Having noted the enduring popularity of the original The Professionals, TV producer David Wickes pitched a revival of the series. The result was CI5: The New Professionals, aired on Sky One for the Fall 1999 TV seasons.
The series told the adventures of new Criminal Intelligence 5 head Harry Malone (Edward Woodward) and his top operatives: Chris Keel (Kal Weber), Sam Curtis (Colin Wells), and Tina "Backup" Backus (Lexa Doig). Plots took on a bigger scale as the CI5 now operated internationally and in direction cooperation with the CIA. Many of the stories involved the perils of operating on someone else's turf. In compliance with its new M.O., the CI5 was now Multinational Team, with Chris and Tina being loans from the Navy Seals and the Canadian Intelligence Service respectively.
The New Professionals stayed faithful to the original's premise of operatives fighting against terrorists, international hitmen, high-powered criminals, and other threats above the means of regular law enforcement. The production team was adamant that the series would not "remain frozen in time" and as such stories dealt with themes relevant to the late 90's such as the aftershocks of Yugoslavia's balkanization, poaching and the activities of the Russian mafia.
Despite enthusiastic involvement from original series creator Brian Clemens (who wrote nine of the show's episodes), The New Professionals only lasted for a single series of 13 episodes. The show has been released on DVD in the UK and Australia, and is streaming in North America on Tubi and Prime Video.
'CI5: The New Professionals'' contains examples of:
- Break Out the Museum Piece: The final episode "Glory Days" has the Russian Mafia restore the anti-aircraft guns on a decommissioned battleship to assassinate the US president.
- Car Meets House: The Dynamic Entry of our heroes in the pilot episode has them smashing a train engine through the doors of a train carriage shed to stop a gang of kidnappers from shooting their hostages.
- Continuity Nod: Doyle is referenced in "Back to Business" when Chris makes a joke about giving himself a curly haircut, to which Sam responds that the CI5 actually had an agent like that.
- Dying Clue: "Back to Business" has a CI5 agent uncover intel on a plot to bomb a nuclear non-proliferation meeting and get grievously wounded in the escape attempt. He eventually wakes up and makes a chickenscratch drawing supposed to inform the other agents the location of the meeting. Most of the episode is spent trying to decipher it.
- Evil Poacher: "Tusk Force" has CI5 after ivory hunters in Africa.
- Explosive Stupidity: In the final episode the villains jump into a truck full of munitions to escape CI5. A mook grabs a revolver grenade launcher to use against our heroes but it doesn't work. He starts fiddling with it and the launcher (which is pointed down at his feet at the time), fires and blows the truck up.
- Impersonating an Officer: "Miss Hit" has the Italian mafia use an inside man to bump off a FBI agent who was assigned to assist the CI5 in finding a man in witness protection, and replace her with one of their own operatives so that they can kill the witness.
- Mistaken for Aliens: In "Orbit" a former Cold War scientist is selling control of a laser-armed Kill Sat. To obfuscate his testing of the weapon, and demonstration for an Arms Dealer he's selling it to, he has a couple of his men spread stories of UFO's. In the end everyone gets their just deserts, including the arms dealer who's arrested by CI5 for being an illegal alien.
- Organ Theft: The subject of "Choice Cuts".
- Right-Wing Militia Fanatic: One lead by a disgraced U.S colonel dedicated to riding America of pornographers, criminals and the enemy within, is the antagonist of "First Strike".
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In "Phoenix", a legendary hitman who was thought to have been assassinated in a black operation reemerges and bumps off the men that tried to kill him.
- Serial Killings, Specific Target: In "Phoenix", the CI5 figures out Phoenix's revenge tour is a cover for his actual assignment, which is to assassinate a Swedish politician lobbying to seize assets of the Libyan government.
- You Cloned Hitler!: "Souvenirs" has a group of British neo-Nazis attempt to clone Hitler.
- Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: In "Choice Cuts", a religious counselor at a homeless shelter turns out to be the surgeon in an organ harvesting operation targeting vagrants.