Looks like CBS’s upcoming FBI spinoff, CIA, is already losing agents—both on-screen and behind the scenes.
Videos by Suggest
First off, Michael Michele, one of the series’ leads, has exited the show, according to Deadline. The series, led by Tom Ellis and Nick Gehlfuss, only just started production in September. While rumors of a recast are circulating, it’s currently unclear if they’ll be bringing in a new operative for the role.
Then, just yesterday, Deadline reported that ER legend Eriq La Salle has left the CBS spinoff series as executive producer.
The crime drama, which received a straight-to-series order in April, also underwent a showrunner change in July. Warren Leight took over from FBI: Most Wanted‘s David Hudgins.
CIA follows two mismatched partners: a loose-cannon CIA officer (Ellis) and a by-the-book FBI agent (Gehlfuss). Assigned to work together at the CIA’s New York Station, they investigate threats on U.S. soil and discover their differing styles can be a strength.
Michele portrayed the head of the CIA’s New York Station.
The CBS Spinoff Will Reportedly Be Unaffected by the Departures
CIA is executive produced by Dick Wolf, Leight, Nicole Perlman, David Chasteen, and Peter Jankowski. Michele’s collaboration with Wolf dates back to her first acting role, a recurring part in the first season of his show New York Undercover. She also had a recurring role in The Equalizer, another one of Wolf’s crime dramas.
Meanwhile, La Salle was attached to direct and executive produce the opening episode of CIA even before the showrunner change, and he did direct Episode 101 as planned. Filming, which began in September, continues unaffected by the departures, ahead of a midseason premiere on CBS.
Despite exiting the CBS series, the ER alum is keeping busy. La Salle recently signed a two-book deal with Sourcebooks, an imprint of Penguin Random House, for the fourth and fifth installments of his Martyr Maker thriller series. The fourth book is slated for release in September 2026. As he steps back from CIA, the Coming to America star will be focusing on his writing.