FBI: Most Wanted was part of CBS’ Tuesday night lineup for six seasons, but was unfortunately canceled alongside FBI: International in the spring of 2025. The story isn’t over for the original FBI spinoff, however, as the drama is still up for a pair of Emmys. Network TV procedurals have typically not received nominations at major awards shows in recent years, but this will be Most Wanted’s third year in the stunt categories. Stunt coordinators Nitasha Bhambree and Declan Mulvey opened up about how they created “Mayhem” to help earn those nominations this year.
Most Wanted is up for Outstanding Stunt Coordination for Drama Programming and Outstanding Stunt Performance at the 2025 Emmys, for which nominations were announced back in July. They face stiff competition in both categories. For stunt coordination, the Most Wanted team is up against Prime Video’s The Boys , Paramount+’s The Lion , HBO Max’s The Penguin and ABC’s The Rookie . In the Outstanding Stunt Performance category, Evelyn O. Vaccaro and Alex Huynh are up against the performers from The Boys , The Penguin, The Rookie and The Layoffs .
So why am I rooting for FBI: Most Wanted in particular? Well, I love to see network TV shows get some credit for what they do in 22 episodes per season, and executive producer Ken Girotti emphasized the importance of practical effects in the wake of the 2023 Emmy nominations. Speaking to Awards Radar, stunt coordinators (and married couple) Nitasha Bhambree and Declan Mulvey opened up about a stunt sequence from the series finale that they managed to make even more epic than it was in the script. And what better way to wrap up an episode than with an epic stunt sequence? The coordinators explained:
In the final episode of season 622, “The Circle Game,” we had a local terrorist attack on the power grid. In the climactic scene, the villains kill the power grid at a busy intersection. It was written with flexibility because a scene like that is quite demanding to film in New York. You can never be sure what will be allowed. But given that it was our last episode, the producers and everyone involved wanted as much of a plague as possible.
The very last case the task force encountered was the FBI: Most Wanted Wrapped up pretty early in the episode so the finale could give the characters what showrunner David Hudgins described as a “proper farewell,” but that didn’t mean the stunts were rushed. If you watched the Finale Live back in May or streamed afterwards with a Paramount+ subscription, you saw the team go very wrong very quickly when this local terrorist attack on the Power Grid hit the intersection of New York City. The stunt coordinators continued:
What started as a Fender Bender between two cars turned into a full-on T-bone, and then our line producer Paul Kabbad offered, “Can you get a third car in this crash?” To which there’s only ever been one answer: “Yes!” And so it turned into a three-bone car crash that closes out our Emmy reel.
It remains to be seen if FBI: Most Wanted wins any Emmys in 2025, and I can’t help but root for the show. This is the last chance for the team to win Most Wanted due to its cancellation, and I’ve always thought the series’ stunts were movie-quality. Delivering this 22 times in a season is a big deal!
Former Chicago Fire showrunner Derek Haas (who also worked on FBI: International ) spoke about Ignite as being too obsessed with stunt nominations, which is why network TV shows don’t often get awards. This might be the year that the Dick Wolf TV Universe procedural takes home the award for best stunt. If you want to rewatch the season 6 finale of FBI: Most Wanted in all its glory, you can find it streaming on Paramount+ Now.
