The Dick Wolf TV universe is expanding once again in the 2026 TV schedule, with CIA joining FBI on Monday nights after FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International were cancelled. Details about the new series have gone back and forth on how closely tied CIA will be to FBI, with all signs seemingly pointing towards two different worlds. Now, CBS dropped some exciting news: an FBI character is crossing over in the series premiere to officially connect the two shows.
The freshman drama stars Lucifer's Tom Ellis as the only somewhat devilish CIA Agent Colin Glass and Chicago Med's Nick Gehlfuss in his return to the Wolf world to play FBI Agent Bill Goodman. Since plans for CIA to launch as an FBI backdoor pilot were scrapped (along with the dubious title of FBI: CIA), Gehlfuss' character never appeared in the parent show, and the original showrunner told CinemaBlend "it is its own show," there seemed to be as strong a line between FBI and CIA as between FBI and Law & Order.
Now, however, the series premiere description from CBS confirms that none other than Jeremy Sisto will guest star as Jubal Valentine after surviving his fall finale nightmare. Take a look at what the episode will deliver:
When a top-secret weapon is stolen in broad daylight from a U.S. defense contractor, CIA agent Colin Glass is paired with FBI agent Bill Goodman to investigate. Their new partnership gets off to a rocky start, but they soon realize their opposing viewpoints may be their greatest asset, on the series premiere of CIA.
Before you get too excited, it's entirely possible that Jubal's appearance will basically amount to a cameo over video call, which was how Jeremy Sisto (and Alana De La Garza) often contributed to FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted. He didn't appear in the first look at the new series' odd couple. Still, whether Jubal appears for a few moments or in several scenes, his involvement in the case that brings CIA Agent Glass and FBI Agent Goodman together officially means that FBI and CIA will both be operating in the same fictional version of New York City.
This initially seemed like a possibility after rumors began to circulate that FBI showrunner Mike Weiss would be stepping into that role at CIA after the new show lost its latest showrunner, but Weiss was also firm to CinemaBlend early in the 2025-2026 TV schedule about a "a bright line between those two universes" when it comes to the idea of crossovers between FBI and Law & Order.
Whatever the future holds, fans of these shows can always revel in the fact that all of the current installments that fall under the Wolf Entertainment banner very technically do exist in the same TV universe. Thanks to One Chicago crossing over with Law & Order: SVU in 2014 and then Chicago P.D.'s Tracy Spiridakos crossing over to FBI in 2020, there is a bridge between Law & Order, One Chicago, FBI, and now CIA. It's a rickety, rarely-traveled bridge, but it's there!
Don't count on anybody from Law & Order or the CBS shows turning up in the upcoming One Chicago crossover event, however, and I'm not anticipating any major two-parters between FBI and CIA. Still, I'm looking forward to seeing Jeremy Sisto in the series premiere of the two show, and it's too soon to say anything about how closely tied the two CBS entries will be at this point.
The weeks are counting down until CBS' Monday nights start to involve a lot more crime-fighting. CIA will premiere on Monday, February 23 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, following the midseason premiere of FBI with wedding bells ringing. Nick Gehlfuss and Tom Ellis' show will be replacing Watson on Mondays, with the medical drama moving back to Sunday nights.
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