FBI: Most Wanted made big news during a break between episodes with the reveal that leading man Julian McMahon will depart as Jess LaCroix before the end of the current third season on CBS. Fortunately for fans wondering how Most Wanted will continue after losing the star, the show has wasted no time in finding a replacement. In fact, the show didn’t even have to go far: a star from the Law & Order side of the Wolf Entertainment franchise is on board! FBI: Most Wanted fans, prepare to say hello to Organized Crime’s Dylan McDermott, whose future on the NBC show is now in question.
Dylan McDermott has been cast to fill the leading man void that will be left by Julian McMahon on FBI: Most Wanted, according to Deadline. Although the FBI and Law & Order corners of the Wolf universe are connected thanks to a crossover back in 2020, this won’t be a case of his Organized Crime character making the jump to CBS for Most Wanted. McDermott will play a new character for Most Wanted, although no details are available just yet about who he will be. His character and Jess LaCroix won’t cross paths; McMahon’s final episode will air on March 8, while McDermott’s debut will be Episode 17, reportedly scheduled to air in April.
So, what does this FBI: Most Wanted casting and April debut mean for Dylan McDermott on Organized Crime? Well, since he’s obviously not going to be playing criminal mastermind Richard Wheatley to lead an FBI unit, something is going to have to happen to take Wheatley out of the game so that McDermott can be a series regular on Most Wanted in his new role. For Elliot Stabler’s sake on OC, we can only hope that Wheatley will be gone because he has been locked up for life (or more permanently taken care of) rather than out and about off screen. It does seem safe to say that Wheatley’s days as the #1 big bad on Organized Crime are numbered, however.
And that might not actually have to change much about the plans for Law & Order: OC Season 2. Co-creator and TV super-producer Dick Wolf already established that the second season would be broken up into three parts, with the first similar to The Godfather, the second similar to American Gangster, and the third similar to Scarface. If the KO arc that started Season 2 was OC’s version of The Godfather, then the current Wheatley arc is American Gangster, and therefore always intended to end in time for the Scarface third to begin. So, the new leading man on FBI: Most Wanted will be a very familiar face for fans of the Law & Order shows over on NBC, but not a familiar character.
And Dylan McDermott playing two different characters within the same TV universe (comprised of FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, FBI: International, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: OC, and soon a Law & Order revival) doesn’t even complicate things, as other stars have already set the precedent. Jeremy Sisto is a star on FBI after spending years as somebody else on the original Law & Order, and Chicago Med’s S. Epatha Merkerson was once a Law & Order regular as well. Even Demore Barnes played double duty within the Wolf Entertainment TV universe as different characters before he was written out of SVU.
For now, you can look forward to seeing how Law & Order: Organized Crime wraps Richard Wheatley’s arc to free up Dylan McDermott with new episodes on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET when the show returns to NBC after the Olympics in February. As for FBI: Most Wanted, Julian McMahon’s final episodes as Jess LaCroix will air on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS starting on February 1. For some viewing options while waiting for the Dick Wolf shows to return, be sure to take a look at our 2022 TV schedule.
