FBI (TV series)


FBI is an American crime drama television series created by Dick Wolf and Craig Turk that airs on CBS, where it premiered on September 25, 2018. The series is produced by CBS Television Studios and Universal Television, with Wolf, Arthur W. Forney, Peter Jankowski, and Turk serving as executive producers.
The series features an ensemble cast including Missy Peregrym, Zeeko Zaki, Jeremy Sisto, Ebonée Noel, Sela Ward and Alana de la Garza. FBI received a straight-to-series commission for 13 episodes on September 20, 2017. On October 11, 2018, it was announced that the series had received a full season order from CBS. In January 2019, CBS renewed the series for a second season; which premiered on September 24, 2019.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, filming was curtailed of the final three episodes of season two. Episode 19, "Emotional Rescue", will serve as the season finale. CBS has not confirmed whether the remaining three episodes will be aired. In May 2020, CBS renewed the series for a third season.

Premise

The series centers on inner workings of the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This elite unit brings to bear all their talents, intellect, and technical expertise on major cases in order to keep New York and the country safe. Born into a multi-generational law enforcement family, Special Agent Maggie Bell commits deeply to the people she works with as well as those she protects. Her partner is Special Agent Omar Adom "O.A." Zidan, a West Point graduate from Bushwick who spent two years undercover for the DEA before being cherry-picked by the FBI. Overseeing them is Special Agent in Charge Dana Mosier, who operates under intense pressure and has undeniable command authority. The team also includes Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine, the nerve center of the office whose ability to easily relate to and engage with both superiors and subordinates makes him a master motivator. Kristen Chazal is the team's most valued resource, a brilliant analyst recruited straight out of college who can piece together the big picture faster than anyone. These first-class agents tenaciously investigate cases including terrorism, organized crime, and counterintelligence.

Cast

Main

Season 1 (2018–19)

Season 2 (2019–20)

Crossovers

Production

Development

The origins of the series go back to the Television Critics Association summer 2016 press tour, where Wolf revealed plans for a crime drama series, placed in New York and set in the world of the FBI. Wolf's original plan was to introduce it on the NBC network as a planned spin-off to his New York crime drama , where it was intended to introduce an FBI agent character, but NBC ultimately did not go through with it and the idea was later put on hold for different reasons. It's Wolf's first drama series to launch on a network other than NBC in 15 years. CBS officially picked up to series on September 20, 2017. The series is produced by CBS Television Studios and Universal Television.
On January 25, 2019, during the TCA press tour, FBI was renewed for a second season, which is set to premiere on September 24, 2019. On May 7, 2019, following the renewal it was announced that Milena Govich joined as co-executive producer and director.
On March 12, 2020, Universal Television has suspended the production of the last three episodes of the second season following the COVID-19 pandemic. However on May 6, 2020, CBS announced that it was renewed for a third season which is set to premiere by fall 2020.

Casting

On March 1, 2018, Zeeko Zaki was cast as Omar Adom. A week later, Jeremy Sisto was cast as Jubal, including Ebonée Noel also cast as Kristin. Before the end of the month, Missy Peregrym had joined the cast as Maggie. The FBI Special Agent in Charge in the first episode was Ellen Solberg, played by Connie Nielsen. On May 16, 2018, the day of scheduling the series for fall 2018, Nielsen was announced to have left the series for undisclosed reasons.
On July 13, 2018, Sela Ward was cast in the second episode as Dana Mosier who fulfills a similar role to Connie Nielsen who was in the first episode. During the season finale, it was indicated that Ward would be departing the series after the first season. On July 9, 2019, Alana de la Garza—who played Isobel Castille in a guest appearance in the first season—was promoted to the main cast for the second season; she also recurs on the spin-off series .
On August 6, 2019, John Boyd was cast as Special Agent Stuart Scola, Kristin's new partner in the field, in a recurring role with the option to be promoted to regular at a later date. Boyd was promoted to regular on October 7, 2019.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 63% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 6.22 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Dick Wolf's new series sports a compelling cast and adrenaline-spiking spectacle, although some viewers may find this retread of the mega-producer's previous procedural formulas overly familiar." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 57 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Ratings

Overall

Season 1

Season 2

Spin-off

On January 29, 2019, it was announced that CBS had commissioned a backdoor pilot with an attached series commitment for a potential spin-off series titled , with the episode to air in the latter part of the first season. The series will focus on the division of the FBI tasked with tracking and capturing the most notorious criminals on the FBI's Most Wanted list.
According to Dick Wolf, the spin-off is set to launch a series of interconnected shows similar to Wolf's Chicago and Law & Order franchises on NBC. Actors who have been cast were reported to be: Julian McMahon, Alana de la Garza, Kellan Lutz, Roxy Sternberg, and Nathaniel Arcand, as well as Keisha Castle-Hughes. On May 9, 2019, CBS announced that FBI: Most Wanted had been ordered to series. The series premiered on January 7, 2020.