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As one of the last original cast members left at the bureau, fans can’t help but worry that Missy Peregrym is also leaving FBI now that her character’s life has shifted her priorities away from the force.
FBI is CBS’ crime drama series following the personal and professional lives of special agents at the New York City field office criminal division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The series — which was created by the Dick Wolf, the same mind behind NBC’s Law & Order and One Chicago franchises — is led by FBI Special Agent Maggie Bell (played by Missy Peregrym) and her partner, Omar Adom “OA” Zidan (played by Zeeko Zaki).
Peregrym and Zidan are two of three original cast members left on FBI, along with Jeremy Sisto, who plays FBI Assistant Special Agent In Charge, Jubal Valentine. But could the FBI cast be losing another OG? Read on for why fans are wondered that Missy Peregrym is leaving FBI and the clues the actress has laid about Maggie’s fate on the drama series.
Is Missy Peregrym leaving FBI?
Is Missy Peregrym leaving FBI? FBI ignited speculation that Peregrym, who plays Special Agent Maggie Bell, was leaving the series after Season 6, Episode 6, “Unforeseen,” which saw Maggie adopt the child of her late close friend and fellow FBI member, Special Agent Jessica Blake, who dies in the episode. Following Jess’ death, Maggie becomes the legal guardian of Jess’ daughter, Ella.
Speculation that Peregrym was leaving FBI continued after Season 6, Episode 10, “Family Affair,” where Maggie is shot and almost killed on a mission with her partner, OA Zidan. After the shooting, Maggie tells OA that the near-death experience was “too close” for her, now that she’s a parent. “An inch down or to the left and I would’ve… It would have been over. Maggie said. “I worry about Ella. I mean, how can I not? If something were to happen to me, that poor girl would have to start over? Again? She needs me.”
After his conversation with Maggie, OA tells Special Agent in Charge Isobel Castille about his feeling that it’s time for Maggie to take time away from the force. “I think today really shook [Maggie],” he said. “Is there any way that you could, I don’t know, demand that she take some time off…? I just know she’s never going to ask for it.” “Yeah, I can,” Isobel responds. “Is that what you feel needs to happen…?” OA replies, “Yeah. I do. She almost made that little girl an orphan all over agin. So, yes.”
So is Missy Peregrym leaving FBI? As of writing, Peregrym hasn’t confirmed her exit from FBI, but, like Maggie, she also has two young children with her husband, Tom Oakley. Her son, Otis Paradise, was born on March 21, 2020, while her daughter, Mela Josephine, was born on June 6, 2022. At the time of writing, both of Peregrym’s children are under the age of 5.
In an interview with The Wrap in April 2024, Peregrym confirmed that she had an influence on Maggie’s motherhood storyline in FBI Season 6, which made fans wonder whether Maggie’s potential retirement from the FBI to focus on being a mother could also be the reason for Peregrym’s exit as well.
“I was talking with [producer] Joe [Halpin] last year, and I really tried to come up with a way that I got to play more of my feminine maternal side. We know Maggie’s a badass. That’s great, but she’s also got other sides to her and I really wanted to explore that,” Peregrym told the site about how Maggie’s motherhood storyline came about. “There’s so much richness in that dynamic and internal conflict over what’s a good mother. I mean, there’s so much pressure. I like the idea of depicting this moral conflict and also exploring what is the right thing for her to do and who Maggie is. Can we get to know Maggie in this situation? What does she really want in her life outside of work? I’m so happy that they were open to expanding my character in this direction.”
When asked about her own children, Peregrym also hinted at her long future on FBI to The Wrap while expressing how much she wants her kids to visit her on set when they’re older.”My 2-year-old Otis tries to come to work with me every day. He tells me, ‘I don’t want to go to school. I gotta come to work,’” she said. “It doesn’t work that way. [Laughs] I don’t have anybody to look after him [on set] and he says, ‘I’ll be brave.’ Oh, fine. Hopefully as they get older, they can come more and more.”
Peregrym also told the site about Maggie’s struggle between being a mother and doing her job as an FBI agent. “I love the storyline. It’s so beautifully complicated. It’s in Maggie’s blood, to take care [of people], right?” she said. “If there’s a problem, she’s going to find the solution. And now, her job is potentially a serious issue for being a caretaker, because all Ella needs is someone to really show up and be there.”
She continued. “And she can’t always be there because of work. It’s her instinct to always throw herself into dangerous situations and now she can’t do that wholeheartedly, because she has to be able to go home for Ella.”
Peregrym also teased Maggie’s future on FBI now that she’s a parent. “I’m not really sure where it’s going. I know that things might get tricky down the line, in terms of legal issues,” she said. “And what is the right thing to do? She loves Ella and wants to take care of her and to honor Jess’ request, but there’s a reality to her position in life. Just because this happened this way, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for her.”
Peregrym also confirmed that Maggie was putting her IVF plan on hold now that she’s become Ella’s guardian. “That was already going to be kind of tough to do, being a single mom and having a baby,” she said of Maggie’s former IVF plans. “And now having to be in the role of mother, it’s even more complicated and difficult. She’ll never be able to replace Jess. She’s filling a role that she doesn’t even know if she’s equipped to do.”
Zeeko Zaki, who plays OA, also seemed to confirm Maggie isn’t leaving FBI in an interview with TVLine in May 2024. “As partners we’re very connected, so I think he made the right decision. You see with the characters on these shows, it feels like all they do is work, so I think a little time off is definitely very welcomed by her character,” Zaki said, seemingly confirming that Maggie’s absence from the series was temporary. “I really loved that moment [with Isobel]. On the day [we filmed], it wasn’t written that she kind of makes me make the decision….”
He continued, “To me, it was like, ‘My partner’s a little stressed out. Maybe you should do something,’ and then she turned it around on me, and it was a really great moment. I loved getting to play the grace between us and the connection that we have. We’re all human at the end of the day. We don’t want to burn out.”
FBI is available to stream on Paramount Plus.
