📺 FBI: Most Wanted (2020)
Part of Dick Wolf's FBI Franchise
FBI: Most Wanted is the first spin-off of Dick Wolf's successful CBS drama FBI, premiering on January 7, 2020. Created by René Balcer, the series shifts focus from the New York Field Office to the FBI's Fugitive Task Force, a mobile unit that relentlessly tracks and captures the most notorious criminals on the Bureau's Most Wanted list. The show was introduced through a back-door pilot in the first season of its parent series, a common strategy in the Wolf Entertainment universe to seamlessly integrate new shows into an existing franchise.
The series originally starred Julian McMahon as Supervisory Special Agent Jess LaCroix, a skilled profiler leading a diverse team including agents played by Kellan Lutz, Roxy Sternberg, Keisha Castle-Hughes, and Nathaniel Arcand. Over its run, the cast saw significant changes, with Dylan McDermott taking over as the lead in later seasons. The show distinguishes itself from the flagship FBI by focusing on manhunts across the country, offering a different pace and scope while maintaining the procedural DNA of the franchise.
As part of the broader FBI franchise, Most Wanted has featured crossover events with both FBI and FBI: International, creating a shared narrative universe that has become a staple of CBS's primetime lineup. The series ran for six seasons, concluding in 2025, and was praised for its action-oriented approach and its exploration of the personal costs of pursuing the nation's most dangerous fugitives.
Dick Wolf's FBI is a television franchise consisting of interconnected crime drama series that air on CBS. Created by Dick Wolf, the franchise began with the flagship series FBI in 2018, which follows the inner workings of the New York City field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The success of the original series led to the launch of FBI: Most Wanted in 2020, focusing on the Fugitive Task Force, and FBI: International in 2021, which follows elite agents of the FBI's International Fly Team. A fourth series, CIA, is slated to debut in 2026, expanding the universe into the realm of the Central Intelligence Agency. The franchise is known for its fast-paced storytelling, ensemble casts, and crossovers between its series, creating a shared universe of law enforcement and intelligence narratives.
