The One Chicago's fourth show. CBS' police procedural franchise kicked off in September 2018 with the premiere of FBI, created by Dick Wolf and Craig Turk. As its name implies, the series follows a group of FBI agents working in New York City. Given its success with critics and ratings, CBS ordered a spinoff — FBI: Most Wanted, which premiered in January 2020 after its backdoor pilot in FBI in April 2019.
New episodes of FBI premiere on Tuesdays at 8 pm ET on CBS, while FBI: International airs directly afterward at 9 pm ET and FBI: Most Wanted follows at 10 pm ET.
FBI: Most Wanted revolves around the FBI's New York Fugitive Task Force (FTF), which tracks the country's most dangerous criminals who find themselves on the bureau's Most Wanted list. The first spinoff was also successful, meaning CBS greenlit a second spinoff — FBI: International. Although the third series in the franchise didn't get a backdoor pilot, its first episode (which aired in September 2021) concluded a crossover that began in the FBI season 4 premiere and continued in the FBI: Most Wanted season 3 premiere. Now, four years later, CBS is ready to add another show to the FBI franchise.
FBI Is Launching A New Spinoff — FBI CIA
The New Spinoff's Backdoor Pilot Will Air In The Spring
Per new FBI spinoff is in development at CBS called FBI: CIA. The fourth TV show in the FBI universe will chronicle the complicated relationship between a "dedicated, strait-laced" FBI special agent and a "street-smart" CIA agent. They team up in the spinoff due to the creation of a covert task force that focuses on domestic terrorism cases in and around New York City. Unfortunately, more details about the two characters have yet to be revealed.
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CBS is in the process of casting three FBI: CIA series regulars as of the writing of this article. It's assumed that two of them will play the aforementioned FBI and CIA agents, while the third role is unknown. Thankfully, fans will know more come the spring of 2025 when CBS airs FBI: CIA's backdoor pilot in an episode of FBI season 7. If the network orders the spinoff to series, FBI: CIA's first season will air during the 2025–2026 TV season.
Wolf Entertainment's Last 4th Franchise Spinoff Was One Chicago's Failed Chicago Justice
Chicago Justice Was Canceled After 1 Season
Of course, the FBI franchise adding a fourth show to its repertoire is thrilling for many fans. However, considering what happened when the One Chicago universe (also produced by Wolf Entertainment) grew with a fourth series, the spinoff's fate (and how it will affect FBI as a whole) is quite worrisome. NBC has experienced much success with the One Chicago shows — Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med. Consequently, the network greenlit a fourth series, Chicago Justice, but it epically failed.
One Chicago TV Show |
Season(s) |
Episodes |
Creators |
Backdoor Pilot Premiere Date |
Release Date |
Finale Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chicago Fire |
13 |
263 |
Michael Brandt and Derek Haas |
N/A |
October 10, 2012 |
TBD |
Chicago PD |
12 |
232 |
Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead |
May 15, 2013 |
January 8, 2014 |
TBD |
Chicago Med |
10 |
187 |
Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead |
April 7, 2015 |
November 17, 2015 |
TBD |
Chicago Justice |
1 |
13 |
Dick Wolf |
May 11, 2016 |
March 1, 2017 |
May 14, 2017 |
Chicago Justice centered around the State's Attorney team of prosecutors and investigators in Chicago. Its backdoor pilot took place in Chicago PD season 3 in May 2016 before its pilot premiered in March 2017. Unfortunately, Chicago Justice had a short run. It only released 13 episodes before NBC canceled the series due to low ratings, lack of sustainability, and the need for more space in the network's lineup for other shows.
Jon Seda, who played Antonio Dawson, was a series regular in One Chicago's first spinoff but transferred to Chicago Justice when his character ed the State's Attorney's office.
In addition to ending the series, Chicago Justice's cancelation affected Chicago PD. Jon Seda, who played Antonio Dawson, was a series regular in One Chicago's first spinoff but transferred to Chicago Justice when his character ed the State's Attorney's office. After the series' cancelation, Chicago PD tried reintegrating Antonio into the Intelligence Unit. But, the execution was clunky, and Antonio ultimately exited Chicago PD after season 6.
How FBI CIA Can Prevent Running Into The Same Issues That Chicago Justice Did
The Spinoff Must Learn From Its Predecessors
The FBI franchise has to learn from One Chicago's mistakes concerning a fourth series. It would be for the best if no existing characters in the universe ed the cast of FBI: CIA, so as not to significantly interfere with the other shows. Additionally, the spinoff has to have a similar tone to the other FBI series.
The difficulty lies in finding the perfect balance between new and familiar for the new FBI spinoff.
Chicago Justice was too different from Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med, and contained dull stories, meaning it wasn't appealing to the franchise's established audience. FBI: CIA must also bring something new and intriguing to the table. The difficulty lies in finding the perfect balance between new and familiar for the new FBI spinoff.
- Writers
- Dick Wolf
- Creator(s)
- Dick Wolf, Craig Turk
Source: TVLine
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