FBI returns on CBS for Season 8 in the fall 2025 TV schedule with some big changes. Not only will this be the first season that the hit drama doesn’t air on a Tuesday night, but it’s also the first season since 2020 that it will air without either FBI: Most Wanted or FBI: International directly afterwards. As for whether the cast will also change right away this fall, that depends on how FBI handles the aftermath of the spring finale that left Isobel (Alana De La Garza) possibly on death’s door. Stars Missy Peregrym and Zeeko Zaki spoke with CinemaBlend to shed some light on what’s to come.
Season 7 ended on a rare FBI cliffhanger, as the show usually wraps up a story at the end of one season and starts fresh in the next. After the team seemingly got a big win despite odds being stacked against them within the Bureau, Isobel collapsed when untreated injuries overwhelmed her. The season ended on Isobel without a pulse, and fans have waited all summer to learn her fate in Season 8.
Showrunner Mike Weiss told CinemaBlend that the premiere picks up just “three days later” after that cliffhanger. Called “Takeover,” the episode involves the disappearance of a federal judge while Jubal (Jeremy Sisto) has to take on more of a leadership role at 26 Fed. When I spoke with the two top-billed stars of the show, Missy Peregrym – who of course plays Maggie – shared what kind of headspace the agents are in after Isobel’s collapse:
Whew, we’re pretty rocked. I would say that we don’t know who to trust in the Bureau, and kind of the toll that that took on us, but also we don’t know if Isobel is going to be okay. So we’re having to continue to go to work while she’s in the hospital, and we don’t know if it’s going to go well for her. Jubal has to take over her position and make some very difficult decisions, acting in her position.
I’m curious to see if that “toll” will be resolved by the end of the Season 8 premiere on Monday, October 13, or something that the agents will be dealing with throughout the fall. Whatever Isobel’s ultimate fate will be, a cast shakeup is coming with another new agent joining the team.
For his part, Jubal is no stranger to leadership, but leading with Isobel out of commission is very different from leading while she’s up and about at 26 Fed. Missy Peregrym went on to preview what she and Zeeko Zaki are up to as Maggie and OA in the premiere, saying:
We find ourselves in a space that we did not anticipate. We’re surrounded by a community of people who don’t trust law enforcement anymore and are taking matters into their own hands, so we’re having to really be very careful with all the moves that we’re making, and definitely need our team to come over and help us, because we’ve kind of gotten too deep into something. It’s a great episode. And there’s another thing that happens at the end of the first episode that I didn’t see coming.
All in all, it sounds like Maggie and OA are going to be in a situation that would benefit from having all hands on deck, rather than Isobel presumably out of commission and Jubal having to step into her shoes. Zeeko Zaki went on to share what kind of a boss Jubal is for the agents in his new situation:
I think he’s a great boss, and I think what’s really cool to show in our show is that when something like this happens to the FBI, and they have to move people into different positions, that there is no learning curve, and we can pick up right where we left off and just get the job done.
While it remains to be seen if the team (and fans) are in for good or bad news about Isobel’s fate, at least the wait is over! The Season 8 premiere airs on Monday, October 13 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, ahead of Watson in its new time slot. (Watson‘s Morris Chestnut told us why he’s optimistic about the new pairing with FBI.) Check out CBS’ tease of the show’s return:
As always, you can also find new episodes streaming next day with a Paramount+ subscription, as well as every episode of the first seven seasons and the last seasons of FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted. Don’t forget to check back with CinemaBlend for more from showrunner Mike Weiss and the stars!