‘CIA’ Star Natalee Linez on Balancing a Busy Schedule and Staying in the Dick Wolf Universe (Exclusive)

CIA star Natalee Linez spoke to PopCulture.com about how she’s been managing her busy schedule, and what sets the FBI offshoot apart from other Dick Wolf shows.

Linez portrays CIA Analyst Gina Gosian on CIA, which premieres on Monday at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.

The actress can most recently be seen in Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Tell Me Lies, and Chicago P.D., all within the last year or so. Raising Kanan and Tell Me Lies as recently as this year. While it seems like a lot to juggle, especially with CIA now in the mix, Linez revealed that everything “happens apart” so nothing was ever “filming at the same time.”

At least, not entirely. “I was filming Tell Me Lies, Chicago P.D., and Raising Kanan. And so the ADs on those shows would be in touch about flying me from different sets,” she explained. “I mean, as an actor, it was my dream. I was filming Tell Me Lies in Atlanta and then going to New York to film an episode of Raising Kanan. So if the days allow, I am so here for it.”

“Sometimes they overlap, and things can’t happen,” Linez continued. “But, no, I mean, it’s a dream come true because as an actor, you have so many days where nothing is happening. It ebbs and flows. And so when it rains, it pours kind of thing. I can actually probably speak for most actors. You’re excited. They’re like, ‘How do you handle it?’ It’s like, ‘Bro, I’ve been waiting for this for 10 years. I can handle it.’ So that’s kind of the energy around when I’m working a lot. I absolutely love it.”

Meanwhile, as previously mentioned, one of the shows that Linez has appeared on recently is fellow Dick Wolf drama Chicago P.D. Now that she’s coming from one series from the prolific producer to another, she revealed what it’s been like staying within the universe and how different CIA is.

“The great thing about CIA is, well, first of all, it’s a brand new story, brand new characters,” she said. “It’s technically a procedural. We’re gonna be having different ops every single week, introducing different stories. But there’s a through line throughout it all where we’re really gonna dive into every character and their personal life, their families. We’re gonna meet people in their life, go to their homes.”

“And I think that that is so cool to be a part of because it’s character-driven,” Linez explained. “And as an actor, you wanna be a part of a show that’s character-driven. So I think that is one unique thing about CIA that I don’t know the Dick Wolf universe has focused on as much as they want to focus on it in our show. So I feel really lucky about that.”

CIA is already setting itself apart from the FBI franchise by going the CIA route, so it only makes sense that it further sets itself apart from the rest of the Dick Wolf universe. Fans will just have to tune in on Monday at 10 p.m. ET on CBS to see for themselves.