The introduction of Wes Mitchell (Jesse Lee Soffer) moved the procedural in a new, more exciting direction, and the series invested a lot of time in developing his character. Unfortunately, FBI: International was one of the shows that CBS canceled in 2025. The cancelation decision was announced in March, two months before the series finale was to air.
There was widespread speculation about how FBI: International would end. I expected it to wrap up similarly to other finales I have covered in my career. However, it did not do so, and was widely considered a disappointment because it left several storylines unresolved.
FBI: International Series Ending Backlash Explained
The Finale Focused Exclusively On Wes
FBI: International‘s series finale would have worked better as a season finale. One of the biggest problems is that FBI: International‘s series finale left many questions unanswered. Throughout the season, Vo (Vinessa Vidotto) and Raines (Carter Redwood) competed for a GS-14 position that would force one of them to leave the Fly Team.
However, the FBI: International finale ended with the news that a decision had been reached, but did not share the result with the audience. Thus, the episode ended with the resolution of the story being a mystery.
Similarly, the final scene was of Wes coming to America to introduce himself to his half-sister, but it was unclear if he was in the States for a visit or if he had quit the Fly Team. These non-endings were even more frustrating because of the way the final episode was handled.
Instead of the entire Fly Team working on a case together, Wes headed to Tokyo on his own while his team members only had cameos. This decision robbed the audience of one last adventure with the entire team, sparking outrage about the series’ ending.
Derek Haas’ Comment Indicates Confidence About FBI: International’s Future
The Showrunner Expected The Series To Continue
FBI: International co-creator Derek Haas recently addressed the cancelation, admitting (via TVLine) that he has “no insight into why it [FBI: International] was canceled.” Haas believed that FBI: International season 4 was particularly strong because of the inclusion of Soffer and of Station 19‘s Jay Hayden as Tyler Booth, stating that they were “gold together.“
CBS Entertainment Chief Amy Reisenbach said in May (via TVLine) that, “…we have to be fiscally responsible, and ultimately those deals and the shows [the FBI shows] just weren’t penciling out for us from an economic perspective.” This statement suggests the reasons for the cancellation were mostly financial.
Sadly, CBS has made several such decisions, choosing not to renew popular shows such as the FBI spinoffs, Blue Bloods, and S.W.A.T. despite high ratings. Network TV has generally struggled financially in recent years, often leading to perplexing decisions.
In FBI: International‘s case, however, there might have been another reason. Both FBI spinoffs were canceled shortly after the announcement that CIA, which will be an off-shoot of the franchise, had been greenlit for the fall. CBS may have decided to cancel the other FBI spinoffs as part of an overhaul of the franchise.
