FBI: International took the CBS crime-fighting action across the ocean to follow the Fly Team operating out of Budapest, and the first season so far has used the cases to reveal bits and pieces about the agents. The first season has been rough for Jamie Kellett with twists ranging from a tempting job offer to a gunshot wound to crossing a line and disposing of evidence. Now, actress Heida Reed has shared how the CBS hit will give some more insight into her character.
Heida Reed spoke with CinemaBlend ahead of the January 11 episode of FBI: International, called “Close to the Sun.” It will be a big episode for Kellett and see the Fly Team traveling to join an investigation in Northern Ireland. The actress previewed what viewers can expect from the case and its impact on Kellett:
I think this episode gives the viewers a slight more insight into her past, and possibly why she's done what she's done and why she acts the way she does, really.
FBI: International has dropped hints here and there about Kellett’s past, particularly with regard to her family and the sister of whom she spoke in the past tense. She also had a job offer that would have taken her back to the United States, and seemed to be seriously considering it. While “Close to the Sun” surely won’t answer every question for fans, more insight is on the way.
The case of the week will hit closer to home than usual for Kellett as well, based on the CBS episode description. One of Kellett’s informants will be mixed up in the crimes that bring the Fly Team to Northern Ireland, and the first season is far from over. Heida Reed went on to share what she’s excited about as Season 1 continues on CBS:
I'm just always excited to see kind of where we end up because we're always taking cases in different countries with a different culture. One of my favorite parts of the job is to meet new characters and actors and see where they've come from. So that's always exciting. What's unique about our show is that we're never in the same place. Rarely in the same place.
The show has certainly taken the Fly Team all over the world so far in the first season, with Kellett’s previous big episode set in Prague, and others set in locations in Europe ranging from Bulgaria to Spain to Paris. With “Close to the Sun” taking the action to Northern Ireland, the show is even branching off of the continent.
Interestingly, however, FBI: International doesn’t have to travel to all of these locations for the episodes, but can recreate them in Budapest, where production is based. Heida Reed weighed in on working out of Budapest:
It's amazing. It's such a privilege to be in Europe doing it in real time, as in in the real places, and this city is just filled with history and beauty and and it just lends such authenticity to the piece, that we're not on set somewhere in a different country and we feel very lucky that we get to be on location like we are.
Since the show manages to make Budapest look like countries and cities throughout Europe, it’s always quite clear that FBI: International doesn’t exactly film on a Los Angeles sound stage. As the actress noted, there’s a certain authenticity that comes from filming where they can, and all signs point toward that continuing in “Close to the Sun.”
Be sure to tune in to CBS on Tuesday, January 11 at 9 p.m. ET for Heida Reed’s next big episode of FBI: International, between FBI at 8 p.m. ET and FBI: Most Wanted at 10 p.m. ET. For more of what to watch and when to watch it in the new year, check out our 2022 winter and spring premiere schedule. The three FBI shows share a universe with the three One Chicago shows and two current Law & Orders over on NBC, and that TV universe will be growing even further in the not-too-distant future.
