‘FBI’: Shantel VanSanten Returning as Nina to Temporarily Replace Maggie
It may not be easy to see someone else working with the team in Special Agent Maggie Bell’s (Missy Peregrym) absence, but at least it’s a familiar face?
Beginning with the April 26 episode, Shantel VanSanten is coming back in a recurring capacity as Special Agent Nina Chase as FBI heads towards its Season 4 finale (May 24), TVLine reports. Special Agent Omar Adom “OA” Zidan (Zeeko Zaki) is the one down a partner, but the team does shuffle about and she’ll be working with the others — Stuart Scola (John Boyd) and Tiffany Wallace (Katherine Renee Turner) — as well.
David M. Russell/CBS
That should make things interesting for Scola, given their history (as fans learned when VanSanten first appeared in April 12’s “One Night Stand”). “I’ve changed,” Scola told Nina at the end of the episode. “Let’s have dinner.” She said no, but he insisted, “I just want to have dinner and talk, that’s it,” and she agreed. Now that she’s going to be around much more, could that dinner become more? Or might things get messy on cases? That’ll probably depend on whether or not Scola convinces Nina he has changed.
In the latest episode, “Fear Nothing,” Maggie was exposed to sarin gas, and she’ll be out recovering to coincide with Peregrym’s maternity leave. She will, however, be back next season, as the actress promised in a video shared on Twitter the day after the episode aired.
“We wanted to make her departure feel like a finale, make it a big event, and one of the writers, Joe Halpin, had this great idea, ‘What if sarin gas, an illegal chemical weapon, somehow resurfaced?’ and just after talking about it, we thought it married well with an OA-Maggie story: It was about OA’s biggest fear and Maggie finds herself in harm’s way and OA’s gotta overcome his biggest fear to save his partner,” showrunner Rick Eid explained to TV Insider.
As for her recovery, “we’ll touch on it from time to time, through OA,” he said. “We’ll find out she’s doing fine and she’s expected to recover and she’s expected to return.”
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Happy Missy will return but I'm hoping Shantel will stay and become a contract member of the cast. I really like her character, Nina, she wears her heart on her sleeve and shows a softer side to the FBI. I like that she cares about the C I.s . She is a breath of fresh air! Unlike Tiffany who always seems angry and out to prove a point. Does she even know how to smile? I've never seen her smile. She is carrying around too much resentment about everything it seems.
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So glad Maggie will be returning. Miss her. Maggie and OA are perfect together.
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C
A whole season without Maggie?? Shantel doesn’t work…
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Maggie is a very important part of that show. She is leaving a hole in the new episodes.
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B
Keep Shantel. Much better show with her.
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miss maggie
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Missy has a second leave for pregnancy, good luck for her, await her return for next season. Please keep also Shantel for the next season, she is very good.
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C
Shantel just doesn’t fit in!
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Maggie and Shantel , Love them both
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bring maggie back
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G
I know the Tiffany character doesn't write the script, but I thought it was racist and sad in the episode where Tiffany said to OA, "Whiiite People"
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You have to keep Shantel. She brings so much realism to the series . Maggie has worn out her character , same as OA .
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I agree Shantel needs to stay
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Hope they find a permanent spot for Nina. Watched Shantel in The Shooter and became a fan.
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C
Shantell doesn’t fit the part. She always looks like she’s mad or sad or something! Constantly has some kind of frown on her face.
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