‘FBI: Most Wanted’ Star Exits Show

FBI: Most Wanted has lost another one of its main stars ahead of its fourth season. While the series already lost lead actor Julian McMahon during its third season, with Dylan McDermott taking his spot, Miguel Gomez has now decided to leave the team under different circumstances.

Gomez played Special Agent Ivan Ortiz and joined the series back during season 2, becoming a series regular midway through the season. According to Deadline, the season 3 finale offered a positive ending for Ortiz and a clean exit for Gomez.

Ortiz was a former LAPD gang unite officer with roots firmly planted in Los Angeles. He later joins the FBI counter-terror unit in D.C. and transitions to the team featured in FBI: Most Wanted. Ortiz decides to head back to L.A. to care for his father in the finale. Deadline adds that the decision was likely creative and had nothing to do with Gomez’s skills. The door for a return is wide open if new ideas come up.

McDermott will return to the cast for season 4, with the remaining cast keeping intact for the time being. This includes Keisha Castle-Hughes, Roxy Sternberg and Alex Davalos, all returning to hunt down more criminals.

Gomez is likely best known for his roles on The Strain, SMILF and the Jake Gyllenhaal boxing drama Southpaw. He is also set for a role in Harlem’s Kitchen, a new ABC series starring Delory Lindo that was pegged for a pilot back in 2020 but hasn’t seen much progress since.

FBI: Most Wanted is the first spin-off of Dick Wolf’s CBS franchise, FBI. The spin-off deals with the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force, hunting down the criminals that appear on the organization’s most wanted list. Julian McMahon played lead star and team leader Jesse “Jess” LaCroix through the series’ third season, with the character exiting the show after being killed by a fugitive.

FBI, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International are all set to return in the fall on CBS. All three were renewed for two additional seasons in May.