Why FBI fans may be seeing less of Maggie soon

There may be a shakeup on FBI going into Season 5. 

Missy Peregrym has confirmed she’s expecting her second child with her husband Tom Oakley, due this summer. 

This could mean a change for Maggie’s status on FBI to give Peregrym some time to herself and time for her new baby.

Peregrym and Maggie’s challenges on FBI

Since FBI began, Missy Peregrym has been at the forefront as Maggie Bell.

The character has handled ups and downs, including her husband’s death, which she later realized was murder. 

Season 3 has brought new drama to Maggie’s life as she’s had to deal with her addict sister leaving rehab. When her sister overdosed, it distracted Maggie on a case, nearly leading to tragedy.

The latest episode had Maggie going undercover to stop an attempted bombing and going out of her way to help a father on the case.

Now, Peregrym could be taking a step back from the show. The actress shared a video on her Instagram page with her son Otis and showed her pregnant belly.

She wrote, “My best effort at an ‘adorable’ announcement. Come on, I don’t have time for that. What I will always have time for, is this family, and I’m psyched that we are adding a new babe this summer blah blah blah.”

While fans are happy for the announcement, it naturally leads to questions regarding Maggie’s place on FBI.

What does Peregrym’s pregnancy mean for FBI?

This is not the first time FBI has had to deal with their leading lady going on maternity leave. The actress left for maternity leave the first time during the end of Season 2 in 2020.

The character was written out by Maggie going on a special assignment and was briefly replaced by Tracy Spiridakos, portraying her Chicago P.D. character of Hailey Upton.

It’s possible that Peregrym and the FBI crew are filming as much as they can in advance to make up for any absence Maggie might have in the last few episodes of the season.

Given the timeline of the show, fans are concerned as to how Peregrym’s pregnancy could impact Season 5’s filming if Peregrym is still on maternity leave. Some speculate that Maggie may be absent when the next season begins.

This is akin to how FBI: Most Wanted had to write off Hana for the first episodes of Season 3 due to Keisha Castle-Hughes giving birth in the summer of 2021. 

As it stands now, FBI is still on track to return on February 22 before a brief break until new episodes in March. This gives the producers time to figure out how to handle Peregrym’s absence which could shake the FBI team up a bit in the next year.

FBI Season 4 returns with new episodes Tuesday, February 22 at 8/7c on CBS.