FBI: Most Wanted ended its third season with a core cast of agents tasked with hunting down the worst of the worst fugitives, but now that cast has dropped by one. News broke over hiatus that Miguel Gomez will not be part of Season 4 when the show returns in the fall, so Agent Ivan Ortiz will be the latest of a surprisingly large number of stars written out of the show.
In fact, counting Gomez as Ortiz, FBI: Most Wanted said goodbye to four series regulars over the past year, starting with Nathaniel Arcand confirming his (admittedly unsurprising after a reduced presence in Season 2) departure as Clinton Skye last June. Kenny Crosby was the next to leave, with Kellan Lutz's departure explained by Crosby sustaining a serious injury to start Season 3. Then, of course, Julian McMahon's Jess LaCroix was killed off. Now, Gomez's Ortiz is reportedly being written out for creative reasons.
With Roxy Barnes still absent as Barnes due to her maternity leave at the end of Season 3, it feels like Most Wanted has said a lot of goodbyes to major characters. Unsurprisingly, fans have thoughts about the cast losing another member, with one weighing in on the thinned-out cast and speculating about why the stars have left, posting on Twitter:
Why does no one stay on this show? Keisha Castle Hughes and Roxie Sternberg are the only OG cast members left. Makes me wonder if the environment is toxic or something.
Roxy Sternberg is expected to be back as Barnes when Season 4 arrives (and newcomer Dylan McDermott weighed in on how he imagines Barnes' dynamic with Remy), and Keisha Castle-Hughes returned as Hana after her long absence earlier in Season 3. The rest of the original cast – comprised of Julian McMahon as Jess LaCroix, Kellan Lutz as Kenny Crosby, and Nathaniel Arcand as Clinton Skye – are all gone, and some more permanently than others. Miguel Gomez, Alexa Davalos, and Dylan McDermott were cast to fill the open slots, but now Gomez is on the way out. Another fan on Twitter addressed losing three in one season:
We started the season losing Crosby, we lost Jess in the middle and now we lost Ivan at the end without even knowing. That's messed up #FBIMostWantedJune 4, 2022
Losing Ivan stings in particular due to the fact that Miguel Gomez was missing from the Season 3 finale, which really needed all hands on deck with the fugitive of the week targeting the agents' families. The reason for Ortiz's absence at the time was that he was in Los Angeles to care for his father, which is a potential way that Most Wanted could write the character out in Season 4. Plus, in the time between Crosby's departure and Hana's return, the team was Jess, Ortiz, Barnes, and Gaines. As another person on Twitter pointed out, that number dropped by a lot:
We’ve now lost half of this team.
Miguel Gomez has yet to publicly comment about FBI: Most Wanted saying goodbye to Ortiz, so there are no details about how or why his character is leaving, and whether or not it was truly because the show wants to move in a new direction. As a Most Wanted fan on social media pointed out, there are some answers for the other stars who left in Season 3:
Before anyone starts any conspiracy theories. 1. Kellan aka Crosby wanted to leave the show to spend more time with his wife and newborn. 2. Julian aka Jess wanted to leave to try out new projects. 3. We don't know Miguel's reason yet. It was their choice.#FBIMostWantedJune 4, 2022
Shortly after the beginning of Season 3 that was also the end of his time as a Most Wanted regular, Kellan Lutz revealed the heartbreaking reasons behind his decision to spend more time with his extended family after the birth of his daughter, and had good things to say about the show, notably not ruling out a return. Julian McMahon – who is obviously less likely to return due to how Jess was written out – shared that he wanted to pursue other projects. As another fan tweeting pointed out, though, it's not known if there's something else resulting in turnover:
Thats the million dollar question!
Fans may be in for a bit of a wait before getting more details about how Most Wanted will write Ortiz out and who will come on board to replace him, assuming that the show will bring in another agent. The series doesn't return until the fall, returning to its Tuesday night time slot at 10 p.m. ET on CBS after FBI: International at 9 p.m. and FBI at 8 p.m. All three shows received renewals for another two seasons, so there is plenty of FBI action on the way.
To pass the time over the summer hiatus (and revisit the highs and lows of Ortiz's arc on FBI: Most Wanted), check out every season so far streaming with a Paramount+ subscription. You can also find some more viewing options for the coming weeks with our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
