After the traumatic FBI season 7 finale left Isobel’s life in danger, fans are in for another wild ride to start season 8, according to two of the show’s biggest stars.
“It’s a life-or-death situation,” Zeeko Zaki, who plays Special Agent Omar Adom “OA” Zidan, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting the new season, which begins Monday, October 13.
Missy Peregrym, who plays OA’s partner, Special Agent Maggie Bell, teased, “There is a life-or-death situation, and it’s not just Isobel’s. We are also on the hook.”
When season 7 ended in May, SAC Isobel Castille (Alana De La Garza) was presumed dead after a bomb went off at 26 Fed. Isobel survived the blast and pretended to be dead while working behind the scenes to help her team figure out which terrorist group had infiltrated the FBI — and which of their own people could be involved.
While they eventually cracked the case, Isobel began to slur her words as she addressed her team back at the office. She then fell to the ground and passed out.
“She doesn’t have a pulse,” Maggie told ASAC Jubal Valentine (Jeremy Sisto) before the credits rolled, leaving fans afraid that Isobel might die.
“We make you wait,” Zaki, 35, told Us earlier this month, revealing that Isobel’s fate won’t be revealed at the beginning of the season 8 premiere. “There’s some scary touch and go moments as we begin where we left off.”
Peregrym, 43, noted that the FBI team has “no idea what’s gonna be happening with her the whole episode,” but she told Us Jubal will “take over her position and make some really tough calls.”
Amid Jubal’s own self-doubts as the head of their team, Maggie and OA “get caught in a position where we need the FBI to come and get us out of a situation.”
“It’s chaos, and it’s awesome. It’s such a good episode back,” Peregrym teased.
The actress added that there is “definitely” an emotional toll on everyone at 26 Fed as Isobel’s health hangs in the balance.
“It’s more for Jubal to [deal with] because he’s the one who’s kind of interacting and trying to hear back [about Isobel’s condition] and also figuring out his new position,” Peregrym told Us. “The intensity is really in his position as we’re on the ground doing our stuff, but it’s great.”
During the season 8 premiere, the team will be tasked with “a routine investigation” of locating a missing federal judge that “takes a dark turn as the team uncovers that the judge had been searching for his missing son on a secluded island on the city’s edge, where authority has crumbled,” the official logline reads.
Zaki told Us that the case is what he calls the “Saving Private Ryan episode,” referring to the 1998 movie about a group of U.S. soldiers who go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper they think was killed during World War II.
“It’s really kind of a new scenario or a new pickle that we find ourselves in, and then it’s fun to watch us try and get out of it,” the actor revealed.
Peregrym, meanwhile, described the start of season 8 as “super intense” and “super fast paced,” adding that the first episode sets the tone for the whole season.
“We’ve got a lot of interesting issues coming up,” she concluded. “It’s going to be a really fun ride.”
FBI season 8 premieres on CBS Monday, October 13, at 9 p.m. ET.
