The first two high-profile cancellations on CBS’ series slate mark the beginning of the feared deep cuts. The FBI spinoffs FBI: Most Wanted, which will conclude after six seasons, and FBI: International, which was axed after four seasons, will not be renewed by the network. Big stars Dylan McDermott (Most Wanted) and Jesse Lee Soffer (International), who left Dick Wolf to work on the spinoffs of Law & Order: Organized Crime and Chicago P.D., respectively, are the main stars of both Wolf Entertainment/Universal television series.
Here is Kimmel’s Monday monologue, which included his response to the Trump-Zelensky Oval Office confrontation as well as further Oscar takeaways.
The highly regarded mothership FBI, currently in its seventh season and Year 1 of a three-year pickup, and the possible new spinoff FBI: CIA, currently under development at CBS, are the only shows left after the cancellations. CIA’s chances are improved by the elimination of Most Wanted and International. Several actors are negotiating to be cast in FBI: CIA, a seeded spinoff that will run as an episode of the mothership series. I have heard that the project would receive a straight-to-series order based on the talent that is connected. Here is Kimmel’s Monday monologue, which included additional Oscar insights and his response to the Trump-Zelensky Oval Office clash.
It is unknown if Universal TV and Wolf Entertainment would move the two FBI spinoffs to other platforms. These shows continue to generate strong linear ratings that are comparable to or greater than a number of renewed CBS dramas, including the CBS Studios-produced NCIS: Origins, NCIS: Sydney, and NCIS: Elizabeth. The businesses were successful in moving the Law & Order spinoff, Organized Crime, from NBC to Peacock last year.
I have heard that both FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International are still working on their current seasons, with a few episodes left, so they can modify the scripts to make the season finales function as series finales if that does not happen.
Like most Wolf procedural properties, FBI operates as a branded night on Tuesdays. This represents a significant turnabout for the two FBI spinoff shows, which just three years ago were able to get two-season renewals (with the original FBI). It was obvious that CBS had to cancel one of the other spinoffs in order to create room for FBI: CIA and keep the shows on the same night because a primetime lineup lasts three hours. Two were ultimately canceled by the network.
Universal Television is an outside vendor that provides the FBI franchise. Over the previous few years, CBS and the NBCUniversal studio have engaged in challenging renewal negotiations; it is thought that financial considerations contributed to today’s cancellations. (The two parties are still in negotiations to renew Equalizer for a sixth and maybe final season.)
Both FBI and FBI: Most Wanted lowered the minimum guarantees for the main casts last year in an effort to save money. (International was unaffected because half of its regular cast are performers from other countries.)
The problem of shelf space is another. CBS had to axe existing dramas to create place for new ones because so many current programs, including NCIS, NCIS: Origins, NCIS: Sydney, Tracker, Fire Country, and Elsbeth and Matlock, were renewed in the last several months.
For the upcoming season, the network has already set aside two drama slots for the new shows Boston Blue, which is an expansion of the Blue Bloods world, and Sheriff Country, which is a spinoff of Fire Country.In addition to FBI: CIA, CBS is working on a high-profile drama pilot called Einstein, which stars Matthew Gray Gubler, a former cast member of Criminal Minds, and a possible Equalizer spinoff, which would star Titus Welliver.
Along with Equalizer, Sony TV’s twice-canceled S.W.A.T. is another drama from an outside studio that is still on the bubble. The new CBS Studios-produced midseason drama Watson is still in its early stages of development, but it appears to have a good chance of being renewed thus far.
It is unclear if Shantel VanSanten, who recently left the FBI for the spinoff, would return to FBI: Most Wanted now that it has been canceled. In Season 5 of Most Wanted, her character gave birth to a child with Scola from the mothership series.Actors and characters in Wolf’s universe frequently switch between series, whether they are part of the same franchise or not.
