Jesse Lee Soffer is joining FBI: International! (Does this mean Jay Halstead is back?)

FBI: International has seen a surprising amount of cast turnover in only three seasons. Season 1 ended with Christiane Paul leaving the show with Katrin Jaeger being promoted at Europol (Paul would guest star in season 2). Then the season 3 premiere had Heida Reed leaving the show as Jamie Kellett was written out as moving to a new job in Washington D.C.

Later in season 3, recurring agent Damien Powell (Greg Hovanessian) was reassigned after losing his temper with a suspect. That led to the season 3 finale where fans were surprised that star Luke Kleintank was leaving the show. The two-part finale had Forrester bolting from the team to help his fugitive mother. He was last seen in Alaska. 

That storyline introduced Colin Donnell as Brian Lange, a special agent aiding the team. The story ended with him leaving but there's potential for the actor to come back in season 4 as Forrester’s replacement.

However, in a surprising announcement, season 4 will have Jesse Lee Soffer returning returning to the Dick Wolf universe to join the show. Soffer is best known for playing Jay Halstead on Chicago PD, a great run that ended with Soffer departing the show in season 10. Unwilling to cover up his killing of a suspect, Jay re-enlisted in the army. Season 11 had him still in the army, and he divorced his wife Hailey Upton. 

Soffer’s return is a big deal, but is it possible that he’s reprising his role as Halstead? Here's what we know!

Is Jay Halstead joining FBI: International?

It may seem odd for a character from one network drama to move to a rival network’s show. However, it’s been established that the FBI shows and the One Chicago series do share the same universe. Season 2 of FBI had Tracy Spiridakos playing Upton as she was temporarily assigned to the FBI unit when Maggie was away. The arc ended with that season and Upton was back in Chicago.

There haven’t been many connections since but this has led to a question of whether Soffer is playing Halstead leaving the army to join the Fly Team. However, per TVLine, Soffer isn’t playing Halstead but a yet-unnamed new character. 

It’s also up in the air if he’s becoming the new team leader or if Donnell is still around as Lange and Soffer’s agent is simply a new hire. It would be interesting to see the former One Chicago stars reunited for the team while Soffer can also be a top pick for the new team boss. 

We still await details on Soffer’s character and how he plays into things but his presence promises to spark up FBI: International season 4 and fill the gap left by Forrester’s exit.

FBI: International season 4 will air Tuesdays this fall on CBS.