FBI is bringing back a familiar face, which could lead to a main cast member exiting the show for good.
CBS confirmed on Monday, November 2, that Shantel VanSanten is returning in an upcoming episode. Her character, Special Agent Nina Chase, will reunite with husband Stuart Scola (John Boyd) for a case involving the murder of an online influencer.
The team must use Nina’s help to intercept the criminal — who is on the Most Wanted list — before he disappears. While Nina is there to assist Scola at work, her return comes as she is considering a new position.
During Monday’s episode, Maggie (Missy Peregrym) and OA (Zeeko Zaki) asked Scola whether Nina is getting her own task force. Scola confirmed the news, but it wasn’t until later in the episode that he offered more details.
“Job’s in San Diego,” he said. “She got the offer four days ago. Everything she ever wanted. She’d have to move to California.”
Scola hinted he was considering making the move with Nina since they are now married and share a child.
“I don’t know. She’s worked so hard for this,” he added. “Her whole career. But we have a life here. We’d have to uproot everything. Just the sacrifice that’s needed if Nina takes this gig, I just don’t know if our family would survive that.”
He continued: “I told her not to take it. I said she shouldn’t accept the promotion.”
Despite his concerns, Scola left Nina a voicemail, in which he said, “Hey, it’s me. I’ve been thinking more about San Diego. I think you should take the job. It’s worth it. We’ll figure it out, OK? I love you.”
VanSanten, 41, joined the show in 2022 and was a series regular for one season before moving over to the spinoff FBI: Most Wanted. She has returned to continue to document milestone moments in her and Scola’s relationship — including their engagement and wedding.
“When Most Wanted ended, that was the biggest bummer for me, is that I don’t know if I felt, like, the completion or, like, this final moment between them that, like, that really was such an anchor,” VanSanten told Us earlier this year. “Obviously, Nina is, like, her own person, and she loves what she does, and I am so grateful we got to explore that so much on Most Wanted. But there is this other part that felt like I hadn’t closed that chapter.”
The actress was glad she could come back so Nina and Scola could tie the knot on FBI.
“[It is] OK to go through things and allow it to change you and to transform your ideas about life or love or relationships,” she said about the fictional couple’s journey. “I think that it was really special.”
VanSanten didn’t rule out future cameos at the time.
“Once you’re in this world, I feel like, you know, I’m [a] phone call away,” she added. “And we’re married. So for now, we’re stuck until the next iteration.”
FBI airs on CBS Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
