FBI Boss Rick Eid Shares Insight into Co-Writing the Massive Franchise Crossover

April 4, 2023 by Marisa Roffman

“Imminent Threat – Part Two” – To aid Scola in his undercover mission to find the terrorists believed to be behind the imminent attack in New York City, Maggie calls in Remy (FBI: MOST WANTED series star Dylan McDermott), whose well-connected informant from a prior case may be key to moving the operation forward, in hour two of the three-episode FBIs global crossover event, on the CBS Original series FBI, Tuesday, April 4 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*. FBI: INTERNATIONAL stars Luke Kleintank, Heida Reed, Carter Redwood, Vinessa Vidotto and FBI: MOST WANTED stars Roxy Sternberg and Keisha Castle-Hughes also guest star in the episode. Pictured (L-R): Jeremy Sisto as Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine, Keisha Castle-Hughes as Special Agent Hana Gibson, Roxy Sternberg as Special Agent Sheryll Barnes, and Alana De La Garza as Special Agent in Charge Isobel Castille. Photo: Bennett Raglin/CBS ©2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The federal agents from FBI, FBI: INTERNATIONAL, and FBI: MOST WANTED are used to taking on some of the most difficult cases every week. But in the Tuesday, April 4 three-hour crossover event, “Imminent Threat,” things spiral out of control and it’ll take all three teams working together to stop a potential threat.

“Our bad guys in this case are not your average terrorists,” FBI showrunner—and “Imminent Threat” co-writer—Rick Eid tells Give Me My Remote via email. “It turns out they have a close connection to the leadership of an unfriendly foreign government at the highest levels. This further complicates the FBI’s difficult task of infiltrating the organization and stopping them from carrying out their lethal plot.”

Though all three FBI series follow an elite group of agents, there are differences in their approach: the mothership handles cases in New York; MOST WANTED travels across the country tracking down fugitives on the Most Wanted list; INTERNATIONAL’s Fly Team travels across Europe, working cases that involve American citizens—and having to navigate working with local authorities. And, of course, all of the teams have very different personality types.

“They’re part of the same FBI universe, but each show has its own world and style of storytelling,” Eid acknowledges. “For a crossover, we aim to stay faithful to each show’s voice, while combining the unique strengths of our heroes in a way that serves one overarching common goal.”

“We felt this story fit that bill in a natural way—starting with an investigation into international terrorists, then following them to New York where they plan to commit a mass casualty terror act,” he continues.

“Imminent Threat – Part One” – When the abduction of an American architect in Rome appears to be connected to a brewing terror threat in New York City, FBI’s Jubal (star Jeremy Sisto) and Nina (recurring star Shantel VanSanten) join Forrester and his Fly Team in Italy as they work together to find the missing American and shed light on the terrorists’ U.S. target, on the CBS Original series FBI: INTERNATIONAL, Tuesday, April 4 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*. FBI stars Alana De La Garza and John Boyd also guest star in the episode, which is part one of a three-episode FBIs global crossover event. Pictured (L-R): Luke Kleintank as Special Agent Scott Forrester and Jeremy Sisto as Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine. Photo: Philippe Antonello/CBS ©2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The writing process was also its own crossover, as Eid co-wrote the episodes with FBI: INTERNATIONAL’s Wade McIntyre and FBI: MOST WANTED’s Elizabeth Rinehart. With the trio, and their respective rooms, having such deep knowledge of the franchise, it allowed the writers to have fun with the character combinations they paired up to work the case.

“From day one, we were excited about Jubal and Forrester teaming up,” Eid says. “Forrester is prone to pushing boundaries with INTERNATIONAL’s Fly Team, while Jubal tends to steer the ship from back at the FBI’s JOC. In the crossover, we got to play with a different dynamic: Jubal in the field in Rome, being a bit of a cowboy, and Forrester on his home turf making sure they get the job done without crossing the line.”

“We also had fun writing scenes between [FBI’s] Scola and MOST WANTED’s Remy Scott,” he continues. “I worked closely with the INTERNATIONAL and MOST WANTED writers throughout the process to make sure we stayed true to the characters from all three shows.”

Despite this being the first crossover for the FBI franchise this year, it’s actually the second major franchise event Eid had his hand in: he co-wrote “Gimme Shelter,”—with CHICAGO P.D. boss Gwen Sigan—the three-series LAW & ORDER crossover that kicked off the NBC franchise’s season. (Eid showruns LAW & ORDER in addition to his work on FBI.)

After doing the L&O crossover, the lesson he learned for this FBI event was “the story needs to be really ‘big,’ and it needs to keep escalating,” he says. “And you need an emotional/personal storyline running through the middle of it. 130 minutes of consecutive TV time, or thereabouts, is A LONG TIME.”

The FBIs Crossover, Tuesday, April 4, 8/7c, CBS

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