With CBS' FBI Shows Featuring Less Of Fan Favorites Next Season, Here's What Stars Told Us About Getting Renewed
Another season of FBI action on CBS has come to an end, with all three shows fortunately guaranteed at least one more season. That doesn't mean that everything will be the same when the series return for the fall 2024 TV schedule, and not just because FBI: International lost leading man Luke Kleintank. Both FBI and FBI: Most Wanted will feature less of their series regulars, which isn't the greatest news, but revisiting how excited the stars have been when speaking to CinemaBlend about the renewals certainly makes for a silver lining.
Changes For FBI And Most Wanted In Fall 2024
Just like what happened with One Chicago and the Law & Order shows on NBC elsewhere in the nine-show Dick Wolf TV universe, episode counts are being cuts for series regulars for two of the three FBI dramas on CBS. Deadline reports that the regulars of FBI and Most Wanted will appear in two fewer episodes than usual for the 2024-2025 TV season, as a means to cut costs as they continue. Most Wanted (as well as International) was renewed for one more season; FBI was renewed for another three.
The drop in episode counts means that the series regulars will be paid for each of the episodes that they appear in, rather than paid for the full season, which is generally 22 episodes in the Dick Wolf universe, strikes and pandemic shutdowns notwithstanding. The series regular absences will presumably be staggered throughout the next season, like what happened with the Wolf shows on NBC.
FBI and Most Wanted are affected while International is not is reportedly due to the higher costs of the two shows that film in the U.S. that already have star power, including Missy Peregrym, Jeremy Sisto, and Alana De La Garza on the original series and Dylan McDermott, Edwin Hodge, and Keisha Castle-Hughes on the first spinoff. International simply isn't as pricy.
So, while the idea of the two most senior FBI shows missing some of its regulars from time to time isn't the best news, there's no reason to dread a dip in quality for the 2024-2025 TV schedule. After all, Missy Peregrym was absent for a few episodes toward the end of Season 6, and that didn't stop the show from charging towards an exciting ending. Still, if you need a pick-me-up, read on for what several franchise stars told CinemaBlend about their shows being renewed!
Cast Members Shared Their Excitement
FBI got the biggest renewal of the three, with a guarantee of another three seasons to take the show through to Season 9. This marked the second multi-season renewal in the show's history. I spoke with Zeeko Zaki, who plays OA, earlier this month about the big can of worms opened for his character, and he also shared what it was like on set when the renewal news broke:
It definitely perked things up on set. It was funny because... every day, you're thinking 'Okay, this is the scene. You gotta bring it.' And once I got that release, I was like, 'Oh my God, I wish they waited until the season was over because I don't even know. I can't even comprehend it.' It's unbelievable and it just validates everything that everybody that is a part of the show does and puts into it and the audience, and it's just an absolute honor to be a part of something that has been so well received, and that's working so well.
FBI was renewed for another two seasons back in 2022, but even that didn't fully prepare the actor for the feeling of being guaranteed another three just a couple of years later. Zaki went on:
I was like, 'Guys, you didn't need to do three! Two would have been mind-blowing in itself in this era!' [laughs] It's just so exciting and hopefully it just gets us the opportunity to really lean on our instincts in the direction the show's going and kind of just go for it even more.
The future of TV shows definitely isn't certain in this era, as a number of CBS shows were axed this spring, including CSI: Vegas and So Help Me Todd. Katherine Renee Kane, whose Tiff had to face some demons in the FBI Season 6 finale, echoed Zeeko Zaki's sentiment and said to CinemaBlend:
It's kind of crazy, but really great... I think people were shocked because it's not really heard of, but felt very proud because they put in hours every day. People in the crew, people in the cast. I mean, everybody was really, really excited about having the opportunity to come back three more seasons. It's a blessing.
While FBI was the only one of the three shows to get a multi-season renewal this spring, Most Wanted and International's casts still have the job security looking ahead to the fall. Edwin Hodge, whose Ray Cannon got a very happy ending with a wedding twist to conclude Most Wanted Season 5, told me:
Listen, anybody getting that renewal, it's a great day. This is a job that in general could be here one day and gone the next. And we just really have to live in the moment each day on set, be very appreciative of our position, knowing that there's other people out there who are vying to be in our position in the industry, whether it's a guest star or whether there's a lead, we have to step on that set grateful every day. So to get another pickup, it just means that everybody's doing the job that we need to do, that we are connecting to the audience in the way that we need to connect with them. And they like us so much that they want to keep us around. So respectfully, I just thank you guys. Thank the fans, you know, we're coming back.
Edwin Hodge made sure to say a "thank you" to fans, who have supported Most Wanted through a number of cast changes over the years, including when the originally top-billed star exited in a gruesome twist for his character. (R.I.P. Jess.) As for FBI: International, while that show isn't cutting episodes for series regulars for 2024-2025, actress Eva-Jane Willis was just as excited about the renewal when I asked about getting the news before Season 3 had finished filming. After sharing what never gets old about working on FBI: International, she said this about the Season 4 news:
We were busy filming Episode 11, and that was when we found out. They like to keep us guessing. [laughs] But we were all very relieved and very excited to find out... When you get to the end of a long season, there's such a mixture of feelings. Everyone's tired, relieved, excited, summer's coming. But it's always good to know that when we say goodbye at the end of the season, it's not for good. That we're going to be seeing each other again very soon.
All three FBI shows will return to CBS' Tuesday nights in the fall. While the network has not yet released the premiere date, the lineup will remain the same: FBI at 8 p.m. ET, FBI: International at 9 p.m. ET, and FBI: Most Wanted at 10 p.m. ET. For now, you can revisit past episodes of the FBI-verse streaming with a Paramount+ subscription.
