What’s the difference between FBI, FBI: International, and FBI: Most Wanted?

There are three FBI shows keeping us entertained on Tuesday nights. They are all part of the same universe, but they each have some major differences.

Tuesdays are all about the Dick Wolf universe on CBS. Things kick off with the flagship series, and then we travel around Europe and back to the United States throughout the night. Each of the teams will solve crimes and bring perps to justice, although not all of them are captured alive.

You may not watch any of the shows yet. Then there are those who watch one of the shows but not the others. You may find yourself wondering about the differences between the three shows, especially when it comes to the three-way crossovers.

Do you need to watch all of the shows? Are you just getting the same type of storyline for each of them? Here’s a look at the biggest differences between the three shows.

The differences between the three FBI shows

The flagship series is set in New York City. The team is the New York field office, and they will take care of everything that happens in their state. There is a lot of focus on the cases each week, with very little details about the characters’ lives.

That is slowly changing. We have had more about OA’s backstory in the Army and we’re getting to see more of Scola as he worked with Nina and now that he’s made it clear that he wants to be a dad. There are times that Maggie’s and Jubal’s stories come up, but not as often. We’re still waiting to learn a lot more about Tiffany, but we do have a tiny bit of her backstory.

FBI: International takes us to Europe. Like the flagship series, the show mostly focuses on the cases of the week rather than going into too much of the characters. That being said, there has been a little more on Forrester thanks to Luke Kleintank taking some paternity leave. The writers made that into a story.

This show offers us a look at how different countries work when it comes to their authorities. We also see how the Fly Team needs to work with Europol a lot to get a case wrapped up. This is also the only show to have a four-legged team member. Tank will be back soon, by the way!

Finally, it’s Most Wanted, and this does what the title suggests, searches for those on the Most Wanted list. While the other shows focus on catching the perps, Most Wanted sees the teams analyze the perps as well as catch them. This is about understanding what makes them tick, giving us a little bit of what Criminal Minds offers (just not to the same extent).

There has always been a little more focus on the personal lives of the characters in this series. In the earlier seasons, we got a lot of focus on Jess and his family. Since Dylan McDermott has come in, the shift is on Remy Scott’s backstory. There are little bits for other characters, too.

The three FBI shows are available to stream on Paramount+.