It’s a rainy day in New York City when Tom Ellis and Nick Gehlfuss step into the offices of Good Housekeeping.

I’ve been a fan of both actors for so long (Tom is famous for playing the Devil on Lucifer; Nick’s last gig was portraying Will Halstead on Chicago Med), it’s surreal for them to be sitting in front of me. The men are in the middle of promoting their new series, CIA, so after filming some social content and a quick photoshoot, it feels like the perfect time to talk about their current gig.

CIA follows FBI agent Bill Goodman (played by Nick) as he finds himself embedded in a CIA unit. He clashes with mysterious CIA agent Colin Glass (played by Tom) over their opposing approaches to the job—Bill leads by the book, while Colin thinks outside the box. Luckily, the yin-and-yang works well for solving crime, and makes for dynamic TV.

“You need characters at the center that the audience will love,” Tom tells me during his and Nick’s exclusive interview with GH. “If you have a show that’s going to run for a long time, the characters need a dynamic the audience can’t wait to watch every week. Bill and Colin’s opposing personalities is something people will love. Their relationship is the anchor of the show.”

Despite playing diametrically opposed characters on the CBS drama, I can’t help but notice how Tom and Nick’s off-screen rapport is nothing but love.

As they sip hot drinks (coffee for Tom, green tea for Nick), the two appear relaxed, chatting and joking easily. When I ask about their clear fondness for one another, Nick notes that the reason he and Tom jive on CIA is due to a bond that extends beyond the set.

“Our relationship is very different than the tension caused by the characters we play,” Nick says. “We laugh a lot, we have a similar brand of humor — it’s really great.”

“I agree,” Tom says. “Finally, we both found somebody who likes our jokes!”

In fact, Nick and Tom tease that they’ve been in sync from the get-go — they even got the same injury on the first day of filming.

“There’s a big moment in the first episode where Tom and I jump out of a van, and I pulled my right quad,” Nick says, cracking up. “It was the silliest mistake. I go over to Tom and say, ‘You’re not going to believe what I just did … I pulled my quad.’ He looks right at me and replies, ‘I did the same thing!’ That was definitely a bonding moment, right there.”

“Yes, exactly,” Tom says. “But at least we have two working quads when working together!”

As their friendship grows, the duo continues to film new episodes of CIA — they even headed to the set after our interview. And they hope their bond comes across to viewers.

“CIA is a grounded show, and the characters are more real-to-life than other roles Nick and I have played,” Tom says. “I think fans will fall in love with the concept and see how the relationship of these two very different men ebbs and flows — just like relationships that aren’t made for TV.”

“I agree,” Nick adds. “CIA brilliantly paired these two guys together, with different professions — and it works because they’re so different inherently. I’m having the time of my life filming with Tom, and I hope our dynamic resonates with people when they turn on the TV every Monday night.”

New episodes of CIA air every Monday at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.

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