Dylan McDermott returned to television back in 2021 to play Elliot Stabler’s nemesis on the highly-anticipated Law & Order: Organized Crime, and he proved that he can be very good at playing bad as Richard Wheatley. In a twist, however, McDermott will step away from being bad on NBC to join the good guys over on CBS as the new leading man of FBI: Most Wanted following the departure of Julian McMahon. The actor celebrated his new gig on the FBI spinoff with a message that he kept short, sweet, and to the point.
In a photo and message on Instagram, Dylan McDermott made it pretty clear that he’s excited to be joining FBI: Most Wanted, even if the photo he chose isn’t exactly looking gleeful. Take a look:
There will indeed be a new sheriff in town on FBI: Most Wanted, after Julian McMahon decided to leave the hit series. Agent Jess LaCroix will no longer be around to lead the Fugitive Task Force, and that’ll be where Dylan McDermott comes in. There are few details available about who he’ll play or how he debuts, but McDermott’s new character will be an original rather than a reprisal of Richard Wheatley, even though FBI: Most Wanted takes place in the same TV universe as Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Of course, McDermott won’t be the only actor in the Wolf Entertainment TV universe – comprised of Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Organized Crime, Law & Order (after the revival premieres in February), Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, and FBI: International – to play one character on one of the shows and then a different character on another of the shows.
In fact, FBI’s Jeremy Sisto spent years on Law & Order, and has even spoken about the connection between the two shows. S. Epatha Merkerson of Chicago Med is another Law & Order alum to play two different major characters. If they could do it, surely there will be no problem with McDermott doing it! It will be fun to see if anybody actually mentions that the new FBI agent looks an awful lot like a villain who menaced New York over on NBC.
There are more questions than answers at this point about how FBI: Most Wanted says goodbye to Julian McMahon and welcomes Dylan McDermott, and Richard Wheatley is still causing all kinds of problems for Stabler and the rest of the Task Force on Organized Crime. In fact, he has escalated so much that even those who he works with may need to band together to survive him, as one OC star explained to CinemaBlend.
All things considered, Dylan McDermott has a lot to celebrate, as he’ll move from one of the biggest hits on NBC to star in a major hit on CBS, based on the ratings averages from the end of 2021. The odds of him appearing on the other two FBI shows are also better than ever, as crossovers to CBS weren't too likely back when he was just playing a criminal.
Fans will reportedly have to wait until April to see McDermott debut his new character on FBI: Most Wanted, but Julian McMahon’s final episode as Jess LaCroix isn’t too far off from its March 8 premiere. Some of the biggest shows on television are heading into breaks in the coming weeks due to the 2022 Winter Olympics, but check out our list of 2022 TV premiere dates for your upcoming viewing options.
