FBI: MOST WANTED Boss David Hudgins on How the Writers Handle the Team’s Rotating Roster

In the aftermath of Jess’ (Julian McMahon) death on FBI: MOST WANTED, the Fugitive Task Force is once again being shaken up.

During the show’s first three seasons, the close-knit team has had a number of shakeups as Clinton (Nathaniel Arcand) left, Crosby (Kellan Lutz) was injured and unable to continue working, and Hana (Keisha Castle-Hughes)—who remains with the show—briefly left to accommodate Castle-Hughes’ real-life maternity leave. In recent years, they’ve also added on Ortiz (Miguel Gomez) and Kristin (Alexa Davalos).

In late 2021, McMahon acknowledged the evolving on-screen dynamics had allowed for the actors to mimic what their characters were going through.

“Our show kind of mimics the real life of what we’re doing—these five people spending a lot of time together, traveling to unique locations,” he said at the time. “So the actual concept of the show suits exactly the way that we shoot the show. And so we develop that kind of relationship, on and off the screen, and then when it starts to change, you realize things.”

But the loss of Jess is the biggest blow yet, as the remaining federal agents will have to figure out how they work as a team without their leader. And the changes are still coming: Dylan McDermott is joining the series in April—and Roxy Sternberg will have her own maternity leave, as well—so this dynamic won’t be sticking for that long.

“This is all happening in the pandemic—I think the pandemic just changed so many things for so many people; I’ve got kids in my own who’ve been going to virtual school,” FBI: MOST WANTED boss David Hudgins acknowledges. “It just felt like there was just a shift in the world because of the pandemic. And then on our show, we’ve been dealing with some [cast] moves. For a lot of shows, that could have been more problematic. For this show, we have such a drive—we have a manhunt; it’s a fugitive each week.”

So despite the changing ensemble, “I don’t think the core of the show ever really changes and it never will change,” Hudgins says. “It’s about getting these people and bringing them to justice, and doing it with the team in various iterations. We looked at it as, yes, it was challenging, but also it was an opportunity. It’s like, oh, well, if Kenny’s not here, then who’s going to be the sniper? Oh, maybe Ortiz is a sniper. We looked at it as an opportunity to explore other avenues with the characters.”

Hudgins, whose prior television writing credits include large ensemble shows like PARENTHOOD and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, has used that experience

“A television series is a living, breathing organism,” he says. “We always talked about on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, what do we do when [the high school student players] graduate? We go to East Dillon, that is what we do. As creators and writers, you’re sort of always thinking, ‘Okay, what’s our backup? What’s our other plan here? How can we make a meal out of this?’ Last year, we brought in the bounty hunter character for a couple of episodes. We’ve changed up the format; we did a real time episode with mall shooting. So there’s ways to do it creatively. I never really felt like we were ever boxed in.”

FBI: MOST WANTED, Tuesdays, 10/9c, CBS

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