FBI: Most Wanted gets disappointing update as star exits show

FBI: Most Wanted has had a tough couple months. While the show was renewed for another season by CBS, it joined the rest of the FBI franchise in being delayed to 2024. Now, it seems, the show will be returning without one of its main cast members: Alexa Davalos.

Deadline reported that Davalos’ exit was amicable, albeit a little unexpected. There was nothing in the previous season that suggested her character, FBI Agent Kristin Gaines, would be leaving. The outlet does say that the actress was told that she wouldn’t be coming back to the show months ago, however.

Is Kristin Gaines leaving FBI: Most Wanted?

It has not been revealed how Gaines will be written out of FBI: Most Wanted when it returns for season 5. The reasoning is partially because the show is in its off-season, and partially because the writers who would normally solve such a problem are on strike against the AMPTP.

FBI: Most Wanted was originally scheduled to premiere during the fall, but the aforementioned strike, coupled with the actors strike, have forced CBS to push back all of its scripted dramas and focus on reality/game shows to fill the gaps in its fall lineup.

Davalos joined FBI: Most Wanted in season 3, which was the last time there was a major cast shakeup. TV Line reported that original stars Julian McMahon, Kellan Lutz and Miguel Gomez left the show, and Davalos and Dylan McDermott were brought on to smooth the transition. (Edwin Hodge joined the following season).

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Hopefully the show doesn’t undergo a change as drastic heading into season 5. Still, finding a replacement for the character of Kristin Gaines will not be an easy task. David Hodges, an exec producer on FBI: Most Wanted, broke down the appeal and the importance of the character during a 2021 interview with TV Insider.

“She is there to shake up the dynamic,” Hodges explained. “[She’s] a strong, independent thinker who isn’t afraid to express her opinion but ingratiates herself with the team by virtue of hard work and doggedness.” We hope the character gets a good send-off.

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