FBI: Most Wanted is losing an original team member.
After months of speculation, Nathaniel Arcand confirms he’ll be leaving the hit spin-off before Season 3. No details are emerging as to the fate of his Clinton Skye.
Clinton and the FBI
Along with star Julian McMahon, Arcand debuted in the 19th episode of the first season of the main FBI series. It was a classic “backdoor pilot,” setting up the spin-off of the team hunting dangerous criminals.
Clinton was the cool team sniper and easy under fire. He was also Jess’s brother-in-law and a good aide to his boss in the field and their personal issues.
Fans were concerned when Clinton became absent midway through the show’s second season. A reason may be Arcand was quite busy with several movies such as Tipping Point, The Silver Thimble Gang and the upcoming TV mini-series Soiled Doves.
Like other actors, Arcand had to deal with the restrictions on filming due to the coronavirus pandemic. This cut into his ability to return to Most Wanted.
He did seem excited to return, telling AssignmentX how he loved the series.
“To work for Dick Wolf. I think that’s most actors’ dream, to be working with somebody like that. You come into a successful production company that will put up the numbers like this show does, and then other shows that he’s worked on. It’s overwhelming sometimes, when you think about it.
Honestly, this is my first time in this kind of situation, where I’m on a very successful show already, and to be here with this great cast that we have, I think everybody is owed a little bit of congratulations on that, the actors, the writers, producers, everybody involved.”
While there had been speculation, the actor finally confirmed he was leaving the series. He had posted a message on his Instagram page a few weeks ago, summarizing “Moving On. Moving Forward. Don’t Look Back,” followed by “#movingon #movingforward #dontlookback #clintonskye Must Say Bye. Bye.”
CBS also confirmed the news of Arcand’s departure (via Deadline).
What happens to Clinton?
Arcand’s exit will be the first major cast shift for the series since it debuted. It also leaves the question of how the character will be written out.
Skye was last seen in the third episode of Season 2, “Deconflict,” which aired in December 2020. His absence was covered in the series by the classic excuse of his character being on “special assignment.”
There is the possibility that said assignment would be Skye transferring to an entirely different team. There’s also sadly the chance the character might be killed off-screen, which sometimes happens on CBS procedurals.
Clinton’s absence has been felt on the show as Jess clearly could have used his brother-in-law’s advice handling his new romance with Sarah Allen (Jennifer Landon). A conflict with her abusive ex-husband built to the Season 2 cliffhanger where a shootout occurred.
With no word yet on a possible replacement, fans of the series will sadly have to handle that Skye’s break from the team is permanent while Arcand moves on to other projects.
FBI Most Wanted Seasons 1 & 2 air on CBS and are available for streaming on Paramount+.