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When the job is too big for local law enforcement, you call the FBI.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an elite government agency that protects our national security. While the rest of the world goes about their daily lives, FBI agents work overtime to capture the world’s most dangerous criminals.

From Dick Wolf, the creative mind behind Law & Order and the One Chicago franchise, FBI is a television series that follows the exploits of the Bureau’s agents. Like Wolf’s other television projects, FBI has become a franchise of its own, launching multiple spinoffs.

If you’ve ever wanted to get started on FBI but don’t know how, Popverse has you covered. This guide will tell you everything you need to know about watching the procedural franchise. Let’s get started….

How to watch FBI in order

If you want to watch FBI in order, it’s fairly simple. Just start from FBI season 1 and go from there. However, you might be wondering when FBI: Most Wanted comes in, or how to watch all three shows simultaneously. Not to worry…just follow this list, and you’ll be all set.

• FBI season 1 (2018-2019)
• FBI season 2 (2019-2020)
• FBI: Most Wanted season 1 (2020)
• FBI season 3 (2020-2021)
• FBI: Most Wanted season 2 (2020-2021)
• FBI season 4 (2021-2022)
• FBI: Most Wanted season 3 (2021-2022)
• FBI: International season 1 (2021-2022)
• FBI season 5 (2022-2023)
• FBI: Most Wanted season 4 (2022-2023)
• FBI: International season 2 (2022-2023)
• FBI season 6 (2024)
• FBI: Most Wanted season 5 (2024)
• FBI: International season 3 (2024)
• FBI season 7 (2024-2025)
• FBI: Most Wanted season 6 (2024-2025)
• FBI: International season 4 (2024-2025)

What’s the difference between the different FBI shows?

There are a few shows in the FBI franchise, and it might be confusing to keep them all straight. To help you out, here’s a brief breakdown explaining the differences between each series.

• FBI – A procedural focusing on the FBI’s New York field office. This is the series that launched the franchise.
• FBI: Most Wanted – A procedural focusing on the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force. In other words, the agents who hunt down some of the FBI’s most dangerous criminals.
• FBI: International – As the title implies, this procedural centers around the Bureau’s international operations. The show specifically focuses on the FBI’s International Fly Team stationed in Hungary. 

What about FBI True, FBI Declassified, and Inside the FBI: New York?

You might have heard of a few other FBI shows that aren’t on our watch order. Let’s break them down…

• FBI True (2023-present) – A Paramount+ documentary series. Inspired by the success of the true crime genre, each episode focuses on a different real life FBI case. While the series uses the FBI branding, it is not produced by Wolf Entertainment and has no connection to their FBI television procedurals. Essentially, it’s a true crime show capitalizing on the success of FBI. 
• The FBI Declassified (2021) – A CBS true crime documentary series that focuses on some of the FBI’s most tantalizing cases. Once again, this series uses the FBI branding, but it isn’t connected to Wolf Entertainment’s FBI franchise.
• Inside the FBI: New York (2017) – A reality series that focuses on the FBI’s New York field office. Dick Wolf served as executive producer for this series. Interestingly, it predates the FBI franchise by a year.

Does FBI crossover with any other television shows?

FBI is part of a larger television universe. FBI and its spinoffs are produced by Wolf Entertainment, a production company that is known for its many procedural dramas. Missy Peregrym went on maternity leave during FBI season 2, which temporarily took her character Maggie Bell off the show. Bell was replaced by Detective Hailey Upton, with Tracy Spiridakos reprising her Chicago P.D. role. This puts FBI in the same continuity as the One Chicago franchise, and by extension Law & Order.

If you’re curious, here is a brief breakdown of all the shows that share a continuity with the FBI franchise…

• Law & Order
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent
• Law & Order: Trial by Jury
• Conviction
• Law & Order: LA
• Law & Order: Organized Crime
• Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent
• Chicago Fire
• Chicago P.D.
• Chicago Med
• Chicago Justice
• Homicide: Life on the Street
• New York Undercover
• Deadline
• In Plain Sight

Don’t worry….you don’t have to watch them all! However, if you have spare time and want to get a better sense of Dick Wolf’s television procedural universe, then feel free to embark on this epic watch project!

Is Criminal Minds connected to FBI?

Criminal Minds is a long-running police procedural that focuses on the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. The series has evolved to become a franchise, thanks to spinoffs such as Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. Since Criminal Minds and FBI are both shows about the FBI that air on CBS, some viewers have wondered if the shows are connected. Despite their similarities, there is no connection between Criminal Minds and FBI. CBS just likes airing police procedurals about the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Do OA and Maggie get together on FBI?

While FBI is more of a police procedural than a soap opera, the franchise does contain some romantic tension. Viewers quickly picked up on the chemistry between agent Maggie Bell and her partner Omar Adom ‘OA’ Zidan, and a fan favorite ship was born. However, as of this writing, Maggie and OA have not become a couple. In fact, there is no guarantee that they will.

Missy Peregrym, who plays Maggie, doesn’t believe the partners should get together. During an interview with TV Insider, the actress said they she preferred Maggie and OA as close friends. “What’s so great about us is that we do have a platonic relationship that we can lean on each other and support each other through other life things,” Peregrym mused.

Sorry Maggie/OA shippers.

Where can I watch FBI?

You don’t need security clearance to watch FBI, but you will need a Paramount+ subscription. The streaming service is currently home to FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, and FBI: International. Just pay the monthly subscription fee, and every episode is at your fingertips. In addition, Paramount+ is the streaming home for the related non-fiction shows, such as The FBI Declassified and FBI True. Please note, the availability of those shows could change as streaming licenses expire.

Now you have everything you need to begin watching the FBI television franchise! You better get started before the case gets cold.

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