With the FBI shows coming back soon for the fall television season, there’s been a lot of new information about what we can expect, especially with some of the arcs we were preparing for at the end of the 2023-2024 season.
However, with two of the shows in the franchise losing cast members, including FBI: International’s Luke Kleintank and FBI’s Katherine Renee Kane, it’s difficult to remember other major exits each show has had. There have been so many exits that it’s almost hard to keep track of who has left the franchise but below you'll find a list of who we've said goodbye to over the years.
FBI
There have been multiple major cast exits on the original series. Sela Ward was one of the first after playing Special Agent Dana Mosier in the first season. She only had a contract with the show for one season so her departure may have been expected.
Ebonee Noel was part of FBI as Analyst Kristen Chazal. The character, who'd begun doing field work and was partnered with Special Agent Stuart Scola, was attacked in season 2. She did recover and returning to working but wasn't in the season 3 premiere. Kristen's absence was explained away as her moving to the Dallas FBI field office.
One exit in the series had an impact on a current character, Jubal Valentine. Actress Kathleen Munroe played Assistant Director in Charge Rina Trenholm, who was killed in season 4. Her departure was meant to further storylines within the show itself.
The next exit was Shantel VanSanten, who played Nina Chase but she didn’t move too far! Nina is still part of the franchise as she simply moved over to join the team at FBI: Most Wanted, which the actress found out about while filming the season 5 finale.
After that, things seemed quiet in terms of more exit news until the summer after season 6 aired. This exit news came in the form of Katherine Renee Kane, whose character Tiffany Wallace dealt with guilt over the death of a fellow agent during a case involving a terrorist.
At first, it was believed season 7 would deal with the arc surrounding her decision to shoot him once she found him in the season 6 finale. While this might still play out, it looks like Wallace won’t be on the show for long and fans will have to say goodbye sooner rather than later.
FBI: International
Heida Reed played Agent Jamie Kellett, who left at the end of season 3 to work at the Washington D.C. field office, electing to leave the Fly Team. She had been with the series since it first aired in 2021.
Greg Hovanessian joined the cast in season 2 as Special Agent Damian Powell, but unfortunately, he did not stay on the show long. After the events of an explosion at the end of season 2 and getting into an altercation with a witness, Lead Agent Scott Forrester told Powell he was being transferred to take part in the undercover ops division.
Unfortunately, there was more casting news, this time in the form of Luke Kleintank, who played Forrester. Kleintank announced he would also be exiting the series to focus on his family. In the show, he was written off after leaving the Fly Team to go into hiding with his mother.
FBI: Most Wanted
This particular branch of the franchise has seen a lot of cast exits as well.
Alexa Davalos played Agent Kristin Gaines since season 3 of the series but was informed she would not be back for season 5. Her exit was surprising, but also described as being “amicable.”
She had been a replacement for actor Kellan Lutz, who was part of the original cast from the beginning and left in season 3. Lutz portrayed Agent Kenny Crosby and eventually left due to personal reasons. Like some characters in the other FBI shows, his departure came after being injured in the line of duty.
Another cast departure was Miguel Gomez, who played Special Agent Ivan Ortiz. He left the show after season 3 and was mentioned in the season 4 premiere as leaving for family reasons.
Julian McMahon, known for Charmed and Nip/Tuck played the lead role of Jess LaCroix, but eventually also exited the series. The actor wanted to pursue other creative endeavors and the show addressed his exit by having him die while working a case.
Nathaniel Arcand was also another actor who left the series after appearing in the first season and a few episodes of season 2.
Overall, the FBI franchise has seen a lot of turnover and hopefully there will be some downtime so we can enjoy the new and returning characters we have gotten to know over the years.
The franchise will return with new episodes of all three shows on Wednesday, Oct. 18 beginning with FBI at 8/7c.