FBI: Most Wanted delivered a lot of changes in the third season, starting with one series regular’s departure in the premiere, continuing with the death of Jess LaCroix, and then saying a goodbye to Barnes before Dylan McDermott joined the team as new SSA Remy Scott. The timing of actress Roxy Sternberg’s real-life maternity leave meant that Barnes took her in-show leave before she could meet Remy, but McDermott shared his thoughts with CinemaBlend on how he thinks his character and Barnes will react to each other in Season 4.
Barnes had a very close relationship with Jess, which Julian McMahon described as “extremely unique,” and his death had such an impact on her that it motivated her to take her maternity leave after Charlotte gave birth to their son. To contrast, Remy Scott came in with no strings attached to any member of the team, but has settled in as the new leader. When I spoke with Dylan McDermott about the end of Season 3, he weighed in on what he thinks their dynamic will look like when Sternberg returns:
Oh, I'm looking forward to it. I think it's gonna be good. Coming into the show, I made a decision to not meet anybody until the first day of filming, because I wanted it to be as real as it would be in that moment, which is kind of awkward, and you're meeting people, and what's that like? I really wanted to have all that going on, on my first day of filming and being on set and meeting everyone. So I expect that there'll be a little bit of that as well with Roxy, so that's cool. I like that. I like that it's not all perfect, and it's not all going to work right away and there's natural transitions and people are sizing each other up. I think that's all fun to play.
FBI: Most Wanted won’t return until the fall, so fans won’t get to see how exactly the show handles Roxy Sternberg’s return and Barnes’ dynamic with Remy Scott, but it has already been renewed for another two seasons. As Dylan McDermott noted, there was some awkwardness with his character’s first introduction to the rest of the team, which was comprised of Gaines, Hana, and Ortiz with Barnes out. Fans can probably be confident that both Remy and Barnes will be as professional and capable as ever, and the dynamic could show a different side of these characters.
Only time will tell what their dynamic will truly look like and whether Dylan McDermott’s vision for their interactions is what happens in Season 4. He did explain how far his dedication went in nailing that sense of awkwardness with Remy meeting a new group of people, and jumping straight into a case with them. As it turns out, the first scene that he ever filmed for FBI: Most Wanted was also Remy’s first introduction to the other agents. He shared:
The first scene – which I really wanted to be – was my introduction. I came on the set, and that was my introduction scene and meeting the cast and the crew, for the first time was all on the same day… That's what I wanted. Because they asked me, 'Oh, do you want to meet everybody?' I was like, 'No, let's just save it for the day and make it as real as possible.' I think it works because there's some kind of crackle in that first scene.
The characters were professional even while they were all still feeling each other out as agents, and Remy’s methods were different than Jess’ were. The newcomer did open up pretty early on about the tragedy in his past that motivates him. The team was fortunately solid as a rock by the time that the “highly dangerous” finale rolled around, as Remy was forced to make a fateful decision about taking down their foe. McDermott continued reflecting on his entry into the series, saying:
I think we all kind of discussed it and made sure that that was the first day because there's just something about it. It really was a special day, I have to say, because it was just all of us together for the first time, Dylan and Remy, and there was a beautiful transition that happened on that day. I think from that first day, we really set the tone and we knew what show we were making.
The tone of the show in the new era with Remy stepping into Jess’ shoes obviously worked for fans, as Most Wanted earned its double-season renewal before Season 3 even came to an end. There should be plenty of time for Barnes and Remy to meet and form their own working relationship. The third season finale was also missing another member of the team, with Ortiz out of the state during the big case.
FBI and FBI: International also received renewals for two more seasons, with International set to pick up in the fall after the Season 1 finale that featured Forrester going rogue. FBI actually has not yet aired its Season 4 finale, as the high-stakes case involved a potential school shooting, and CBS chose to pull the episode from the lineup in light of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas. You can revisit the 2021-2022 TV season for the FBIs with a Paramount+ subscription.
