Warning! SPOILERS for FBI: International season 4, episode 21.FBI: Internationalseason 4 sets up one character to join the Fly Team in the scrapped season 5. When Jay Hayden joined the procedural, he was supposed to be a recurring guest star, but there was curiosity on his long-term future in the series. With the way Agent Tyler Booth’s development has gone, it appears as if that there must have been intentions to bring him on as a permanent member of the Fly Team in FBI: International season 5.
Sadly, CBS has canceled FBI: International, and all the development has been wasted. In fact, it’s taken away from other characters getting developed, leading to concerns that the FBI: International series finale won’t bring closure for all the characters. At the same time, it feels like the series has wasted time by allowing us to get to know a character that we now may not get to see again in the FBI universe.
Throughout FBI: International season 4, Tyler has received a lot of development, considering he is supposed to be a recurring guest star. Usually, these types of characters have a bit of backstory to help understand their motivations, but their inclusion is usually to further the development of other characters. Instead, we have learned about his family life, and we are starting to see his motivations when it comes to aiding in cases. The only reason to give a recurring guest star this amount of attention is if there was the intention of bringing them on full-time.
In FBI: International season 4, episode 21, Tyler connected with the father of the victim. The victim was a young woman who was traveling and doing anything she could to financially support herself and her unemployed father. After her death, the father asked if either Tyler or Wes (Jesse Lee Soffer) had a daughter, which Tyler was able to confirm. In fact, his daughter would be around the same age as the victim, allowing him to connect to the case in a way nobody else could, pushing for him to gain justice and bring closure to this grieving father.
The Fly Team is a small squad, and usually, new people come in when former team members leave. The only time the team grew past the core members was when Amanda Tate joined after the exit of Jamie Kellett, and she brought her tech support with her to add two extra team members. This coincided with a move to a new HQ due to the original one being destroyed.
With one of them leaving, it would open a spot for Tyler to join on a permanent basis, and considering his love for travel, he would likely take Wes up on that offer.
For Tyler to join, it would have likely meant a change to the Fly Team in FBI: International season 5. It looks like the fourth season is building up to that, with Cameron Vo (Vinessa Vidotto) and Andre Raines (Carter Redwood) both pushing for a promotion that would take them back to the United States. With one of them leaving, it would open a spot for Tyler to join on a permanent basis, and considering his love for travel, he would likely take Wes up on that offer.
With FBI: International season 5 now not happening, it feels like Tyler’s development is wasted. We have come to know this character, who is both dedicated to the job and willing to do the hard work to see cases through to the end. He has pushed through the red tape after being constantly held back, especially now that he has proven he is great at his job.
The Dick Wolf universe needs to make use of this, and the great thing about the universe being connected is that there are ways to do that. The easiest option would be to see Tyler move into either the flagship series or the new CIA spinoff series, or he could move into the One Chicago or Law & Order universes. Of course, the best option would be to create a new FBI spinoff with Tyler and Wes leading the show together, bringing a lighter buddy cop drama after FBI: International.
