[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the FBI: Most Wanted series finale “The Circle Game.”]
If FBI: Most Wanted was renewed for a seventh season, the Tuesday, May 20, finale would have looked very different — and ended on a cliffhanger!
“Remy [Dylan McDermott] would have re-upped for another year as Task Force leader and the cliffhanger in the season finale would have been a big ‘white whale’ fugitive who gets away — only to be captured in the following season,” showrunner David Hudgins tells TV Insider.
The CBS drama was canceled in March, meaning it was too early for the producers to start looking ahead, and so there are few details about what we could have seen, should the series have continued.
“We never got to the point of exploring stories for Season 7 because the cancellation news came so early, which gave us time to craft the series finale,” Hudgins says. There’s no word on the possibility of maybe one day seeing what could have come next.
With that heads up, Hudgins and the rest of the writers and producers were able to end the series as they wanted to. Remy retired, as he announced at the soft opening of his and Abby’s (Susan Misner) restaurant. Rather than take that job in D.C., which would have taken her closer to her kids, Barnes (Roxy Sternberg) is now taking over as team leader.
“After her divorce, the question for Barnes in Season 6 was, who am I? In the end, she decided that she could never do a desk job; she is happiest when being a ‘cop’ and taking bad guys off the street. Sometimes the best thing a parent can do for the kids is to love themselves first,” explains the showrunner.
Other reveals in the finale about the team include Hana (Keisha Castle-Hughes) and Ethan (Michael Raymond-James) are making it work and moving in together after he’s out of rehab — “Hana loves him, and he kept his promise to get clean,” notes Hudgins — and Ray (Edwin Hodge) and Cora (Caroline Harris) are having a baby. If the show had been renewed, that would still have happened, giving them the chance to explore Ray balancing that with work.
“It’s a blended family, with Caleb as his stepson, but as Remy says in the finale, Ray is such a solid man of good character that the world needs more Cannons in it,” according to Hudgins.
Something that might have changed was Nina (Shantel VanSanten) making up with her father in Texas — after they helped her sister move out, now that she’s left her husband — at the beginning of the episode.
“I loved the idea that Nina had already forgiven him — as a survival mechanism — so it was definitely a move on her father’s side. Perhaps we would have played out the tension more had the series not ended,” admitted Hudgins.
Mark Schafer / CBS
That dinner at Remy’s restaurant included him giving a sweet toast to each member of the team. He called Nina “strong … fierce and absolutely the most terrifying driver I’ve ever ridden with” and praised his own decision to poach her from Jubal (FBI‘s Jeremy Sisto) “because you are an absolutely stunning agent, and in the immortal words of George Strait, god bless Texas.” Ray is “an absolute badass,” with his fear of rats his only problem. “But when I think of you, Ray, I think of honesty, loyalty, integrity,” Remy continued. “You are an example to everyone, and congratulations on kid #2. We need more Cannons in this world.”
He then turned to the OG task force duo; Hana and Barnes were with the Fugitive Task Force back during the backdoor pilot on FBI. To Hana, he said, “I never had children, but if I ever did, I’d want them to be just like you: genius-level smart, kind, loyal, great sense of humor. I’d probably leave out the short part though. … But thank you for everything. I’m going to miss you.” It was during his words to Barnes that he revealed she was taking over as boss: “It’s no secret we’ve had our ups and downs; I think the reason for that is you’re really bossy. In all seriousness,I could say so much about you, but I think everyone knows exactly how I feel when I say, ladies and gentlemen, the new team leader of the New York Fugitive Task Force, Sheryll J. Barnes!”
With that, as part of the tradition of the FBI, he passed along handcuffs — first mini ones, then his from Quantico — to “keep catching those bad guys.” Barnes had something for him as well: his badge framed.
That ending “was a way for the audience to say goodbye to each of the characters — with Remy as their voice. Dylan nailed it as usual,” says Hudgins.
What did you think of the series finale? What would you like to have seen explored in a seventh season? Let us know in the comments section below.