FBI is still nearly two months away from returning to CBS in the fall 2024 TV schedule, following a Season 6 finale featuring a version of Tiff that her actress described as "unhinged." Unfortunately for fans of the agent and her dynamic with the rest of the team, Katherine Renee Turner will not be returning for the upcoming seventh season, and the show has already landed somebody who will fill Tiff's shoes.
The news reminded me of what the actress told CinemaBlend that she was excited to do in Season 7, when the assumption had been that Tiff would be back full-time. But first things first!
FBI Is Moving Forward Without Tiff
Katherine Renee Turner will not return to FBI as a series regular, according to Deadline, although she is expected to appear in at least one episode of Season 7. This hopefully means that the hit CBS drama will give Tiff an on-screen farewell and a fitting exit for Turner, who has been a key part of the series' team since Season 3. Tiff has been Scola's partner over the last three seasons, and they've been nearly as solid a unit as Maggie and OA.
The news about Turner's exit from FBI broke just hours after the report (via Deadline) that National Treasure: Edge of History alum Lisette Olivera was joining the drama as a series regular character by the name of Syd. The character was trained as an agent of the Behavioral Analysis Unit with a desk job and now set to rotate into working in the field.
The update following the news about Tiff states that Syd will be stepping in as Scola's new partner when that position is vacant. Her personality and resume are such that her lack of field experience may not be too much of an issue.
Despite a fair amount of details about the new agent considering her debut is presumably at least two months away, details about why Tiff is leaving are currently unavailable. With the absence of information on that front, I revisited an interview from the spring when I was able to speak with Katherine Renee Turner about the Season 6 finale.
What Katherine Renee Turner Told Us In The Spring
While it's a waiting game to see if any details do release about why FBI is moving forward without Tiff as a series regular, Katherine Renee Turner seemed to expect that she'd be back for Season 7 when we spoke back in May for the sixth season finale. That episode was Tiff-centric and wrapped up the storyline that had been brewing for the agent since the Season 6 premiere.
It was an intense finale that saw Tiff dealing with some of her teammates doubting her, but she ultimately rose to the occasion to close the case. Scola largely had her back, and according to Katherine Renee Turner in May, working on that partnership was something she was "excited to continue" with co-star John Boyd. She said:
It's been really great. I think that there was a lot of texture in their dynamic from the beginning, but to continue to work with John and find new nuances and new textures has been really rewarding. It's been something that has challenged me and helped me grow as an actress, and I'm excited to continue to do that. I think there's a lot more to be drawn out of there.
The two characters weren't always overlapping in each other's main storylines in Season 6, with Scola – to quote John Boyd – "bumping heads" with FBI: Most Wanted's Nina as new parents. Still, they were definitely a unit on the team, much like Maggie and OA. When I noted to Turner in the spring that Tiff and Scola had very different backgrounds and were very different characters, she responded:
It's funny. They come from very different backgrounds, but they also sort of have similar temperaments or the ways that they see things and they see the world so that they can connect, and I think they have a desire to understand things outside of themselves. I mean, obviously it's challenging when your partner is coming at you specifically and telling you what you need to do better, but in general, they tend to understand each other. There's a lot of potential.
Of course, FBI does sometimes mix up the partnerships so that Tiff/Scola and Maggie/OA aren't always the duos in a given episode. I've always been partial to seeing Maggie and Tiff teamed up as the two female field agents in the unit, and Katherine Renee Turner agreed. She said:
Yeah, me too! I look forward to the next time it happens. It doesn't happen often, but I really loved working with her on the finale. Missy is such a great actress, and she requires a lot out of the process. She wants to find the truth and that's what any actor could ask for in a partner.
Alas, there may not be a "next time" for Tiff and Maggie to join forces or much time to see Tiff and Scola in action together if Katherine Renee Turner is only back in Season 7 for one episode. The total episode count remains to be seen, however, and hopefully the door will be open for her to return as long as Tiff doesn't get a tragic exit. FBI was renewed for three more seasons in April, which Turner described in the spring as "a blessing."
For now, FBI fans can always revisit the first six seasons – including all three including Tiff so far – of the hit drama with a Paramount+ subscription. Along with FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, FBI returns to CBS on Tuesday, October 15.
