Shantel VanSanten Says ‘FBI: Most Wanted’ Crossover Will Finally Show Nina and Scola as Parents
FBI: Most Wanted and FBI fans will finally get an inside look at Nina and Scola’s lives as parents to baby Dougie with this year’s first crossover episode.
“Parenting with two working parents, that have the same job and that are in the FBI, is a challenge in and of itself, and we see that,” Shantel VanSanten, who portrays Special Agent Nina Chase on FBI: Most Wanted, told TVLine on Monday, April 1, teasing an upcoming two-part crossover.
The FBI: Most Wanted episode titled “Supply Chain,” will air on Tuesday, April 9, and be followed by an FBI continuation episode on Tuesday, April 16.
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“It’s a little bit more about diving into Nina and her past and her upbringing,” VanSanten, 38, said of the Most Wanted episode. “It’s about the way that that’s really affecting her and her feelings about herself as a mother — and the way that she’s showing up in the relationship [with Scola] as well.”
VanSanten originally played Nina on FBI for seasons 4 and 5, which is when she began dating Special Agent Stuart Scola (John Boyd). The TV couple welcomed a son, Dougie, during season 5, which aired in 2023.
According to VanSanten, Nina was originally supposed to lose the baby after she got a listeria infection during the season 5 FBI finale. But once Nina was relocated to Most Wanted full time for season 5, which premiered in February, the baby survived.
“It was a very up in the air,” VanSanten recalled of the ups and downs with Nina and Dougie. “It was only really because I got the job on Most Wanted that Dougie gets to ‘be in existence,’ which is bizarre to say, but in show business that’s what happens.”
Although Dougie lived, VanSanten's move to Most Wanted hasn’t given viewers many glimpses at Nina's life as a mother or her relationship with Scola. FBI season 6 has also only shared a few hints at how they’re doing as a family.
“When I joined Most Wanted, [characters] asked me, ‘How’s the baby? How are you doing? You look great!’ And then I don’t really talk about it again,” VanSanten told the outlet. “So we’ve had running jokes about where baby Dougie has been.”
She teased that after learning that Hana (Keisha Castle-Hughes) always has a “revolving door of different roommates” on the show, the cast joked that “baby Dougie must be her next roommate!”
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All jokes aside, VanSanten said she’s “excited that we patiently waited” for the crossover to clue viewers into Nina and Scola’s new normal. “Hopefully the payoff is great for the fans,” she added.
FBI and FBI: Most Wanted air on CBS Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET. FBI: International airs in between the two shows at 9 p.m. ET.
The two-part crossover begins on FBI: Most Wanted Tuesday, April 9, at 10 p.m. ET. It will continue on FBI Tuesday, April 16, at 8 p.m. ET.
