How do a mismatched pair of agents–one from the CIA and another from the FBI–team up to solve difficult cases in the heart of New York City? CIA is the perfect odd-couple drama, with a classic Dick Wolf procedural twist.
The series stars Tom Ellis as CIA Officer Colin Glass, a loose canon forced to team up with a by-the-books FBI agent, played by Nick Gehlfuss. Somehow the duo have to find a way to work together, but for Ellis, joining the series was an easy decision for the chance to work with Wolf.
“[He’s] a bit of a ledge, as we say back home,” Ellis said, “and he knows how to make good TV shows.”
“I was quite overwhelmed meeting him… but he was really sweet,” Ellis recalled, adding that the producer was “incredibly welcoming”.
Wolf’s success is legendary. Since 1988 he’s created, co-created, and executive produced over 40 television series and specials, and Ellis sees why audiences love them.
“I think there’s a comfort for an audience member, of knowing how this goes down, and not the end result, but how this thing works,” he said. “So you feel safe in it, and also you feel included in it, as an audience member, because it’s part of your job to help solve it, and work your way through it with the characters.”
“I think there’s something beautifully addictive about that, and he has really tapped into the vein of how–in the best possible way–formulaic procedural dramas can work, and he has proven himself to be the king of it.”
Watch the full interview above for more from the conversation, including how Ellis researched the role, with ex-CIA agents, and what he thinks about doing his own stunts for TV, when he can.
“I think the older I get, the less stunts I’ll do. I’m the opposite of Tom Cruz,” he joked. “I will maximize my stunt double as much as possible.”
New episodes of CIA air Tuesdays on Global in Canada, and on CBS in the U.S.
Featured photo by W. Andrew Powell/The GATE, episode photo by Mark Schafer/CBS.
