The weeks are counting down until FBI returns to CBS for Season 8 in the 2025 TV schedule, not only as the last FBI show standing after cancellations but also with some cast shakeups to deliver. The network also recently aired a rerun of a memorable Season 7 episode, called “Détente,” that kicked off an especially interesting arc for OA, so I flashed back to when I spoke with Zeeko Zaki about that storyline, its tragic culmination, and what he then said he’d “love to see” on the show with his costars.
The cast shakeup that has been confirmed at the time of writing is the departure of Emily Alabi as Agent Dani Rhodes, despite Dani showing that she was ride-or-die for the team in the Season 7 finale. (You can stream the finale with a Paramount+ subscription now.) Alabi had been FBI’s latest attempt to fill the vacancy left by Katherine Renee Kane’s Agent Tiffany Wallace, and the next attempt will be Law & Order: SVU alum Juliana Aidén Martinez as a new agent. It remains to be seen if Alana De La Garza will be back full-time after Isobel’s life-or-death cliffhanger in the fall, but I’m optimistic about getting Isobel back as SAC.
What about OA? The OA/Maggie partnership is one of my favorites in primetime, and a behind-the-scenes prank reveals that Zeeko Zaki and Missy Peregrym still seem to be getting along quite well in their eighth season as castmates. Zaki's character starred in some juicy storylines in Season 7, getting to honor some action movies for the train crisis in the spring.
But CBS re-aired the third episode of Season 7 on August 30, which was part of an arc in which OPA interacted with his former Army buddy (played by Chicago Med’s Guy Lockard) who was pretty shady in the present. This particular rerun reminded me of what Zeeko Zaki told me after the conclusion of the arc in the fall finale, when OA had to kill Clay.
I’d spoken with the FBI star back in December about OA knowing what side of the line he stands on, and the August rerun with just weeks to go before the Season 8 premiere makes me think of what he then said he’d love to see for OA as well as the OA/Maggie friendship. I'd say it's still very relevant for Season 8 starting in October, as he explained at the time:
What I'd love to see, because again, we do lay on these really big informational moments, and then you'll go a few episodes without seeing it, but diving back into the POW [story] and diving back into the military stuff, I would really like to do. And of course talking about the friendship... I feel like maybe both of us are owed that moment, for Maggie to talk about Jess and for me to talk about Clay and and losing a friend, whether it was, you know, whether they were on the good side of the line, or the bad side, I think losing a friend is something that really intense, and would be fun to dive into more.
While of course plenty happened in the back half of Season 7 after I spoke with Zaki about OA’s storyline with Clay, I’m always up to learn more about OA’s past before the show started and see more of that friendship with Maggie. No other duo on the show has nearly as strong as a bond as those two, with even Jubal and Isobel having a bit of professional distance. (Plus, Isobel’s future is very uncertain at the time of writing.) Following the fall finale, Zaki went on to address how OA views Maggie as a confidante:
I think that's kind of what we're finding and discovering with his relationship. I confided in [Gemma] about the POW before I confided in Maggie, so it's kind of nice to play around with that and to see, where does OA go to when he's really going through it? Maggie is always there for him, and she always will be, fingers crossed. Those moments are my favorite, when we really get to get into the emotional stuff.
Fortunately, Gemma survived that train crisis in Season 7, so hopefully we’ll see more of her in Season 8 as well. If there’s one thing I’m confident about getting this fall, it’s more of Maggie and OA! Ideally, FBI will also dig further into OA’s backstory as the season progresses.
FBI returns to CBS for Season 8 on a new night after the cancellations of FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International. Check out the premiere on Monday, October 13 at 9 p.m. ET, ahead of Watson Season 2, or stream next day on Paramount+.
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