‘FBI True’: 3 Things to Know About the CBS Docuseries

D.C.’s Beltway Snipers, the Golden State Killer, the Idaho kidnapping of Hannah Anderson, 16 — these cases and more are recounted by the FBI agents who sweated them in a detail-packed docuseries, FBI True for CBS. Here are a few things to know:

1. It Isn’t Identical to the Paramount+ Show

Segments from the three streaming seasons have been recombined and updated. Expect new cases too, although they’re topsecret “because of some of the agents we are featuring and locations we’ll be shooting in,” says executive producer Craig Turk.

(Credit: CBS)

2. The Opener Is a Doozy

In 2013, Vietnam vet Jimmy Lee Dykes shot an Alabama school bus driver and took Ethan Gilman hostage, fleeing with the 5-year-old to his underground bunker. Enter the elite Hostage Rescue Team. Producers had “desperately wanted to feature HRT, but its members are extremely humble and rarely speak publicly,” Turk notes.

“After repeated entreaties, on the 10th anniversary of the event, Bill Francis — an HRT legend — agreed.” Video and Francis’ play-by-play of the rescue are staggering.

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3. This Is as Insider as It Gets

FBI agents talk cases with fellow agents over a beer and share personal pics of, for example, undercover ops and snipers donning ghillie suits — an idea sparked when a Fed pulled out his iPad to show producers what investigating the Manhattan Bomber was really like.

FBI True, Tuesday, October 3, 9/8c, CBS

This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s 2023 Returning Favorites issue. For more first looks at fall’s returning shows, pick up the issue, on newsstands now.