In a stunning move, CBS has made a decision on the FBI franchise that will change it forever! Which shows are staying?
It’s that time of year when CBS makes moves for the next season. It’s going to be tricky as the network has numerous projects in development, including several spinoffs. That includes one of FBI that links the franchise with the CIA.
This comes after CBS renewed nine shows for next year. This has led to talk on which shows can and can’t continue. Well, CBS has made a decision which can be shocking for fans of the FBI franchise!
FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted are canceled
TVLine has broken the news that both FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International will not be returning for the 2025-26 season. That leaves Most Wanted ending after six seasons and International after four.
This may be jarring to fans for various reasons. Both shows are still good in the ratings and form a block of FBI Tuesday programming. While there had been concern that one show might be canceled, both being cut at once is a major surprise.
For the record, the mothership FBI got a three-season renewal last year, so it’ll keep running through 2027. The good news is that at least both shows have time to craft proper series finales. Yet, their sudden ends come as a huge blow to fans.
Why are these FBI shows being canceled?
The obvious issue with the shows continuing may be the ratings. International averaged 6.53 million total viewers, down 10% from its Season 3 average. Meanwhile, Most Wanted is averaging 6.5 million total viewers, down 10% from its Season 5 average. As always, ratings are an issue, especially with CBS having a lot of other shows in the pipeline.
Another major factor is that the FBI shows aren’t produced by CBS but by Universal Television as part of Dick Wolf's various productions. In fact, Most Wanted and International stream past seasons on Peacock as well as Paramount+. That’s an added cost for the network that they do not want to keep up. International also has the issue of filming in Europe and has seen a large cast turnover, mostly due to the actors not wanting to be away from families in America for so long.
An outright cancellation is still unexpected as some may have hoped that CBS would move the shows to Paramount+ exclusives. That would aid the budget and get more eyes on Paramount+. However, it appears the costs combined with the large number of projects by CBS meant clearing off two hours of room on Tuesdays.
A question can be what happens to the various characters of the two shows. Maybe some could migrate to the main FBI series. An obvious pick would be Nina (Shantel VanSanten) who is together with agent Scola (John Boyd) so having her join as a regular makes sense. Sadly, there may not be room for other stars.
It’s still early and we need reactions from the actors, producers and CBS itself. But for now, FBI Tuesdays appear to be no more with the axing of its two spinoffs and FBI now standing alone for the CBS lineup.
FBI, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International return with new episodes on Tuesday, March 11.