Things aren’t looking good for the FBI franchise. As one of the three FBI shows faces possible cancellation, two characters from the mothership series went mysteriously missing. And they aren’t the only ones to be M.I.A. from the squad this season.
What happened to OA and Isobel in FBI?
Both Special Agent Omar Adom “OA” Zidan and Special Agent in Charge Isobel Castille were missing in Season 7, Episode 12, “Manhunt.” While FBI didn’t go into detail as to where OA and Isobel were, it’s believed that their absences were due to FBI and FBI: Most Wanted‘s recent budget cuts that reduced the amount of episodes actors filmed each season.
According to a May 2024 report by Deadline, each series regular on FBI and FBI: Most Wanted had their guaranteed minimum episodes cut by two episodes for Season 7 and Season 5. (The third FBI show, FBI: International, wasn’t affected by the same cuts, according to Deadline.)
OA (played by Zeeko Zaki) and Isobel (played by Alana de la Garza) weren’t the only FBI cast members to miss an episode in Season 7. Stuart Scola (played by John Boyd) and Jubal Valentine, (played by Jeremy Sisto) were also missing earlier in the season. A preview for FBI‘s following episode — Season 7, Episode 13, “Hitched” — didn’t include the series’ lead character, Maggie Bell (played by Missy Peregrym), which suggests that Maggie will be the next character to be missing from FBI. The preview did, however, confirm the return of OA and Isobel.
News of FBI and FBI: Most Wanted‘s budget cuts also come amid speculation that CBS will cancel the franchise’s third show, FBI: Most Wanted, and replace it with a new spinoff, FBI: CIA. Deadline confirmed that FBI: CIA was in the works in January 2025, however, given that FBI night on Tuesdays only has time slots for three shows, the magazine that one of the existing FBI shows would be canceled. Given that FBI has been renewed through the 2026/2027 season, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International were the only shows on the chopping block, with FBI: International most at risk because it’s the only show between FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, and FBI: CIA to be set in New York City.
I hope [FBI: CIA] doesn’t mean one of the FBI shows are cancelled especially FBI international. I like this season so far and it would sucks to see the show being over. Personally, I would be fine if Most Wanted was done after this season,” a user wrote on Reddit in January 2025.
Another user commented, “This is exactly my worry too because [FBI: International is] filmed overseas they might see it as expendable smh. I do not want to lose INT over this new spinoff when they dont even have room for it on a schedule. I can’t imagine them dumping this new series on a different night as they would more than likely would wanna keep Tuesdays as FBI night. This is eerily reminding me of how they axed NCIS: Hawaii in favor of NCIS:Origins…”