EXCLUSIVE: This will come as a shocker for fans of the FBI franchise. Julian McMahon, star of FBI: Most Wanted, is exiting the CBS crime drama after almost three seasons. His final episode is slated to shoot next week and will air March 8. The show is expected to introduce a new character later this season who will fill the void left by the exit of McMahon’s Jess LaCroix, an “agent’s agent” and head of the team from the FBI’s Most Wanted Unit which is assigned the most extreme and egregious cases.
According to sources, McMahon approached the FBI: Most Wanted executive producers, including Dick Wolf and Peter Jankowski, about leaving the series early in the season.
“Over the past few months, the producers of FBI: Most Wanted and I have had discussions about my departure from the show in favor of additional creative pursuits and the transition of my character Jess LaCroix,” McMahon said in a statement to Deadline. “These ongoing conversations have given us an opportunity to orchestrate a seamless and productive way for me to leave the show.”
McMahon also reflected on his time on FBI: Most Wanted and playing Jess LaCroix.
“I would like to express the gratitude and admiration I have had working with Dick Wolf and Peter Jankowski,” he said. “I’m extremely proud of the work we have done together and put the development of this show, and my character Jess, at the top of my professional experience list. I wish the show, and its cast & crew, the greatest success in the future. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to play Jess; he is a good man.”
It is unclear yet how McMahon’s character would be written off. LaCroix is now going through a major personal transition, with his daughter Tali, who has been his rock, leaving for a boarding school in Canada.
“We are saddened to see Julian leave,” Wolf said in a statement to Deadline. “His portrayal of agent Jess LaCroix has been a key factor in the success of FBI: Most Wanted. We will miss him and we wish him the best in his next chapter.”
McMahon made his debut as LaCroix in an April episode of the mothership FBI series, which served as a backdoor pilot for FBI: Most Wanted. The spinoff got off to a strong start in January 2020 and is now part of an FBI Tuesday lineup on CBS alongside the original FBI and newest addition FBI: International.
FBI: Most Wanted is executive produced by Wolf, Jankowski, David Hudgins, Todd Arnow and Arthur W. Forney. The series comes from Wolf Entertainment, Universal Television and CBS Studios.
Prior to FBI: Most Wanted, McMahon, known for his starring role in Nip/Tuck, had roles in Hulu’s Marvel series Runaways, BBC America’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, the miniseries adaptation of Childhood’s End as well as Charmed.