It’s going to be a bit of a wait for fans of FBI Tuesdays to get new cases.
Not only are this week’s episodes of FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, and FBI: International all reruns but so will be episodes on October 26th.
Viewers will have to wait until November 2 for new installments as CBS seems to want to wait to keep it going through November sweeps.
Why are there no new FBI Tuesdays for two weeks?
After a month of brand new episodes, it seems odd that the FBI shows are already doing reruns. This Tuesday, October 19, will repeat the three-part crossover that kicked off FBI Season 4, FBI: Most Wanted Season 3, and the premiere of FBI: International.
It is common for some network shows to get new episodes going in the fall, then take a brief one-week break in late October. This helps avoid conflict with the Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series and save fresh episodes for the always important November sweeps month.
It should be noted that the FBI shows began earlier than other CBS series, which have waited until October to begin their seasons. Still, a two-week break of new episodes just as the season starts is unusual.
One reason may be that each show was still working out kinks in production filming during the coronavirus pandemic. That’s especially true for FBI: International which films in Budapest.
Another concern was a possibility of a strike by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. By a massive majority, the body had voted to go on strike if a deal could not be reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers regarding better work conditions, pay, and benefits. This would have effectively crippled the entire TV and movie industry.
As of Sunday afternoon, a deal had been struck with it being expected to be ratified. CBS may have wanted to hedge their bets by holding back on new episodes just in case they suddenly faced an absence later in the year.
What to expect when FBI Tuesdays return?
There are no details yet on what to expect when the FBI series returns, although each show has had some intriguing plots to play on.
In the main FBI, a conflict is growing between Isobel (Ana de la Garza) and Rina (Kathleen Munroe) with Isobel concerned Rina is more interested in looking good for superiors than actually helping with cases.
The last episode also had some growing tension between Wallace (Kathleen Renee Turner) and Scola (John Boyd) in a case involving Wallace’s cousin.
FBI: Most Wanted will have the return of Hana as Keisha Castle-Hughes had given birth over the summer and thus was absent for the first few episodes of Season 3. Hana has been explained as visiting her sick mother.
The season is also touching on Jess (Julian McMahon) trying to handle his now rebellious daughter’s streak after seeing him kill a man in the Season 2 finale.
FBI: International showed Forrester (Luke Kleintank) and Kellett (Heida Reed) bonding further following Kellett being shot on a case. Amusingly, the pair are still trying to keep their relationship secret while Raines (Carter Redwood) and Vo (Vinessa Vidotto) already know all about them.
While it may be disappointing for fans to have to wait for new episodes, this would mean that FBI Tuesdays can run with new installments for every week in November and thus provide over a solid month of action to enjoy.
FBI Tuesdays return Tuesday, November 2nd at 8/7c on CBS.