FBI: Most Wanted received a renewal order toward the end of Season 3 that guaranteed the hit CBS crime drama would be back for another two years, but news also broke that another member of the team was departing. Miguel Gomez’s Ortiz wasn’t tragically killed off like the previous star who was written out in the third season, but there was no indication of how Most Wanted would say goodbye or who would fill the vacancy. With production beginning on Season 4, a new agent has been cast, and the actor is a familiar face for longtime Chicago Fire fans: Edwin Hodge.
Edwin Hodge has joined the cast of FBI: Most Wanted Season 4 to play FBI Agent Ray Cannon, according to Deadline. The character started his career as a cop down in New Orleans, but is an agent out of the FBI’s Violent Crimes division in Albany by the time Season 4 picks up. The son of a former agent, Cannon is a relatively recent addition to the Bureau, as he just graduated from Quantico last year. He did so at the top of his class. It’s not clear just yet how well he’ll fit into the Fugitive Task Force, and a lot about how he’s received by the other agents (and fans) might depend on how Ortiz is written out.
The actor has a long list of credits to his name, and a memorable run on Chicago Fire makes him the latest Wolf Entertainment star to appear as different characters in different shows within the same TV universe. Much more time has passed between his stint in One Chicago and his arrival in Most Wanted compared to Dylan McDermott, who wrapped his time on Law & Order: Organized Crime without much time to spare before debuting as Remy Scott on CBS.
On Fire, Hodge played Squad 3 firefighter Rick Newhouse. He made his first appearance in late Season 2 in 2014 and continued to help out Firehouse 51 through the middle of Season 3 in 2015. He didn't appear in any other Wolf Entertainment show before joining Most Wanted, but did contribute to other notable series. He appeared in both seasons of History’s Six before it was cancelled in 2018, as well as several episodes of Sons of Anarchy spinoff Mayans M.C. and Apple TV+’s For All Mankind.
Most recently, he was a series regular on another CBS show: the medical drama Good Sam, which marked Sophia Bush (another Wolf Entertainment alum) returning to a leading role on network television, with middling ratings to show for it. Although the finale ended on some cliffhangers, CBS cancelled the show. Instead of Edwin Hodge being done at the network, he has simply switched shows to join FBI: Most Wanted.
Although there has been a surprising amount of cast turnover for a hit series with only three complete seasons, Most Wanted has held onto two of its stars from the very beginning. (Kellan Lutz and Julian McMahon both departed in the course of Season 3.) Miguel Gomez’s Ivan Ortiz lasted two seasons, and wasn’t actually written out at the end of Season 3. It should be interesting to see what kind of longevity Edwin Hodge’s Ray Cannon has, and how well he fits in.
FBI: Most Wanted revealed the beginning of production on Season 4 on Twitter shortly before the news broke of Edwin Hodge’s casting. It hasn’t been confirmed yet whether Roxy Sternberg will be back as Agent Barnes when the fourth season premieres in September after bowing out of Season 3 early for her maternity leave, but she is expected to be back at some point. Missy Peregrym, who stars in Most Wanted’s parent series FBI, has a delayed return in the fall due to her own maternity leave.
FBI: Most Wanted returns with Season 4 on Tuesday, September 20 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS in the 2022 TV premiere schedule, following FBI: International at 9 p.m. and FBI at 8 p.m. You can revisit earlier episodes of all three series now with a Paramount+ subscription.
