FBI: International is on the way to CBS in the 2021-2022 TV season as the second spinoff of FBI, and it will expand the already-expansive Dick Wolf TV universe even further. That shared universe is currently comprised of FBI and FBI: Most Wanted on CBS as well as the three shows of One Chicago and both current Law & Order series on NBC. International will launch as part of a three-hour crossover with FBI and Most Wanted in the fall, but new show details – including some castings – suggest the role International will (or won't) play in future Dick Wolf crossovers.
Three leads have officially been cast for FBI: International, with Deadline reporting that The Man in the High Castle's Luke Kleintank will play the Head of the International FBI Fly Team unit, Poldark's Heida Reed will play the second-in-command, and Lucifer's Vinessa Vidotto playing a new but ambitious member of the international team. And while those castings alone don't actually give much away about what the future could hold for Dick Wolf crossovers involving FBI: International, more new details shed some light.
The series will reportedly both be set and shot in Budapest, Hungary, which means that these new stars won't be working just a hop, skip, and jump away from their fellow FBI franchise stars with shows based in New York. The physical proximity between FBI and Most Wanted under ideal conditions has meant that mini or major crossovers can happen at pretty much any point. International being based in Budapest both in-universe and real life could impact crossovers by making it all but impossible for the FBI shows to do what One Chicago and Law & Order can do.
The Dick Wolf shows over on NBC that film close to each other cross over frequently when not dealing with pandemic production challenges, with Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med regularly sharing characters, and Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime were quite closely connected as soon as Organized Crime premiered and brought back the long-absent Detective Stabler.
If FBI: International is both set and filming in Budapest, then fans may not want to set their hearts on the characters played by Luke Kleintank, Heida Reed, and Vinessa Vidotto hanging out with FBI's Maggie and OA or Most Wanted's Jess on a regular basis, let alone One Chicago and Law & Order shows, although Chicago Fire boss Derek Haas is on board the new FBI spinoff. All of this said, the premise of the upcoming show indicates that it's not going to need crossovers to deliver some intense action on a weekly basis.
The new International series follows the elite agents of the FBI's International Fly Team. Although they'll be headquartered in Budapest, the operatives will travel the world to track and neutralize threats against American citizens. The complication that doesn't affect the characters on FBI and FBI: Most Wanted? They can't carry guns, so they have to rely on their brawn and brains as they risk their lives to protect the U.S. from overseas.
Unfortunately, Dick Wolf TV fans will have to wait to see how FBI and FBI: Most Wanted launch FBI: International despite eventually being based an ocean away from each other. The three shows will all air on Tuesday nights in one big FBI block, much like what NBC has going with One Chicago on Wednesdays and will have with Law & Order thanks to the upcoming spinoff on Thursdays. FBI and Most Wanted will launch International in a three-hour crossover event in the fall.
