The return of Maggie Bell to FBI is going to take a while longer.
After sharing the news of having given birth to her second child, star Missy Peregrym also confirmed that it will take a while before she returns to film the hit CBS series.
This means Season 5 of FBI will be without Maggie for the first several episodes but will still have an able replacement for her.
Maggie’s absence on FBI
Since FBI began, Maggie has been a major focus with her tough drive and ability to handle herself in any situation.
The last episodes of Season 2 did have Maggie absent on a special assignment due to star Missy Peregrym expecting a child. As it happened, the season was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, with the delay until Season 3, giving Peregrym time to recover after giving birth.
The situation was repeated this year as Peregrym revealed she was expecting a second child. The question became how the show would handle Maggie’s absence.
The answer came in a powerful episode where Maggie was caught in a lab filled with sarin gas. While OA managed to rescue her, Maggie took a deadly dose of the gas and was put in a coma.
This paved the way for Special Agent Nina Chase (Shantel VanSanten) to join the team as Maggie’s replacement. The plan was for Peregrym to return in time for the Season 5 premiere.
It now appears that those plans have changed, and Peregrym’s return has been delayed a bit.
When is Maggie returning to FBI?
On her Instagram page on Friday, Peregrym shared the happy news that she and her husband Tom Oakley were celebrating the birth of their daughter, Mela Josephine Oakley.
While it was a happy scene with a photo of the infant with Peregrym’s son, Otis, the actress also shared that she would only be returning to film FBI in September, after Season 5 begins airing.
She wrote, “FBI is starting up again in a couple weeks, but I will be returning to work in September. I’m relieved and grateful that I am afforded the space to bond with my family, to rest and heal and be a mother (which is harder than work!). I understand this is a luxury, and I wish every mother/parent/caretaker had this too. Thank you for all the love, prayers and support from this community.”
As FBI Season 5 is to begin production in a few weeks, this means Maggie wouldn’t be returning on camera until perhaps the mid-season. The likely explanation is that she’s still in recovery from the gas attack and has not been cleared to return to the field yet.
This means VanSanten is expected to continue reprising her role as Nina until Maggie’s return. This would give more time to flesh out the character, including her complex relationship with Scola (John Boyd.)
Right now, FBI is in flux as the planned Season 4 finale was delayed hours before airing after the tragic school shootings in Uvalde, Texas. There is still no word on when the episode airs as it’s possible it may become the Season 5 premiere.
While FBI fans may be disappointed Maggie’s return is being delayed, it’s understandable that Peregrym wants to take her time with her new child and make Maggie’s comeback a memorable one.
FBI Season 5 premieres Tuesday September 20 at 8/7c on CBS.