The three shows of the hit FBI franchise normally would be back on the airwaves as part of CBS' fall lineup by this point in the year, but the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes over the summer meant that FBI, International, and Most Wanted couldn't start production for the 2023-2024 TV schedule. Fans have been able to watch reruns of the shows, and all three are available streaming via a Paramount+ subscription. I've been mostly resigned to repeats this fall, but revisiting some comments from executive producer Ken Girotti makes me miss FBI: Most Wanted in particular.
I spoke with Most Wanted EP Ken Girotti over the summer after the exciting news that the CBS hit had been nominated for two Emmys: Outstanding Stunt Performance and Outstanding Stunt Coordination. After Girotti sang the praises of stunt coordinator Declan Mulvey, I noted that Most Wanted has gone through many cast changes and asked if there are any stars who are particularly enthusiastic about the stunts. The executive producer responded with some comments that remind what fans are missing with Most Wanted off the air. Girotti said:
I think, to a person, our cast is right into it. As much as we're a stunt-driven show, it's also a character-driven show. We do break point-of-view, we go with the bad guys, but we do spend a lot of time with our main cast inside their heads. When it comes to a stunt sequence – and this is the great thing that comes from the writers room and that [showrunner] David [Hudgins]' team has done – almost all the time, the stunts are absolutely essential to the storytelling, absolutely essential to the potential growth of a character. And I think that Declan understands that. I think we all understand that and certainly the cast understands that.
FBI: Most Wanted can be relied on for fistfights, shootouts, explosions, and – on one notable occasion – an epic ambulance flip, but the CBS show doesn't just include them for the sake of spectacle. The stunts often raise the stakes while also advancing the storytelling, and they happen on an impressive scale week in and week out starting in the fall... during a normal TV season, anyway. The executive producer continued:
Almost always, if there's something big going on, and it's not on a second unit day, it's on a main unit day – the ambulance flip was on a main unit day. The cast weren't in their trailers. They were on the set, watching the ambulance go up in the air.
How many people can say that they get to watch stunts on a cinematic level as part of their jobs? The fourth season was actually cinematic in more ways than one as well, thanks to the very first three-show crossover between FBI: Most Wanted, FBI, and FBI: International. It took an incredibly high-stakes case to bring the teams from all three shows together, involving a near-death experience for Nina, a betrayal for Scola, and the characters from the other shows realizing just how the Most Wanted task force rolls to catch their fugitives.
A three-show crossover was a huge endeavor, and it's a bit much to start hoping too hard for another one in the foreseeable future. At this point, my fingers are just crossed that FBI: Most Wanted and the rest of network television's biggest scripted shows will be able to salvage the 2023-2024 TV season. The WGA writers strike is scheduled to end on Wednesday, September 27 at 12:01 a.m. PT after a deal with the AMPTP was finally struck, but the SAG-AFTRA actors strike is still ongoing.
There are still some shows coming to primetime this fall despite the strikes, however, including the FBI: True docuseries that will air on Tuesdays on CBS. For what else is on the way in the coming weeks, check out our 2023 TV schedule!
