Matt’s Inside Line: Scoop on FBI, S.W.A.T., Chicago Fire, PLL, Mayfair Witches, The Way Home, The Rookie, Criminal Minds and More

Matt Webb Mitovich
·7-min read

Is FBI‘s Maggie eager to get back in the field? Will un-cancelled S.W.A.T. un-exit some favorites? Might a Ghosts romance be rekindled? Read on for answers to those questions and many more! (You can and should email brand-new Qs to InsideLine@tvline.com.)

Oops, I forgot to mark a milestone last time. This is the 351st Inside Line column since TVLine launched 13+ years ago. Thanks to all who email in and exhibit patience as I hunt down answers to (some of) your questions. Big thanks, also, to all of the showrunners, actors, network/studio reps, TVLine colleagues and super-secret sources in my DMs who play along when I come wielding (sometimes oddly specific!) reader Qs. Some 5,000 Qs and As later, this remains one my favorite things. — Matt Webb Mitovich

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Is Maggie really leaving the FBI team? –Julianne
This week, Maggie was taking time off with Ella, in Akron. But don’t worry too much that this taste of domesticity will make Maggie decided to turn in her badge. “In the next one that airs, we do slip in a ‘she’s eager to get back to work,’” Zeeko Zaki told me. “She is definitely eager.”

Now that S.W.A.T has (thankfully) been renewed, will the character of Deacon (played by the great Jay Harrington) reconsider leaving the team? We have lost so many this season with Street and Luca also gone. –Sheri
It’s still early days since the un-cancellation, but as Shemar Moore noted when we spoke to him at CBS’ fall schedule reveal party, when it comes to Deac, Luca and Street, “They all left. They didn’t die.” Which leaves the door wide open for potential returns.

Any update on when 1923 will start filming Season 2? –Tiffany
I am told that the Yellowstone prequel will start production on Season 2 later this year.

What’s going on with Tyler in the new season of Criminal Minds: Evolution? I love the character. –Jada
As you may have already read, recently upped series regular Ryan James-Hatanaka’s POI is sticking around as not just a possible romantic interest for Garcia, but as a “consultant” for the BAU. What will that look like, though? As showrunner Erica Messer put it during my visit to set, “That character can do things that the rest of the team can’t really do with their badge and gun.”

What can we expect with Chicago Fire‘s Violet and Carver? Should we jump on the ‘ship or proceed with caution? –Emily
“Carver and Violet are like two heated magnets drawn to each other whether it’s a good idea or not,” says showrunner Andrea Newman. “They have some serious issues to resolve, but there are lots of obstacles thrown their way — including a call in the finale (airing May 22) that will lead to Carver’s past reaching out to drag him back to a dark time and place.”

Any scoop on where we end the season with Chicago Med‘s Dr. Asher and Dr. Archer? In last year’s finale, along with the first episodes of Season 9, it seemed we were definitely heading towards a more romantic relationship. Has Med changed course or are they using the Ripley and Margo additions to further the story to take that romantic step? –Cate
When we spoke to Luke Mitchell (aka Ripley), it sounded like his storyline with Hannah is going to be heating up in the season’s final episodes — and he didn’t get the sense that it would be turning into a love triangle. “I don’t think that’s the way the writers are going,” Mitchell said. “But that sort of stuff does happen in real life, and these characters are human beings, and you can have feelings for more than one person at one time. So I don’t know. I don’t know what they are thinking, moving forwards, but certainly, from what I can see, it’s not a love triangle right now.”

Do you have info on Mayfair Witches? –Paul
On Tuesday I ran into Alexandra Daddario at a panel hosted by The Kids Mental Health Foundation (where she serves as a celebrity champion), and she said that in Season 2, “bigger, really cool stuff happens,” especially given the reveals of the Season 1 finale. “Now that Rowan knows who she is” — a Mayfair witch — “what does that mean for her? So she gets to do all this cool, crazy stuff.” Daddario said that Season 2, which is “pretty continuous” with Season 1, has wrapped filming in New Orleans and next is en route to… the Emerald Isle. “We get to have some Irish backdrops,” she shared, “so we’ll see how that changes the flavor of the show.”

I’m awaiting Season 2 of AMC’s outstanding Interview With the Vampire (premiering May 12). Any scoops?  –Sylvia
Lestat might have died in the first season finale, but Sam Reid’s devilish character remains very much in the picture throughout Season 2, even if he only appears in Louis’ mind. And as the show’s sophomore outing progresses, viewers will find themselves wondering just how reliable the narration really is.

Any info on if there will be a second season for Average Joe? –Marcus
I was sure to check in on the BET+ dramedy when I spoke with Michael Trucco about Fire Country’s latest twists and turns, and the gist of his Season 2 forecast was “never say never.” “There are musings…,” he allowed. “Everybody involved would love nothing more — the creators, the cast, we all still hold a torch for it. [That’s] a show I wish more people had seen, that we could get more eyeballs on, and I think something’s in the works that might facilitate that. I can’t say with certainty, but the enthusiasm and the desire [for a Season 2] is there, yes.”

Will Elsbeth’s investigation into Captain Wagner be resolved by the end of Season 1? –Craig
As hinted by the most recent episode’s cliffhanger, “It will come to a head,” showrunner Jonathan Tolins assured TVLine. “It will get to a point where things are answered.”

Is there any chance that in Pretty Little Liars: Summer School (premiering May 9) we will find out any hanging mysteries from the other PLL shows, like the whole professor identity from The Perfectionists? –KoS
Don’t count on it. Not only will Pretty Little Liars: Summer School not address anything from Freeform’s ill-fated offshoot, but aside from the appearance of Dr. Sullivan (once again played by Annabeth Gish), the new season contains very few references to the original series — at least in the first five episodes made available to press.

With The Rookie having Tamara move out of Lucy’s apartment, will we be seeing her a lot less, or at all, moving forward? –Emily 
All I can tell you at this time is that we have seen the last of Tamara this season.

Now that The Way Home‘s Elliot has time travelled and sort of figured out how the pond works, will other characters time travel in Season 3? –Bev
“Never say never,” says co-showrunner Heather Conkie, “but I certainly don’t want to make it look like just anybody can jump in and go where the pond wants them to. That would make it too easy. Even in Season 1 and 2, there’s been a fine balance between doing a really interesting new thing at the pond, but also always maintaining the integrity of the magic and specialness of the pond experience. If people start to feel like jumping in the pond is, ‘Oh, they’re gonna do that again,’ then we haven’t done our jobs, because this is an incredible magical entity and it does have its rules. The minute you start making it kind of a day-to-day [activity] is when you start losing that magic.”

I was wondering if you had any updates on the status of ABC’s To Tell the Truth. I suspect it was quietly canceled when Anthony Anderson left ABC with the end of black-ish, especially now that he and Mama Doris co-host We Are Family on Fox. But with Anderson rumored to be returning to ABC Signature via the Reverend Sharpton project, I was curious if there was any definitive word out there. –Dave
I asked around for you, but there is no news to share at this time — which kinda sorta means that, theoretically, To Tell the Truth could return.

Who sang the song they played during the last scene of the Bob Hearts Abishola series finale? –Katie
That was “Love Don’t Care,” by Simi.

Do YOU want scoop/have questions about a favorite show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com! Questions plopped in Comments will not be read and may very well count against your final score. (With additional reporting by Vlada Gelman, Keisha Hatchett and Andy Swift)

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