To add more heartbreak for fans of the CBS show, Jess’ girlfriend Sarah (played by Jen Landon) had just bought tickets for the pair of them to go on a dream vacation when Barnes (Roxy Sternberg) and Hanna (Keisha Castle-Hughes) had to break the news to her. Jess’ father Byron (Terry O’Quinn), meanwhile, had the unenviable job of having to tell Jess’ daughter.
Behind the scenes of FBI: Most Wanted, meanwhile, McMahon took to Instagram to say his final goodbye to the cast and show fans, while series showrunner David Hudgins gave interviews where he revealed why the Nip/Tuck star decided to leave – and why they decided to make Jess the first character to be killed off on the CBS procedural.
Julian McMahon says “thank you” to FBI: Most Wanted cast and crew
On his Instagram, McMahon posted a series of images that mixed official promo shots for his final episode (titled “Shattered”) with some behind the scenes shots of him saying goodbye to his fellow cast members.
This series ended with a short goodbye message from the actor. He wrote: “Well, the time, it has come! For my final post on behalf of the great character, Jess LaCroix - I thought this to be appropriate! We did some good work, some might even say great, and we had some fun along the way!! To you all, thank you!! And GodSpeed!!” [sic]
In January, news had broken that the actor had decided to leave the show in order to focus on new creative opportunities. At that time, he released a statement saying: “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…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.”
FBI: Most Wanted boss reveals why they decided to kill Jess
Per Hudgins, the conversation about McMahon leaving began at the start of the season. He told GiveMeMyRemote.com: “Julian had come and expressed an interest to move on to do other creative pursuits. So we started talking in the writers’ room about how do we exit Jess from the show.”
Asked by Variety why they killed the character off rather than leaving the door open for Jess to return, the show boss said: “We [the FBI: Most Wanted writers room] had multiple conversations about it with every option on the table, and we just kept going back to this idea that the premise of the show is that we chase the worst of the worst — the most dangerous fugitives that are out there. And inherent in that premise is the idea that it’s risky, it’s dangerous and there’s always the chance that you could get injured or killed in the line of duty.”
He added in a TVLine Q&A: “We did have a specific discussion in the writers room about if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen in a heroic way, which is [why] he gets shot trying to protect the woman that they’re rescuing. We also decided that we want to play the immediate emotional fallout from it, which is why we see Barnes and Hana tell Sarah, and then they get Byron and they go to tell Tali.
“It’s not just going away, either. The processing grief, the loss is all going to play in the show over the next couple of episodes.” The showrunner also confirmed that Jen Landon and Terry O’Quinn would be returning, so that CBS viewers will be able to see how they cope with losing a lover and a son.
In April, however, the team will have to move on in at least one way, as American Horror Story star Dylan McDermott is set to join the cast in McMahon’s place. Asked by Variety about McDermott joining the show, Hudgins teased: “We really are looking at it as an opportunity to invigorate the show, to reinvent a little bit. It will always be a fugitive manhunt show…but with with Dylan coming in and having a different style, different background and different way of dealing with the team, having to get to know them and vice versa, there’s just a lot of story to play there. We think it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
FBI: Most Wanted airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. CT on CBS. Previous episodes are streaming on Paramount+.
