FBI: International is on the verge of adding a new agent to the Fly Team, with Station 19 alum Jay Hayden joining the hit CBS drama before the end of the 2024 TV schedule as a guest star. The actor plays Tyler Booth, an agent usually based out of the U.S. who joins forces with Wes Mitchell when a case takes him to Budapest. Hayden spoke with CinemaBlend to explain what about FBI: International made him want to come back to TV so soon after Station 19, and it's not just because of his real-life friendship with Jesse Lee Soffer.
Jay Hayden makes his FBI: International debut in the episode that airs on Tuesday, December 10 (and streams with a Paramount+ subscription) as one of the show's last installments before the 2025 TV schedule picks up the second half of Season 4. His arrival comes after Station 19 ended back in the summer, and not all actors are so quick to come back to the grueling schedule of network TV. The actor explained what made him want to return to primetime so soon, saying:
I can't believe it – I thought I was going to take a nice, long break after Station 19, but… How could I pass up an opportunity to work on a Wolf show? I've been waiting to get into that world forever. Nobody does crime drama like them. And then, working with one of my closest friends, Jesse Lee Soffer. So yes, I decided to come back a little early! [laughs] It's been great. It's wonderful.
Jay Hayden isn't kidding when he notes that "nobody does crime drama" like the team at Wolf Entertainment, a.k.a. the production company behind the hit TV universe currently spanning nine shows, seven of which are crime series. His comment about Jesse Lee Soffer also tracks with what Soffer himself said earlier this fall about working with his "really close friend" in Season 4.
Agent Tyler Booth also isn't going to be Travis Montgomery 2.0, after Jay Hayden spent five seasons and more than 100 episodes as that Station 19 character. He explained what specifically about the character hooked him on International:
When [showrunner] Matt Olmstead was talking to me about the character that he so wonderfully wrote, there was one thing that I connected to a lot, which was his relationship with his daughter and how much she matters to him and means to him, and how reactive he can be when she becomes in danger. And I connect to that, and I loved his love for his daughter, and also how sometimes she needs to give dad advice. [laughs] That I can relate to too. And I was like, 'Oh yeah, I really like that.'
Hayden is a father of two in real life, so it tracks that his character's relationship with his daughter had a certain appeal to him. His status as a parent definitely isn't the only thing that sets Booth apart from Station 19's Travis, though, and another difference really hit home for him as an actor. He previewed what kind of agent Booth is, and it sounds like he could be as much of a headache for Smitty as Wes was back in the beginning of the season:
Aso, what a different kind of character for me to play in terms of [how] he does things the wrong way sometimes. He thinks that maybe the shortcut to what we need to do is probably the right way to go, which is not the way Wes Mitchell does things. So I really wanted to jump into a character that I had no experience playing before.
Fans will have to tune into the new episode on December 10 – called "Keen as a Bean" – to fully see what kind of a pair Tyler Booth and Wes Mitchell are, but CBS' episode description confirms that he's Mitchell's "former colleague," who will need the Fly Team's help in catching a criminal on the American Most Wanted list. They'll need to rely on the ex-wife of the bad guy to lure him out of Russia.
And I think that's enough itself for Station 19 fans to understand what Hayden means about playing a "different kind of character" in the Wolf world! I asked the FBI: International newcomer what he would say to Station 19 fans about why they should check out his arrival on CBS, and he told me:
It's definitely a different show and a different tone, but I really enjoy this show a lot. I mean, you've watched the show before this, and I watched four episodes before I went out there, just to be like, 'What is the tone of this show, the energy of this show?' And I really enjoy it. I really like it a lot. It's not Travis anymore, but you can still find me in there. You can still find me in all the characters that I play. So I think they'll love it. I think it's worth their time.
Be sure to tune in to CBS on Tuesday, December 10 at 9 p.m. ET to catch Jay Hayden's debut as Agent Tyler Booth on FBI: International. As always, International airs between FBI at 8 p.m. ET and FBI: Most Wanted at 10 p.m. ET. Hayden will recur for multiple episodes of the fourth season, so you won't want to miss his arrival. If you prefer streaming to tuning in live, though, you'll be able to watch "Keen as a Bean" streaming via Paramount+ as well.
