EXCLUSIVE: Dick Wolf’s new CBS drama series F.B.I. is recasting a co-starring role. The part, Ellen, was played in the pilot by Connie Nielsen.

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F.B.I., a co-production between Universal Television and CBS TV Studios, chronicles the inner workings of the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Ellen is FBI Special Agent in Charge. A deeply respected boss, she is elegant, cultured, and operates under massive pressure – political, public and self-imposed. She deals by being highly organized and disarmingly direct. She’ll do anything for her agents who earn it, and is impossible to intimidate.

The cast of the show includes Missy Peregrym, Zeeko Zaki, Jeremy Sisto and Ebonée Noel who all were on stage today during CBS’ upfront presentation. The series landed the plum post-NCIS Tuesday slot on CBS’ fall schedule.

Nielsen previously did an arc on Wolf’s Law & Order: SVU in 2006, filling in for star Mariska Hargitay while she was on a maternity leave.

Craig Turk wrote the pilot episode for F.B.I. and will serve as executive producer/showrunner. Wolf, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski also executive produce. Niels Oplev directed the pilot.

F.B.I. is one of several new CBS series that are undergoing recasting. Drama series The Code is recasting the roles played by Dave Annable and Mira Sorvino in the pilot; and Max Greenfield was just cast as a lead in comedy The Neighborhood, replacing Josh Lawson, who played the role in the pilot.