FBI: Most Wanted
FBI: Most Wanted is an American crime drama television series created by René Balcer and produced by Wolf Entertainment that was ordered to series by CBS in May 2019.[1] It is the first spin-off from Dick Wolf's drama FBI, in whose first season the characters of the series were introduced. The series premiered on January 7, 2020.
This article is about the 2020s American drama TV series. For the list of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, see FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and FBI Most Wanted Terrorists.FBI: Most Wanted
United States
English
5
86 (list of episodes)
- Dick Wolf
- René Balcer
- Arthur W. Forney
- Peter Jankowski
- Dylan McDermott
45 minutes
January 7, 2020 –
present
In May 2020, the series was renewed for a second season; which premiered on November 17, 2020.[2][3] In March 2021, CBS renewed the series for a third season;[4] which premiered on September 21, 2021.[5]
In May 2022, CBS renewed the series for a fourth and fifth season.[6] The fourth season premiered on September 20, 2022.[7] The fifth season premiered on February 13, 2024,[8] a delay from September 2023 due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. For the same reason, there will be just 13 episodes in the fifth season.[9] In April 2024, the series was renewed for a sixth season.[10]
Premise[edit]
The series focuses on the work of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)'s New York Fugitive Task Force (FTF), which relentlessly tracks and captures the notorious and dangerous criminals on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Overseeing the team is FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jess LaCroix, a seasoned, enigmatic agent at the top of his game who uses his expert profiling skills to help apprehend the most dangerous criminals. Throughout Season 1, the task force includes Special Agents Sheryll Barnes, an ex–New York Police Department detective with a degree in behavioral psych who serves as the team's second in command; Kenny Crosby, a United States Army Military Intelligence vet Jess has taken under his wing; Hana Gibson, the team's intelligence analyst; and Clinton Skye, one of the most experienced field agents on the team, and the brother of Jess's deceased wife, as well as Jess's brother-in-law with Clinton, and also the team's sharpshooter or sniper. The team also operates out of an area in 26 Fed in Manhattan or in an unidentified building that is under the control of the FBI. While on the road investigating cases, they also operate from a mobile command center that serves as their main base of operations.
In season 2, Skye is put on special assignment to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and is eventually replaced by Special Agent Ivan Ortiz, an ex–Los Angeles Police Department gang officer with street cop instincts while Crosby replaces Skye as the team's sniper/sharpshooter. In the season 3 premiere, Crosby is put on medical leave (after being wounded by a former Army comrade during an investigation, Crosby having assisted FBI agents Maggie Bell and OA Zidan) and leaves, returning to Oklahoma. He is replaced by Special Agent Kristin Gaines, a rising star from the FBI's Miami field office. Later, in the second half of the season, LaCroix is shot in the neck and killed by a fugitive, which devastates the rest of the team. He is eventually replaced by Supervisory Special Agent Remy Scott—fresh off a multi-year stint with the FBI's Las Vegas field team—as team leader. Near the end of the season, Ortiz takes time away from the task force to care for his ailing father in Los Angeles. By season 4, he has transferred back to Los Angeles permanently to continue taking care of his father and is soon replaced by rookie Special Agent Ray Cannon, a New Orleans native who is also an ex–New Orleans Police Department detective whose father was part of the bureau.
Between seasons 4 and 5, Gaines transfers to Denver to be near her children, and Special Agent Nina Chase from the New York Field Office takes her place on the team.
Production[edit]
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 FBI: Most Wanted 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 that both of Wolf's Chicago and Law & Order franchises on NBC.[28] On May 9, 2019, CBS announced that FBI: Most Wanted had been ordered to series.[29] A few days later, it was announced that the series would premiere as a mid-season replacement in the winter-spring of 2020.[30] The series premiered on January 7, 2020. On March 13, 2020, it was announced that Universal Television has suspended the production due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television in the United States. They were filming episode 15, directed by Lexi Alexander.[31] On May 6, 2020, CBS renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on November 17, 2020.[2][3] On August 28, 2020, it was announced that showrunner René Balcer would be leaving the series and David Hudgins would be taking over for the second season.[32]
On March 24, 2021, CBS announced that the series was renewed for a third season,[4] which premiered on September 21, 2021.[5]
On May 9, 2022, CBS renewed the series for a fourth and fifth season.[6] The fourth season premiered on September 20, 2022.[7] The fifth season premiered on February 13, 2024.[8] On April 9, 2024, CBS renewed the series for a sixth season.[10]
Release[edit]
Broadcast[edit]
The show airs on Tuesday nights in Canada on Global and airs three hours ahead of CBS broadcast.
The show airs on Friday nights at 10pm on Sky Witness in the United Kingdom.
The show airs on Thursday night at 10:40pm on AXN Asia in the Southeast Asia, then moved to FOX Asia.
Every episode of past seasons is available to stream on Peacock in the United States, while the current season is available to stream on Paramount+.
