The newest drama from executive producer Dick Wolf arrived on CBS on February 23, 2026, and it kicked off with a twist that changes everything for the main characters. CIA brings together two very different agents who must learn to work together, but the premiere episode titled “Directed Energy” dropped a bombshell in its final moments. What starts as a simple crossover assignment turns into something much bigger when FBI Agent Bill Goodman (Nick Gehlfuss) learns he has a second, secret job: find the mole hiding within the CIA’s New York operation.
The series premiere introduced viewers to CIA Officer Colin Glass (Tom Ellis) and Bill Goodman, two men who approach their work very differently. Their first meeting gets off to a rough start when Colin lies to Bill about who he is at a crime scene, pretending to be from the Department of Defense. This sets the tone for their partnership, built on secrets and suspicion from day one. But the biggest secret of all comes to light only after their first case wraps up, changing Bill’s entire reason for being there.
The Setup: An Unlikely Partnership Forms
Colin Glass needs an FBI agent for a fusion cell operating on U.S. soil. He tells his boss, Deputy Chief of Station Nikki Reynard (Necar Zadegan), that he just needs someone with a badge and a pulse. His previous partner, Chuck, let him do whatever he wanted. But Nikki makes it clear that this time will be different. She wants someone who will push back and ask questions .
Bill Goodman fits that description perfectly. Throughout the premiere episode, he calls Colin out for lying and keeping important information from him. Colin hides details to protect his asset and that asset’s romantic partner, which frustrates Bill to no end. But despite the friction, Bill also sees the value in Colin’s approach. He backs Colin’s plan and supports using his asset to get the job done.
By the end of the case, the two men start to find some common ground. Bill explains that he has been burned before, which is why he struggles to trust anyone. Colin sees this as a positive, noting that someone who understands trust issues might actually be worth trusting. Bill even wonders aloud if they might have been friends under different circumstances .
But that moment of connection gets complicated quickly.
The Final Scene: A Secret Assignment Revealed
After the case wraps up, Bill meets with FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine (Jeremy Sisto), who delivers surprising news. Bill is being permanently detailed to the fusion cell. The CIA needs him there full-time. But Jubal has another reason for keeping Bill inside the CIA building .
FBI counterintelligence believes there is a mole operating within the CIA’s New York branch. Someone on the inside is leaking information, and it is Bill’s job to find out who. Jubal tells him to become one of them, to get in deep so he can uncover the truth. This assignment puts Bill in an impossible position. He must build relationships with people while secretly investigating them .
Nick Gehlfuss explains that this secret mission goes against everything Bill Goodman stands for. “He is an honest man, through and through. He’s a good man; I mean, it really is right in the name,” Gehlfuss says. Being told to lie to his new colleagues creates real conflict for the character. “The whole lying aspect is really what bumps up against him,” the actor adds. Hiding his true purpose does not come naturally to someone as straightforward as Bill .
What the Mole Hunt Means for the Season
Showrunner Mike Weiss confirms that finding the mole will drive the entire first season. The mystery will “thread throughout, sometimes in tiny little portions, and then by the end of the season we’re going to fully embrace that storyline” . But viewers should not expect answers right away. Some episodes might barely mention the mole hunt at all.
“There’s going to be an episode midway through the season that makes it very clear, ‘Oh no, there’s a leak, and that’s dangerous.’ People can get killed if information leaks out of the New York station,” Weiss warns .
For Bill and Colin, the mole hunt serves a bigger purpose. It tests their relationship at every turn. Weiss describes the season arc as moving “from grudging trust to maybe huge mistrust” before they finally understand each other. The audience will constantly wonder if Colin could be the mole. If he is, what does that mean for Bill, who must work beside him every day? And if there is a good reason for Colin to leak information, does that change anything ?
Bill’s existing trust issues make this situation even harder. He cannot trust anyone on his new team, but he also cannot do his job without some level of cooperation. Gehlfuss notes that “if he’s searching for that, he’s not necessarily going to find it. Although he feels like he can trust Colin. But can he? I think he’s constantly questioning himself, which has got to be the most uncomfortable way to live” .
The Cast Reacts to the Mole Mystery
The actors themselves do not know who the mole is, which adds to the fun of making the show. Necar Zadegan admits she got excited when she read about the mole storyline. “I was like, what if Nikki’s the mole? I don’t know who the mole is yet, but we’ll find out” . She enjoys the suspicion that surrounds all the characters, noting that they are “always sleeping with one eye open” .
Natalee Linez, who plays CIA analyst Gina Gosian, has her own theories. “We genuinely don’t know who the mole is,” she shares. “I feel as though it could be someone that we haven’t met yet, right? Because I’m like, ‘I just don’t know.’ There was a thought where I was like, ‘Is it me?’ You never know anything’s possible” .
If Gina ever found out about Bill’s secret mission, Linez thinks she would react badly. “She would hate it. She would be like, this is why I didn’t like you from [the start]. She definitely doesn’t fully trust Bill yet, so maybe there’s a dynamic there. But yeah, she would be not OK with it and it would take a really long time to earn any sort of trust back” .
Why Bill Goodman Is the Right Person for This Job
Mike Weiss explains why Bill was chosen for this difficult assignment. “He’s true blue and hard to manipulate. Bill is a great interrogator and investigator and he’s dogged. He will not stop until he gets an answer no matter how uncomfortable that answer might be” .
Bill does not appear to be someone carrying deep secrets, but Weiss points out that he is capable of undercover work. The challenge comes from the fact that Bill must maintain this cover while building real working relationships. “He doesn’t appear to be a guy who has a deep well of secrets kind of rippling below the surface, but he’s capable of undercover work” .
The premiere establishes that Bill has been burned before, which makes him cautious. That caution might serve him well as he navigates this new assignment. He knows what happens when trust is misplaced, and he carries those lessons with him into the fusion cell.
The Mystery Will Be Solved
Viewers who hate waiting years for answers can relax. Mike Weiss promises that the mole mystery will not drag on forever. “It is a season-long mystery that will get answered and completely put to bed by the end of season 1, I promise” .
If the show continues beyond the first season, Weiss wants to keep some serialized storytelling elements. “I would love to be able to do that. Sometimes it gets hard on a 22-episode show to do one long season-long mystery. It’s just too much story. So I think that going forward, I would love to thread through mysteries that are too complicated to deal with in one week” .
The show also has a different visual style than other procedurals in the Dick Wolf lineup. Weiss describes it as having “a little bit more shadow in the frame, a little bit more mystery,” which fits the subject matter perfectly .
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Where to Watch CIA
CIA airs on CBS on Mondays at 10/9c. The series premiere is now available for streaming on Paramount+ for viewers who missed it or want to watch again. The show joins the growing Dick Wolf franchise on the network, bringing spy thriller elements to the procedural format.
International viewers should check local listings, as CBS programs typically become available on Paramount+ in various regions, including the UK, Canada, Australia, and India, though release dates may vary by territory.
The premiere sets up a season full of suspicion, trust issues, and the constant question of who cannot be trusted. With the mole’s identity unknown even to the cast, viewers can speculate along with everyone else. Is it Colin, whose job requires keeping secrets? Is it Nikki, who runs the whole operation? Could it be Gina or someone we have not even met yet? The answers will come, but not until the season reaches its end.
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