Less than a month after news broke that CBS had canceled not one but two FBI shows, new episodes for all three of the franchise’s series were mysteriously missing from their typical Tuesday night time slot. Were FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International canceled eaLess than a month after news broke that CBS had canceled not one but two FBI shows, new episodes for all three of the franchise’s series were mysteriously missing from their typical Tuesday night time slot. Were FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International canceled early? Not quite.rly? Not quite.
Why are FBI, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International not on tonight?
FBI, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International took a break from their usual Tuesday time slots on March 25, 2025. While FBI aired a re-run of Season 7, Episode 5, “Pledges,” FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International were off the air completely as CBS replaced their time slots with reruns for the network’s new series, Watson. FBI, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International are set to return for their usual Tuesday time slot on April 1, 2025.
So why were FBI, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International not on? While CBS hasn’t confirmed the reason for the FBI franchise’s break, it isn’t uncommon for networks to schedule throughout breaks the primetime season to make sure that there are enough episodes to last until finale time in May, which is when most primetime shows during their seasons ahead of the summer hiatuses.
Given that the FBI franchise typically airs more than 20 episodes a season, it’s likely that the week-long break was given so that the three shows had enough time to film and edit new episodes before they air on CBS. The FBI franchise also returned to CBS slightly earlier than other primetime shows after its midseason break in 2024.
The three FBI shows went on their midseason hiatuses on December 17, 2024, and returned to CBS about a month later on January 8, 2025. In comparison, primetime shows on ABC, such as Grey’s Anatomy and 9-1-1, aired their midseason finales on November 21, 2024. However, most of ABC’s shows didn’t return until early March 2025, which means that their season counts could be less than the FBI franchise. franchise.
CBS only airing a re-run for FBI and not for FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International during their break also speaks volumes about the FBI franchise’s future on the network. In March 2025, news broke that CBS had canceled both FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International after six and four seasons, respectively. Both shows are set to end with their current seasons in May 2025. FBI, for its part, was renewed through Season 9 into the 2026-2027 broadcast season.
Given that FBI is the last show left in the FBI franchise — until the new spinoff, FBI: CIA, premieres the 2025-2026 season — it makes sense for CBS to only prioritize FBI for re-runs and use FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International‘s usual time slots to promote its freshman series, Watson, which is still garnering viewers.
The FBI franchise streams on Paramount Plus.
