‘FBI’: New Series Regular Lisette Olivera Departing

FBI is already saying goodbye to its newest series regular. After Katherine Renee Kane departed at the beginning of Season 7, it was announced that National Treasure star Lisette Olivera was taking her place as BAU profiler Syd Ortiz. She was supposed to be Scola’s new partner, with her on-screen debut set for Episode 4 on Nov. 12. However, Deadline reports that the actress is leaving after filming only a handful of episodes, which are still expected to air as planned.

Instead of permanently becoming Scola’s partner, Ortiz will instead be among the list of temps in a revolving door for John Boyd’s character, departing after a brief trial period. Sources share that the reason for Olivera’s exit is due to the character not fitting right with the show. The 25-year-old actress might have been miscast, as she’s reportedly too young to play an FBI Special Agent. As of now, it’s unknown if the series will ever introduce a new character to be Scola’s permanent partner or continue having him go through temps.

Ortiz would have been Scola’s third partner since Boyd joined the show in Season 2. Ebonée Noel starred as Kristen Chazal in the first two seasons but departed ahead of Season 3. Kane then came on as Tiffany Wallace in the third season as Scola’s newest partner, who was then supposed to be replaced by Olivera’s Ortiz during the seventh season. So far, Scola has been running through partners, but it hasn’t been successful.

It seems like FBI just can’t stop with the changes. On top of the casting changes, the series also said goodbye to longtime showrunner Rick Eid, who stepped down ahead of Season 7. Eid stepped away to focus on other projects but shared that he intended to remain with the series moving forward. Mike Weiss ended up taking over.

It’s unclear how many episodes of FBI Lisette Olivera filmed before exiting, but seeing how this storyline plays out will be something to look forward to. It is certainly disappointing that Scola will have to go without a permanent partner for a little bit longer, but one can hope that he soon is able to find the right one, as well as casting. FBI is off next week due to the Presidential Election, but the show will return with Olivera’s debut on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.