Of all the actor exits from the CBS crime drama FBI that resulted in characters being written off the show, the one that still puzzles audiences is the surprise departure of Ebonée Noel, who played the role of Special Agent Kristen Chazal.
The character was introduced as a member of the team at the New York Field Office when the series debuted in 2018. Throughout season 1, Kristen worked as an analyst who quickly put pieces of a case together, so that her co-workers could have the whole picture of what they were investigating.
During season 2, Kristen achieved her dream of becoming a field agent but nearly died in the line of duty. In FBI season 2, episode 10, “The Ties That Bind,” she was stabbed in the throat when she intervened in a fight between Maggie and a murderer.
The next episode, “Fallout,” assured audiences that Kristen would survive. In season 2, episode 15, "Legacy," she returned to the field to help apprehend a terrorist, yet in the season 3 premiere, “Never Trust A Stranger,” she was suspiciously absent. Jubal told another agent that he received a text from Kristen saying she had moved to join the FBI Field Office in Dallas.
Ebonée Noel Hasn't Given An Official Reason For Her FBI Season 3 Exit
Neither the series' producers nor Ebonée Noel have officially given a reason for her exit. No one has publicly commented on the departure of the character or actress, except for Noel honoring the character on social media to make it clear her time with the character was over. The day after the season 3 premiere, Ebonée Noel posted a photo of herself as Kristen on Instagram with this message:
"There is nothing like you. There was nothing like you, and there shall be nothing like you.
– a message from the Universe for my girl Kris delivered via last night’s Yogi Tea.
Here’s to Boss Women like Kristen Chazal."
It’s been years since the actress left the series, so it’s unlikely that she will return as Kristen Chazal in a potential FBI season 7, especially considering that she has appeared in other projects during her time away from FBI. Though the series has seen a few cast changes in the past, the only one to leave and return multiple times so far is Missy Peregrym's Maggie.
What Movies & TV Shows Ebonée Noel Has Been In Since FBI
Since leaving FBI, Ebonée Noel has appeared in a few other projects. In 2020, she co-starred in a short film titled Bogo, and a year later she guest-starred in one episode of the Prime Video comedy series Harlem.
In the latter, during a flashback, Noel plays Melissa, the girlfriend of one of the main characters, Tye. But by the end of the episode, despite plans to move in together, the two women break up.
In her most recent TV venture, audiences can see Ebonée Noel starring in OWN’s The Kings of Napa, a primetime soap opera that centers on a Black family-owned vineyard in Napa Valley.
When the patriarch dies, the company is left to the three surviving children, one of whom is August, played by Noel. The Kings of Napa season 1 consists of eight episodes, which aired in early 2022 and has a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 92%.
News about a possible season 2 was placed on hold due to the 2023 Writer's Guild of America strike. The series has yet to be renewed or officially canceled, but the former FBI star appears to be working regularly regardless.
CIA Season 2's Fate Officially Decided By CBS After Rocky Season 1 Production
The fate of CBS' new FBI spinoff series, CIA, has now been decided.
CBS confirmed that CIA has officially been renewed for season 2, following impressive viewership numbers from its series premiere. According to Paramount, the premiere episode saw 8.4 million multiplatform viewers via broadcast and streaming within the first seven days of its release.
Ratings for the first three episodes of the series showed a 39% improvement on Monday at 10 p.m. compared to the same timeslot in fall 2025.
Behind the scenes, though, CIA has had a rocky production. FBI: Most Wanted showrunner David Hudgins was initially in charge of the series, but Warren Leight later replaced him. That wasn't the end of the turnover, though, as he eventually departed, along with executive producer Eriq La Salle. Mike Weiss, who was the showrunner on the original FBI series, was hired as the CIA showrunner.
All of this turmoil, plus Michael Michele's departure from the cast, caused production delays, and CBS decided to give CIA a mid-season 2026 premiere after previously announcing it would debut in fall 2025.
CIA stars Tom Ellis and Nick Gehlfuss as CIA Agent Colin Glass and FBI Agent Bill Goodman, respectively, who are tasked with working together on a secretive joint CIA/FBI task force. The two agents couldn't be more different, with the latter a rule-follower and the former more mischievous in nature.
While on the job together, Glass and Goodman stay in the shadows as they solve domestic and international crimes away from the eyes of the public.
Before CIA, Ellis was best known for his role as Lucifer Morningstar on the Fox/Netflix drama Lucifer, while Gehlfuss has starred in The Newsroom, Shameless, and Chicago Med (another Dick Wolf-created series).
Their CIA co-stars include Necar Zadegan and Natalee Linez. Zadegan, who plays Nikki Reynard, will guest star in the March 30 episode of FBI season 8, in which the Deputy Chief of Station is called in to help following a double homicide. The episode will mark Maggie Bell's return to the team after suffering a major loss.
Wolf created the hugely popular Law & Order and One Chicago franchises on NBC, and then went on to create the FBI crime procedural franchise for CBS. The first FBI series debuted in 2018 with star Missy Peregrym and is currently airing its eighth season.
Two years later, the first spinoff, FBI: Most Wanted, launched and aired for six seasons. FBI: International followed in its footsteps and aired for four seasons.
CIA, which currently has a 63% critic score and 51% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, marks the third FBI spinoff, with Wolf, Weiss, Ken Girotti, Paul Cabbad, Nicole Perlman, David Chasteen, Anastasia Puglisi, and Peter Jankowski serving as executive producers.
CIA airs Mondays at 10 p.m. EDT on CBS.
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