How does Universal TV boss “hope” for FBI to show innovation at CBS for the 2024-2025 season?
Dick Wolf Entertainment’s FBI franchise is three shows strong on CBS for a Tuesday line-up that spans three hours and features an interconnected universe. That’s especially the case in the 2023-2024 television season as Shantel VanSanten’s Nina Chase made the jump from the flagship series to FBI: Most Wanted after Alexa Davalos left the show.
FBI is in its sixth season making it a veteran on the network during a TV season that’ll see many of its peers take their final bows in May, including fellow CBS staples S.W.A.T., Young Sheldon, Blue Bloods, and Bob Hearts Abishola. Most Wanted isn’t far behind it as its fifth season is currently airing while International is just now hitting its junior year.
At the tail end of January, CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach mentioned NCIS had more gas left in its tank, signaling that the program would continue to receive renewals as long as the team behind the procedural is game for it. But Reisenbach wouldn’t rule out more cancellations coming by the time we hit ax season in May.
While the FBI franchise isn’t on our list of shows that could be in trouble, it was encouraging to see Universal Television president Erin Underhill speak on where the production company is with renewal talks for the Dick Wolf Entertainment shows and Equalizer. In an interview with Deadline, she shared the following:
“Well, we are in early discussions and I feel really hopeful. I know how much the CBS brass value the Wolf shows and Equalizer. We have a very good working relationship, they obviously co-produce those shows with us, as well with CBS Studios. So I’m very optimistic that there will be a path forward for another season. “
Of course, this is nowhere near an unofficial greenlight like the one Reisenbach alluded to with NCIS, but it does showcase that the series are in good standing. It also helps that Tuesdays on CBS remain competitive thanks to this franchise which often edges out the other networks on the night with its programming.
To give an example, Deadline reports that in its second week back on air, the FBI block was the reason CBS won every half hour block of the primetime schedule. They beat NBC by 4M viewers, FOX by 3.7M, and ABC by 2M. That’s quite the feat and when you add streaming numbers to the conversation it gets better. All three shows were up by over 20% on CBS’ streaming arm Paramount+ and its other on-demand services compared to last year.
The FBI franchise looks to be a shoe-in for renewal when it comes its draw which is consistent, and it continues to peak the interest of new viewers. I can attest to this as I became a fan in 2023 and have made the flagship a part of my weekly viewing now that it’s back on air.
What may shake the table are the contract negotiations now that the franchise’s multiyear renewal deal is coming to a close. This could mean anything from cast changes which fans of Dick Wolf shows are no stranger to–particularly for Most Wanted as it’s seen the most main cast exits from the CBS leg of this entertainment empire–to another multiyear renewal with an eye toward giving a final season order to one of the shows by the end of the new contract.
We’ll keep you posted as more news comes in. Stay tuned to Hidden Remote!
