CIA Series Review: Just Another Crime Drama

The procedural is exactly what it sounds like, and somehow that’s fine

I’ll be real with you.

When I saw that CBS dropped yet another procedural crime drama, my eyes rolled so hard I nearly lost them. We are not lacking for FBI adjacent shows with brooding partners who hate each other until they don’t. And yet here I am, having watched CIA, a show that is exactly as generic as its name suggests and somehow still not completely terrible.

The premise is painfully simple. Colin Glass is a rule-breaking, charm-oozing CIA case officer played by Tom Ellis, whom I would watch read terms and conditions without blinking.

His new partner is Bill Goodman, a by-the-book FBI agent who looks like he irons his socks. They’re thrown together in a New York task force to hunt domestic threats before they become disasters. They clash. Their differences become their strength. Nobody saw that coming.

TMJ Rating: 🍿🍿🍿/5

What’s Actually Going On Here

The CIA Series is a Dick Wolf production, which means it runs like a well-oiled procedural machine. Slick editing, punchy dialogue, stakes that feel urgent without ever being genuinely scary.

If you’ve watched FBI or Law and Order, you already know exactly how this works. CIA doesn’t reinvent anything. It photocopies the blueprint and hands it to Tom Ellis with a British accent.

And here’s the thing. Tom Ellis is genuinely carrying this show on his back. The man has charisma that should be studied in a lab somewhere. His Colin Glass is confident and morally flexible in ways that are actually interesting. He makes the grey areas feel lived-in rather than performative.

Marc would probably find him annoying. Marc would be wrong.

Nick Gail Fouse as Goodman is fine. He does exactly what the character asks, which is to be the serious one, while Ellis gets to be interesting. Their dynamic works well enough in the pilot that I didn’t actively want them to stop talking, which, for a show like this counts as a win.

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What Makes the CIA Series Different

The odd couple energy has genuine sparks. The writing leans into humor more than I expected for a CBS procedural, and it mostly lands. The dialogue is sharp when it needs to be.

There’s a scene early on where Glass and Goodman are arguing about methodology mid-chase that made me laugh, which I was not prepared for.

The crossover elements with the existing FBI universe are a nice touch too. Jeremy Systo showing up in the premiere gives it connective tissue without making it feel like a sales pitch.

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What’s Not Going Great

The setting is New York because apparently CBS doesn’t know other cities exist. The villain of the week structure is as predictable as a Taylor Swift bridge hitting different at 2 AM. The show takes zero risks with its premise and seems deeply comfortable with that choice.

There’s also nothing here that will linger. You’ll watch it, enjoy it well enough, and forget most of it by the next morning. It’s competent television dressed up as something edgier than it is.

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My Final Verdict: Should You Watch It?

CIA is reheated leftovers. Not bad ones, genuinely decent ones, but still leftovers.

Tom Ellis makes it worth turning on, and the chemistry between the leads has room to grow. If you’re a procedural girlie who just wants something easy on a Monday night, this will absolutely do the job.

Are you team rule-breaker or team by the book? Tell me in the comments.