It looks like Special Agent Stuart Scola will be looking for a new partner again.
DECIDER can confirm that FBI star Lisette Olivera has exited the series just months after she was announced as a new series regular for Season 7, soon after Katherine Renee Kane departed the series. Deadline was the first to report the news.
Olivera played Agent Syd Ortiz, a Behavioral Analysis Unit agent who recently joined the FBI’s New York field office to be Agent Scola’s new permanent partner. Now, it looks like Agent Scola will have to keep looking for a new partner.
Deadline reports that Olivera’s exit comes after filming just a “handful” of episodes for Season 7, none of which have aired yet. The outlet reports that Olivera’s exit had nothing to do with her performance, but rather that she “played too young for an FBI Special Agent.”
Decider reached out to CBS and Olivera’s reps for comment.
Olivera’s character will be introduced in an episode titled “Doubted,” airing Nov. 12, so fans still have some time to see her performance as Agent Ortiz.
In her FBI debut, Olivera’s Agent Ortiz turns to the team for help tracking down a serial offender when her sister becomes the victim of an attempted kidnapping and sexual assault.
As for FBI, the CBS crime procedural was renewed for three seasons earlier this year, which means fans have a lot to look forward to these next few years. But it remains unclear if the role will be recast or if Agent Scola will get a new partner down the line.
The series has been a major success for CBS and ranks among the network’s top four series, behind Tracker, NCIS and Young Sheldon.
It also spawned two spinoff series: FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted.
New episodes of FBI air Tuesdays on CBS at 8/7c.
