There is a world where the shows could survive on another network.
FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International are down for the count. Both shows have been canceled by CBS meaning their current seasons will be their last, respectively. It’s been a shocking turn of events for fans, especially since the network plans to move forward with other spinoff ideas.
Here’s the thing, though: FBI’s connection to other shows in the Wolf Entertainment universe could be something that gets it revived. CBS has made it clear that it wants to move on to other spinoff ideas, but what if Wolf Entertainment pushed to get Most Wanted and International acquired by NBC?
Networks have spent decades swapping shows. We saw 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star get broken up between networks just a few short years ago. Wolf Entertainment has a hand in the FBI franchise, and the NBC franchises that FBI is intertwined with, Law & Order and One Chicago.
NBC could technically buy Most Wanted and International
The network would obviously have to determine whether picking up these established shows would benefit them in the long term, but there are endless possibilities to adding procedural dramas that are already established within the world of some of their most popular titles.
We’ve seen crossovers between FBI and Chicago PD, with two different PD characters, Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) jumping over for standalone episodes. Then there is the fact that Dick Wolf has voiced a desire to stage an FBI and Law & Order crossover.
The biggest hurdle, previously, was the different in networks. “CBS and NBC both want to do it — whether they can figure it out is above my pay grade,’ Wolf told Variety. The TV titan even gave a few examples as to how the two franchises could interact.
Dick Wolf wants an FBI and Law & Order crossover
“SVU deals with the FBI a lot because there is a group inside the FBI which is called Innocent Images, which is child pornography and obviously very much on the same page,” he explained. Law & Order and One Chicago have become well-oiled machines when it comes to staging crossovers. The latter was praised for putting its best crossover to date together in January.
If Wolf Entertainment felt compelled to reach out, and arrange for NBC to acquire/revive two of the FBI spinoffs, then fans could be looking at a world that crosses over more often, and incorporates elements of One Chicago, FBI and Law & Order. There’d be some tough conversations regarding the use of Jesse Lee Soffer, since he starred in both One Chicago and FBI, but that would be one small hiccup in a potentially very exciting prospect.
We will see what happens as NBC rolls out renewals for One Chicago and Law & Order over the next few months.
