Tom Ellis' new American crime drama series is finally headed to UK screens. The Lucifer star leads the cast of CIA, a spin-off from CBS' popular FBI franchise.
Ellis stars as Colin Glass, a CIA case officer described as a rule-breaker and a loose cannon. The series follows his unlikely partnership with William "Bill" Randall Goodman (played by Nick Gehlfuss), a by-the-book FBI special agent.
The show's synopsis reads: "When this odd couple are assigned to work out of CIA’s New York Station, they must learn to work together to investigate cases and criminals posing threats on U.S. soil, finding that their differences may actually be their strength."
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CIA will land on Sky Witness and NOW on Thursday 23 July at 9pm, with new episodes dropping weekly.
The cast also includes NCIS: New Orleans' Necar Zadegan and Power Book III: Raising Kanan star Natalee Linez, who worked with Ellis on Hulu's Tell Me Lies.
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The series received an early season 2 renewal in March while season 1 was still airing in the US. However it has been met with mixed reviews from critics and currently holds a 63% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fangirlish.com wrote of the show: "CIA already has a good foundation to make us really, really invested. But the best procedurals, the ones that last, do a good job of making us care about the characters.
"Not just that, they keep us wanting more of at least one dynamic. CBS’s new procedural CIA, a spinoff of the FBI franchise, does just that."
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The Wrap said the show's pilot "hints at some possibly fun spy drama and a hunt for a mole", but adds: "Don’t expect too many shocks, that’d be beside the point."
While RogerEbert.com was less impressed, writing: "If you’re not going to make something new, you do at least need to make something quality. And an important part of quality is understanding the audience, moment, and subject matter. CIA does none of that."
CIA premieres on Sky Witness and NOW on Thursday 23 July at 9pm.
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Stephanie is a freelance news writer, who previously covered WWE and AEW for Digital Spy.
After graduating with a degree in history from Queen Mary University, London, she studied journalism at Birkbeck University.
Outside of her work at Digital Spy, she writes about pop culture, with a special focus towards Irish media and how it intersects with politics.
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