Eriq La Salle Exits CBS FBI Offshoot CIA Amid Production Changes

Eriq La Salle has exited his role as executive producer on CBS’s FBI spin-off series CIA, shortly after lead actress Michael Michele also departed. La Salle directed the pilot episode before leaving to focus on his writing career, including upcoming books in his Martyr Maker thriller series. The series, starring Tom Ellis as a rule-breaking CIA officer and Nick Gehlfuss as a by-the-book FBI agent, is set to premiere midseason 2025 despite these production changes. The show has undergone a showrunner change, with Warren Leight replacing David Hudgins, and Michele’s role as head of the CIA's New York Station may be recast. Natalee Linez also stars as a CIA analyst, and filming continues uninterrupted under executive producers Dick Wolf and Warren Leight. CIA represents CBS's next major procedural addition within the FBI franchise umbrella, aiming to spotlight the dynamics of two unlikely partners tackling national security threats.