FBI: John Boyd Previews Scola’s Personal and Professional Turmoil in ‘Descent’

January 17, 2025 by Marisa Roffman

“Descent” – The suspected suicide of a former Assistant United States Attorney puts the team onto an airline whistleblower scandal. But when the investigation uncovers a sinister terrorist plot hacking the computer systems of airlines, they must race to stop planes falling out of the sky. Dealing with the memory of his brother, who was a victim of the 9/11, the case pushes Scola hard to prevent another catastrophe, on FBI, Tuesday, Jan. 28 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Jeremy Sisto as Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine and John Boyd as Special Agent Stuart Scola. Photo: Bennett Raglin/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When FBI returns on Tuesday, January 28 with its winter premiere, “Descent,” the agents are tasked with a terrifying case: Terrorists have taken control of commercial flights and are threatening to crash the planes.

For Scola (John Boyd), this hits close to home after losing his brother, Doug, in the 9/11 attacks. “It’s a really interesting predicament for this character because we don’t have time to stop and feel about it—but we all know it’s in the ether of the case,” Boyd tells Give Me My Remote in the video below. “So we’re going, ‘I can’t believe this is what’s happening. Okay, we’ve just got to get through it.’ And, yeah, it’s a big one.”

“This has been part of this character’s DNA and origin story from the beginning,” he continues. “To get to look at what that type of loss really would have been for him—we’ve talked about the relationship to his brother, Doug, but we haven’t really gotten a sense from Scola what it would have been like to be a family member of a 9/11 victim. And the long years and years of nothing, of not knowing. So it’s great that [in] this episode, we get to find a little bit of closure for him.”

“Descent” – The suspected suicide of a former Assistant United States Attorney puts the team onto an airline whistleblower scandal. But when the investigation uncovers a sinister terrorist plot hacking the computer systems of airlines, they must race to stop planes falling out of the sky. Dealing with the memory of his brother, who was a victim of the 9/11, the case pushes Scola hard to prevent another catastrophe, on FBI, Tuesday, Jan. 28 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Shantel VanSanten as Special Agent Nina Chase, Zeeko Zaki as Special Agent Omar Adom ‘OA’ Zidan, Missy Peregrym as Special Agent Maggie Bell, and John Boyd as Special Agent Stuart Scola. Photo: Bennett Raglin/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As Scola deals with the turmoil, he will have an assist from Nina (Shantel VanSanten), who crosses over from FBI: MOST WANTED for the hour.

“The episode kicks off with Nina hanging out in the bullpen and asking about this letter that Scola has been avoiding,” Boyd previews. “We find out from Maggie and OA that there’s some letter on Scola’s desk that he just will not read. And we know that it’s related to something in his past.”

When Scola does eventually deal with it, “Nina is the one there,” Boyd says. “Nina is his family. Nina’s there for the resolution, and he needs her help. What I loved is…there’s a huge reliance on his family, to his new [romantic] partner, to say, ‘Will you help me?’ And the resolution to it, and the understanding and what we learn about his past and going forward has a lot to do with what Nina has allowed him to feel and how he’s grown with her.”

The hour is a big one for Boyd as Scola is put through the wringer personally and professionally. And to help execute the right tone, Boyd had actor-director Carlos Bernard behind the camera helming “Descent.” (This marks Bernard’s seventh time directing the CBS drama.)

“With someone like Carlos, there’s just such a level of trust,” Boyd says. “He’s just someone that I can go to and say, ‘This is really what I’m seeing here. This is what I want to try for this scene.’ [I could also say,] ‘Hey, Aaron [Ginsburg]’—who wrote it—’I think this line needs to be about this.’”

“This was an interesting one because there’s a showdown between Scola and this person that we’ve discovered,” he continues. “And it was interesting what we found in the scene, of really them seeing one another as the same; that Scola and the villain both carry the same pain…It’s a powerful scene, and it was really great to shoot. And Carlos is someone who you can just always rely on to be right with you and understand where you are emotionally, where you’re coming from.”

FBI, Tuesdays, 8/7c, CBS

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FBI: John Boyd Previews Scola’s Personal and Professional Turmoil in ‘Descent’

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