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The Agency is a CBS television drama about the inner workings of the CIA. Michael Frost Beckner conceived the show, and Michael Frost Beckner, Shaun Cassidy Productions, and Radiant Productions executive produced it in collaboration with Universal Network Television and CBS Productions. It ran for two seasons, from September27, 2001 through May17, 2003. It included never-before-seen footage from the actual CIA headquarters. The show was contentious because of its investigation of current international politics and its depiction of the ethical conflicts inherent in intelligence operations. Beckner's pilot script, written in March2001, envisioned a re-invented CIA entrusted with waging a "War on Terror" when Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist network planned a deadly attack on the West. The pilot was scheduled to premiere at CIA Headquarters on September18,2001, and to screen on CBS on September21,2001; however, the actual 9/11 events forced the network to postpone the pilot and instead air a later episode. That initial episode was later televised as the third episode of the first season. The terrorist attacks of September11, 2001 transformed the way Americans perceived topical entertainment, and "The Agency" was one of the most topical offerings on network television at the time. The series' producers responded promptly to this new American perspective on foreign affairs, but CBS elected to cancel the show shortly after the final episode of the second season.