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The FBI shows won’t start filming until late September at the earliest

ByAlexandria Ingham|
"Hard Decisions" - A bank hold up leads the team to a safe deposit box, the contents of which have the potential to destroy national security. Also, Kristen is eager to get back into field work while other team members still have their concerns, on FBI, Tuesday, Jan. 14 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured (L-R) Ebonée Noel as Kristen Chazal and Missy Peregrym as Special Agent Maggie Bell Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
"Hard Decisions" - A bank hold up leads the team to a safe deposit box, the contents of which have the potential to destroy national security. Also, Kristen is eager to get back into field work while other team members still have their concerns, on FBI, Tuesday, Jan. 14 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured (L-R) Ebonée Noel as Kristen Chazal and Missy Peregrym as Special Agent Maggie Bell Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

FBI filming isn’t due to start until late September at the earliest

CBS opted to keep its fall schedule as normal as possible. However, we’re getting closer and closer to the last week of September with no shows set to premiere. With the look at when FBI filming is set to start, we may not see those TV crime dramas until 2021.

According to Deadline, FBI filming isn’t due to start until late September at the earliest. It could be pushed into the start of October. This is for both FBI Season 3 and FBI: Most Wanted Season 2.

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Part of the issue is New York, which was the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic at the start. One crew member on FBI tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after production was shut down.

What do the late filming starts mean for the show premieres?

With FBI filming looking to start late, it means there’s a delay in when the shows can return. The CBS fall schedule usually begins during the last week of September. In a normal year, there would be no need to worry about our favorite shows returning at this point.

However, the shows usually start filming in July of the year to get ready for the September start dates. This allows a couple of months to get through filming about four or five episodes and the post-production work on a couple of them.

With a late September start, we’re looking at a December premiere date. Will the shows really return in December, when shows tend to take a break because people don’t watch as much live TV? It’s possible that CBS will choose to push the shows to 2021 instead.

It’s going to depend on how soon FBI filming can start and whether there’s a way to shorten the production and post-production stages. Right now, even a late September start isn’t set in stone, like the early September start for NCIS Season 18 and NCIS: Los Angeles Season 12.

FBI and FBI: Most Wanted are set to return on Tuesdays starting at 9/8c on CBS.

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