided that, for example. And what they learned from that is that maybe if they shared a bit more information, they could do that.”

The show marks the third spin-off in the FBI franchise after Most Wanted and International, both of which were canceled by CBS in March this year. Meanwhile, the mothership FBI series continues to air and will be joined by the CIA this fall. Apart from Ellis, no other cast member has been confirmed for the show as of now.

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