FBI: Most Wanted switched up the stars once again for the current Season 4, with Edwin Hodge joining the cast as Agent Ray Cannon to fill the vacancy left by Miguel Gomez’s Agent Ivan Ortiz. While the actor was new to the FBIs on CBS, he came to Most Wanted with some experience on another show in the Dick Wolf TV universe. He recurred on Chicago Fire from 2014-2015, and has now shared how Fire over on NBC helped prepare him for Most Wanted on CBS.
Like Alana de la Garza, Jeremy Sisto, and Dylan McDermott before him, Edwin Hodge came to the FBIs with experience elsewhere in the Wolf Entertainment universe, which currently spans nine shows across two networks. Unlike those three who had Law & Order franchise experience before the FBIs, Hodge hails from One Chicago and is credited with twelve episodes of Chicago Fire as firefighter Rick Newhouse.
When opening up to CinemaBlend about the Most Wanted extended family and Ray Cannon’s powerful reveal about his past, he shared what it has been like to jump into the FBIs after his Wolf Entertainment experience via Chicago Fire. He explained how the One Chicago show prepared him for Most Wanted:
I always say Chicago Fire was the model for what I wanted a show to be like when I had the opportunity to lead a show. The work environment was so welcoming and respectful. The cast and crew made it fun to go to work every day. Right after I exited the show, I found myself leading a couple of shows where I had the same experience. Only it was different because I had to help create that experience for our guest stars. It was an easy transition back into the Wolf Pack because I knew what I was getting myself into and I haven’t been let down.
The cast and crew of Chicago Fire have clearly found a recipe for success on the small screen, as the series is still going strong in Season 11. Although Edwin Hodge was only part of the show for a relatively short amount of time compared to the likes of Jesse Spencer and Taylor Kinney, Fire clearly made an impact on the actor.
As Hodge noted, he went on to appear in a number of shows between Fire and joining Most Wanted. Notably, he starred in the entire series run of Six on History before it was cancelled after two seasons. He had a role in multiple episodes of Apple TV+’s For All Mankind as well as Mayans M.C. over on FX. Most recently before FBI: Most Wanted, he had a key role elsewhere on CBS as Malcolm Kingsley on the medical drama Good Sam.
While a lot happened in his career between his final episode of Chicago Fire in 2015 and his FBI: Most Wanted debut in 2022, Hodge was clear that he didn’t have a hard time transitioning back into the Wolf TV universe. Interestingly, none of the three FBIs had yet premiered when he was on Fire. One Chicago was comprised of just Fire and Chicago P.D. with Med not debuting until late 2015. Law & Order: SVU was the last Law & Order standing, with Organized Crime and the original series' revival still years away. How Wolf Entertainment times did change in less than ten years of primetime TV!
Fortunately, FBI: Most Wanted fans will get to see the team back in action again after the winter break. The winter premiere airs on Tuesday, January 3 in the usual 10 p.m. ET time slot on CBS, following FBI: International at 9 p.m. and FBI at 8 p.m. in the 2023 TV premiere schedule. You can also revisit Edwin Hodge’s first episodes in the FBIs with Most Wanted streaming via a Paramount Plus subscription, and his Chicago Fire run streaming with Peacock Premium.
