That's it for Jess LaCroix (played by Julian McMahon) on FBI: Most Wanted.
Tuesday's episode of the CBS procedural saw a shocking farewell to the supervisory special agent who shot and killed him while pursuing a dangerous domestic abuser. His on-screen demise was foreseen in January, when McMahon announced he was leaving the show after three seasons.
The hour began on a very light note, with Sarah chuckling Jess for her noble efforts at painting her dining room—a project she'd never done before, but found comforting. Jess suggested them to go to Bali for their vacation, and that was too expensive so they settled in the Bahamas instead. Unfortunately, he will never be able to make that journey.
At the end of the hour, the team tracked their killer to a hospital in New Jersey, and Jess found the missing victim in the parking lot. As he helped the injured woman, the fugitive opened fire on the two and grabbed Jess by the throat before being taken down by the team. There was blood on the ground for LaCroix's final moments as Barnes requested her to be with him.
In the conversation below, executive producer David Hudgins breaks down why the writers chose that tragic ending for LaCroix, and what his death means for the rest of the team.
LaCroix's death was a huge shock. Have you considered other options than killing him?
We considered other options. We knew with a fair amount of lead time that Julian [McMahon] was about to leave, so in the writers' room, we started discussing what that exit might be. We talked about every possible iteration of it, and eventually, [we] kept coming back session after session, 'Look, this is Most Wanted. We're chasing the worst from the worst, the most dangerous to the worst, and there's a very real risk associated with the job. We ultimately decided that this was true based on the show, Risk of getting shot or killed in the line of duty. We felt it was appropriate and emotional and sad.
In an ideal world, would Julian have given you a more advanced warning that he wants to leave so you can plan a longer story for his exit?
It was not so. We knew it was coming and we were trying to figure out the best way to do it. There were parallels to the week's story about domestic abuse and spoke to Jess and Sarah's own experience with [Sarah's ex-husband] Hugh from last season, so we thought this was the right episode to do it. And [Jess's death] just happens... part of serving the premise of the show. You never know when something like this could happen.
We had a specific discussion in the writers' room about whether it's going to happen, it's going to happen in a heroic way, which [why] is shot in an attempt to protect the woman who They are saving. We also decided we wanted to play an immediate emotional fallout from this, which is why we tell Barnes and Hana to Sarah, and then they get Byron and they tell Clap. It's just not going away, either. Processing grief, loss is going to run across the show over the next few episodes.
When he announced that he was leaving, many people were shocked. Can you set the record straight about the reasons for his exit?
He wanted to quit moving on to other creative pursuits. That's what he wanted to do and we respected that.
Dylan McDermott is stepping in for McMahon. We know him as Richard Wheatley from Law & Order: Organized Crime. As Law & Order Universe One links both Chicago and the FBI, have you ever worried that people might see her as Stabler's evil nemesis?
I don't worry about it because I think we've created a very attractive character for him. I think he is an amazing actor and he brings everything to his repertoire in every part he plays. And so, for that, it's not going to feel like that. He's already filming and he's about to be on the show [beginning] April 12th... We already had the concept of the character and we were like, 'This is perfect. That would be great. ' We're closing one chapter of the book and we're starting the next one.
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There are stories coming out in episodes that involve him, and Terry O'Quinn, who plays Jess' father. We wanted to play the loss and the misery and see how they deal with it. Also, I think they are both amazing actors and I love being with them so there is more story for them.
This is such a big loss for the team. Who do you think will take his death the hardest?
It's interesting because Hana and Barnes were there from the start. We always referred to Barnes and Jess as work spouses. They work together but you also felt like there was a bond between them outside. And with Hana and Jess, I always felt like there was a special bond there too.
It's going to be very interesting to see them both deal with this especially as they've known Jess the longest and they've been with him the longest on this team. People mourn in different ways. Some people get angry and lash out, some become inner and calm; Everyone does it differently. I think these follow-up episodes are an opportunity to explore how everyone grieves differently, and what does that do for the team [and] who's in charge now? Until someone new comes along, this thought, 'How do we do this without Jess?' The next few episodes are part of the story.
Is there anything else you can tease about the journey ahead for our team as they move forward without Jess?
I keep jumping back on this example of closing a chapter and writing a new one. It is always going to be an investigative show where we are bringing someone to justice. That's the drive, that's the drama, that's the show. Seeing as how this team is going to do this with Dylan in charge — and we're doing a six-episode arc that we're building for his character and the team that will end in the finale — I think it going to be different and fun and good.
Because the show is part of the FBI Expanded Universe as well as the One Chicago and Law & Order universe, do you anticipate the events of this episode affecting those other shows?
[FBI] Isobel is in the next episode. She comes to talk with our team... about Jess. He clearly had a connection with her as well, so it's definitely filtering into that universe. I could see it filtering down to International because we've established that people interact on these three shows. It makes sense to me that it might have some acceptance.