Is Luke Kleintank leaving FBI: International? (Will Forrester leave?)

It’s been an unusual season for the FBI: International team. While we entered the season knowing there would be at least one casting change with the departure of Christiane Paul as Europol Agent Katrin Jaeger, fans were taken aback by Luke Kleintank’s unexpected lack of involvement in many of the season’s earlier episodes.

Across the first part of the season, Kleintank’s Special Agent Scott Forrester was rarely seen working cases on-location with his team. In some episodes, Forrester was only name-dropped while in others he appeared on-screen away from the team for a number of reasons explained away by unique circumstances on the show.

Most recently Legal Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest Ken Dandridge re-entered the picture and seems to have it out for Forrester, hinting that his time as the leader of the Fly Team could be coming to a shocking end. But should fans actually be concerned about Kleintank leaving the show?

Is Luke Kleintank leaving FBI: International this season?

As revealed by FBI: International showrunner Derek Haas during an interview with Give Me My Remote in mid-December, Luke Kleintank missed a few episodes this season as the show looked to give the show’s star time off following the birth of his daughter. In accommodating Kleintank’s paternity leave, the show had to get creative with Forrester’s storyline which is why he did not share as much screen time with his Fly Team colleagues at the beginning of the season.

However, in that same interview, Kleintank’s time away was described as being “(short-term) limited availability” and not a departure from the show entirely. It was also revealed that the writers took the opportunity to put Forrester’s career in jeopardy.

"“We figured out, okay, for the episodes he’s gonna be off, let’s do two things: One we can enhance all the other characters and let them have some episodes where they can shine on their own,” Haas revealed discussing how the show’s creative team approached Kleintank’s paternity leave. “And two, put Forrester’s career in jeopardy. He’s being bounced around and not working with the Fly Team and he’s going to want to know why. This is going to lead to a major second half character arc.”"

Watch FBI on fuboTV: Watch over 67 live sports and entertainment channels with a 7-day FREE trial!

Although there is a chance that Kleintank could leave the show — as we have seen some surprising exits within the FBI franchise over the years — there has been no indication that he’ll be departing the show this season and we’d be shocked if Forrester was to be written out of the show.

For the latest FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, and FBI: International spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the FBI shows category at One Chicago Center.