I know what some of you may be thinking.
Every time I mention FBI: Most Wanted, it’s likely in a critical fashion, which may beg the question, why do I even still watch?
What can I say? I’m a creature of habit, and for the most part, I like to see things through.
FBI: Most Wanted Can’t Hang with CBS’ Other Succesful Dramas
And that’s why it’s time for CBS to do everyone a favor and pull the plug on it.
The show is in its sixth season, and it still hasn’t managed to recapture the magic and appeal of the first season. After all that time, it’s safe to say it never will.
Not only that, but it isn’t doing well in the ratings. CBS is mostly dominating the ratings out of the alphabet networks, and it was the one network that actually put forth a decent, full roster of series in 2024.
It bounced back from the strikes well.
Shows like Matlock and Elsbeth are doing well, while others like Fire Country are consistent and appealing enough to inspire our very own to binge-watch the series and spark spinoffs.
The original FBI is still going strong, and FBI: International is doing better than one could’ve imagined because, at the very least, Chicago PD alum Jesse Lee Soffer joining to helm the series gave it a boost.
But FBI: Most Wanted? What are we even doing here?
FBI: Most Wanted Doesn’t Even Attempt to Appease Viewers
I can tell you what it isn’t doing, and that’s making the case for why it should stick around any longer than it has been.
The series never, ever recovered from the loss of Julian McMahon. As someone who has fallen down a late-night insomnia rabbit hole of watching Nip/Tuck for the first time, it only makes me lament the tragic loss of Jess LaCroix more than ever.
I’m not entirely unconvinced that FBI: Most Wanted isn’t cursed. I certainly wonder what in bloody hell goes on in those parts that cause such a high cast and crew turnover.
But really, it’s the revolving door cast that has utterly ruined everything this series could be, and it hasn’t been able to curry favor or trust with the audience since then.
How does the series expect me to invest in any characters when they can literally be gone tomorrow? And they don’t even get decent sendoffs with meaningful storytelling that furthers the plot.
No, fan-favorite characters could disappear offscreen between seasons or just on some random Tuesday, and they’ll give us a throwaway line to wrap things up.
FBI: Most Wanted changes its cast as much as a person changes their underwear, and they treat the characters as if they can slot in some new doll to replace the other, and we won’t care.
It’s why the FBI franchise has a character problem.
FBI: Most Wanted Shifting Focus and Tone After the First Season Doomed It
FBI: Most Wanted is a “procedural” procedural.
After the first two seasons, it shifted away from the interesting aspects of showing Jess LaCroix’s home life (not to mention its genuinely refreshing Indigenous representation). It then decided to focus on the cases moving forward.
Now, FBI: Most Wanted is case-oriented first, character-driven second unless, of course, you’re Dylan McDermott’s Remy.
Yes, I still have beef with Remy.
It’s not that I don’t love McDermott or feel that he was a great addition to the series, because I’m 100% on the former and only waver on the other when I think about any other characters.
My issue is character screen time. Why is there always so much of Remy?
The sixth season has attempted to tone it down some, actually giving Hana and Ray some more personal arcs, but in the same breath, they’re often the most “Here, damn” storylines of the series.
The series even brought Nina from FBI over in hopes that Shantel VanSanten’s appeal would help with the series, and sure, it’s nice to see her as Remy’s second.
Most Wanted’s Attempts to Revitalize the Series Feel Hollow
It often reads as a last-ditch effort to reconcile how the series has shot itself in the foot with characters over the years.
More often than not, it feels too little too late, and it’d be much easier to ship Nina back to the mother series.
FBI: Most Wanted squandered the trust viewers had in the series sometime around the second season, and it most assuredly went sideways with Jess LaCroix’s death in the third season.
Since then, it’s been coasting along, with many tuning into the series out of habit and a desire to find its footing. But six seasons in, the series has still failed to do that.
Initially, the cases themselves were incredibly compelling to witness.
Offhand, “Ghosts” was one of the series’ best and most audacious storytelling, touching on Native American boarding schools and their impact.
It was also fascinating when Jess’ daughter got kidnapped and placed in an ICE detainment facility or when the series explored grief and trauma as Hana reconciled with what losing Jess meant to her after his death.
FBI: Most Wanted Never Recaptured the Magic and Needs to Bow Out Gracefully
There really wasn’t a shortage of captivating installments in the early seasons.
Now, you luck up on something truly gripping once every blue moon, such as an episode earlier this season that sheds light on how trauma leads to violence.
More often than not, the cases are forgettable these days.
And if the cases don’t resonate, and it’s hard to invest or become attached to the characters anymore, what’s the point?
Even an FBI crossover couldn’t give the series the boost it needs, and the odds that the series could shift to my proposed anthology approach and take a bold swing is merely a pipe dream.
At six seasons in, the series is probably costing more than it’s worth, and it’s time to call it quits.
Maybe FBI: Most Wanted needs to retire and bow out as gracefully as the majority of its alumni.
Be honest; is it topping your list in the FBI franchise, or are you just watching it because it’s there?
How do you feel about FBI: Most Wanted these days? Am I too critical?
Watch FBI: Most Wanted Online
