How Accurate is ‘FBI’? ‘FBI True’ EPs Craig Turk and Anne Beagan on the Differences Between the Shows (Exclusive)

Five years after FBI premiered, the procedural has spawned two successful spinoffs, and now, there is a documentary series that highlights true FBI agents. FBI True premiered on Paramount+ in February, and already there are three seasons, with even more episodes on the way. The docuseries is currently airing on CBS as part of the network’s strike-proof fall 2023 schedule. FBI True is also paired with FBI on Tuesday nights, meaning that fans get a full two hours of action. But just how accurate is the scripted series?

FBI co-creator and FBI True executive producer Craig Turk told PopCulture.com that sometimes “real cases will be the jumping off point for these characters that people have come to love. So, the real cases, I think in large part, will function as inspiration. And then you get writers thinking about it and sort of building out these stories that require a lot of imagination.” Many procedurals take real cases and emergencies and puts them into their storylines, so it’s not surprising to hear that FBI does the same thing.

Meanwhile, when it comes to FBI True, “it’s really interesting because our interest will be peaked by sometimes a case that we know about or hear about, and sometimes will come with an agent and say, ‘This person’s incredible. You have to meet them,’” Turk continued. “And they’ll have a lot of different stories to tell. And so the inspirations for episodes really start sometimes in the same place with, wow, what an interesting case, or what an interesting kind of case. But they go off in a whole other direction.”

FBI True EP Anne Beagan, who was also an FBI agent for 23 years, echoed her colleague’s sentiments by sharing, “A lot of our stories begin through the character, not the story. For example, I’ll use ‘Operation Knockout,’ which is premiering next week, as a perfect example. Maureen O’Connell is a friend of mine, she’s a rockstar agent. She’s the poster child for what an agent should be. And I said, ‘Maureen, do you have some cases that will be good for FBI True?’ When she told me about Operation Knockout, I couldn’t believe it. I had never heard the story. And it’s an unbelievable episode. And it came through the character rather than the case that we knew about.”

There is another season of once the SAG-AFTRA strike comes to an end. As of now, it’s unknown what the agents will be getting into, but it’s very likely that there could be at least one case that is inspired by a real one. It’s also unknown when the show will be coming back, but fans will be able to watch FBI True on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, followed by FBI. Both shows are also streaming in full on Paramount+.