The FBI writers never shy away from putting their characters in mortal danger — and according to star Zeeko Zaki, the season 7 finale won’t be any different.
“The rest of this season is a lot of close calls that ends with an epic cliffhanger that hopefully will throw everybody for a massive loop,” Zaki, who plays Special Agent Omar Adom “OA” Zidan, exclusively told Us Weekly at CBS Fest 2025 on Wednesday, May 7.
Zaki, 35, didn’t give any further details about what’s to come, but for fans who have been keeping track, both OA and his partner, Special Agent Maggie Bell (Missy Peregrym), have almost died at least once this season.
During episode 14 titled, “Hitched,” OA was trapped on a hijacked train — unarmed — and narrowly stopped it from running into a plant and exploding.
Both OA and Maggie, meanwhile, were sent flying when a drone strike dropped a bomb on their location during the Tuesday, May 6, episode, “Startup.” Maggie’s heart stopped, but OA managed to bring her back to life.
While Zaki didn’t reveal who will have the “close calls” heading into the finale, he exclusively told Us in March that the next few episodes will include run-ins with “eco terrorists,” adding, “We face some cartel, we get some more traditional cases here and there.”
He confirmed, “The stakes keep rising and somehow we keep finding a way to do these really exciting episodes.”
When it comes to how he handles all the curveballs, Zaki told Us on Wednesday that the “biggest challenge” after seven seasons on set is “the physical stuff.”
“Every episode something happens to OA and every episode I sort of get a new kink or pull a muscle, so it really does translate, which is exciting because it makes it real,” the actor explained at the TV fest. “But at the end of the day, the most challenging stuff is whatever’s next. It’s the newest thing.”
Zaki noted that the writers and actors brainstorm in their “interrogation room” to figure out “how do we go eight years with making it interesting and that kind of stuff.”
He called it a “fun challenge to keep everything fresh, even though we are in sort of a familiar arena.”
Over the years, FBI fans have seen characters like OA crossover to various spinoffs, including FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted, which has kept the story lines fresh.
“My most memorable moment [on FBI] was getting to travel to Europe to film and get to shoot the crossover for International,” Zaki told Us, recalling a “magical experience” working with the overseas cast.
While viewers won’t see any more FBI crossovers to Most Wanted or International — both spinoffs are ending after their respective series finales on Tuesday, May 20 — they could get a different kind of crossover now that CBS is making a CIA version of the show, premiering this fall.
“We’re going to take what the FBI guys have set up in that kind [of] world,” CIA star Tom Ellis exclusively told Us at CBS Fest on Wednesday. “We’re going to then visit it through the eyes of the CIA.”
Ellis, 46, will play a “fast-talking, rule breaking loose cannon CIA case officer,” according to CBS, while his yet-to-be named FBI counterpart will be more “by-the-book.”
The series will include a CIA agent and an FBI agent in every episode, meaning the OG stars of FBI could make cameos as well.
“We might get a little bit of crossover with FBI from time to time,” Ellis teased. “But ultimately, this is going to be about how the CIA goes about its business on homeland soil and why it’s important that these very different bureaus share information with each other and how for the greater good.”
FBI airs on CBS Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
