CBS isn’t backing out of the procedural drama business. The network has ordered a full season of their freshman drama, FBI. The network wouldn’t confirm the exact number of additional episodes ordered but numerous outlets have reported that it’s the standard back-nine which will bring its episode count to 22 episodes.
The pickup comes as little surprise since the series is one of the only freshman shows on the network to really break out in some kind of way. The series ranks as CBS’ most-watched new series with over 13.6 million viewers, and as the No. 2 new show of the season in that metric. FBI got off to a solid start, ranking as CBS’ second-most-watched drama during premiere week (12.9 million in Live+3), behind NCIS, and third-most-watched CBS series overall, behind The Big Bang Theory and NCIS. The drama also displayed impressive Week 2 (93%) and Week 3 (97%) Live+same day viewership holds, edging time-slot rival This Is Us on NBC the past two Tuesdays. (In L+SD adults 18-49, FBI has slipped 23% since the premiere.)
The series has undergone behind-the-scenes changes which were announced ahead of the full-season order. It saw the departures of original showrunner Craig Turk, who was replaced in July by Greg Plageman. He recently stepped down and was succeeded by two of Wolf’s top lieutenants: Chicago P.D. showrunner Rick Eid and Chicago Fire showrunner Derek Haa
FBI centers on the inner workings of the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Missy Peregrym, Zeeko Zaki, Ebonée Noel, Jeremy Sisto, and Sela Ward star.
