As Luke Kleintank left FBI: International, Colin Donnell came into it. He took on the role of NSA Agent Brian Lange, and there were thoughts that he could end up being the new leader of the Fly Team. That wasn’t how the third season ended, though.
To be honest, we didn’t really expect to see the reins handed over to Lange right away. There was the focus on where Forrester was and whether he was in danger. In the end, the Fly Team found him on the way to what looked like Alaska. Lange decided to let Forrester go, allowing the Fly Team to delete the footage found.
Vo and Lange got along well. We did start to wonder if during the summer break we would hear that Colin Donnell was coming into the series full-time in FBI: International Season 4. That now doesn’t seem to be the case.
Another One Chicago vet is joining FBI: International Season 4 instead
It looks like the show is opting to bring in someone new as the leader of the Fly Team. Chicago PD’s Jesse Lee Soffer is coming into the series. There is no confirmation that Soffer will play the new Fly Team leader, but that is the suspicion based on the timing.
What we know is that, like Donnell, Soffer won’t reprise his One Chicago character. This is despite the FBI shows and the Chicago shows being in the same universe.
This doesn’t completely rule out Lange returning again. The series seemed to be setting up a bigger storyline for Lange. We saw that he had nightmares of a past case, and that trauma and the loyalty the Fly Team had to Forrester made him want to help Vo and co. in the end. We never really learned too much about the case or Lange’s motivations, though, and some fans would love to see that play out.
On top of that, the series wrote the character in a positive way. He didn’t step over Vo unless he needed to. He listened to her, took in her suggestions, and accepted that she knew Forrester better than him. It was almost like the writers were writing it in that he would come back in FBI: International Season 4 as the new Fly Team leader.
It is possible that Donnell is returning and the show is keeping that a surprise. Season 3 did see the loss of Powell and Kellett as well, with Powell not replaced. There is a way to bring in Soffer and have Donnell return without the team being overcrowded.