FBI Beats Dick Wolf’s Most Successful Show In One Key Aspect

Published Nov 10, 2026, 1:31 PM EST Laura Hurley has been writing about the entertainment industry for more than twelve years, after a decade as a content producer and editor at CinemaBlend after writing for WhatCulture and Examiner. Attending events like SCAD TVfest and San Diego Comic-Con over the course of her career, she has been immersed in the world of network, streaming, and cable TV. Warning: this article contains spoilers for FBI season 9, episode 6, "Ultimatum."FBI is the primetime drama that brought the Wolf Entertainment franchise to CBS. By this point, the show has successfully spawned three spinoffs, and the latest episode proves that it hasn't run out of material after more than 150 episodes. In fact, even though "Ultimatum" was a fairly standard episode of the procedural, it stands out enough to prove that FBI has the edge on the most successful drama in Dick Wolf's expansive TV universe in one key way. Now that FBI is in its ninth season, it's easily the longest-running show on CBS within the Wolf Entertainment world. FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, the two original spinoffs, were successful enough to rank among the most shocking network TV cancellations of 2025. CIA, tangentially connected enough to FBI for occasional crossovers, is currently in its second season on CBS' fall premiere schedule. That said, FBI is still hundreds of episodes shy of the milestone that Law & Order: SVU is on the verge of reaching. In FBI season 9, episode 6, the majority of the 26 Fed team was working against the clock to stop a disgruntled New Yorker from setting off a dirty bomb in Manhattan. Eva was stuck on a ferry while the action was going down, however, and her role in the case turned out to be pivotal. Using her own experience, Eva talked a woman down from jumping in time to convince her to stop the bomb. "Ultimatum" was a great showcase for Juliana Aidén Martinez, and a reminder of how FBI succeeds where SVU fails. Eva's Case Proves How FBI Beats Law & Order: SVU CBS FBI is still arguably the most procedural show in Dick Wolf's franchise outside the Law & Order series, but the CBS drama excels at giving individual cast members time to shine each season. In fact, even though Missy Peregrym and Zeeko Zaki are the top-billed stars as Maggie and OA, Juliana Aidén Martinez and John Boyd still get episodes that showcase them as Eva and Scola. Jubal (Jeremy Sisto) and Isobel (Alana De La Garza) also get their own episodes. For Martinez, "Ultimatum" may have been the strongest yet for Eva. The emotional weight of "Ultimatum" fell squarely on Eva's shoulders, with no backup on the ferry other than a security officer. While her own mother's predicament weighed on her, Eva had to use that experience (as well as all of her experience with the Bureau) to talk a woman down before thousands of people in New York could be killed. She finally won the woman over, despite having to literally fight her abusive boyfriend while trying to persuade her. As the newest agent on the 26 Fed team, Eva has far fewer episodes centered on her than characters played by other FBI cast members. "Ultimatum" highlighted what she brings to the dynamic the rest of the team lacks, and it didn't have to split the spotlight between her and any other character. The rest of the ensemble was certainly busy while chasing down terrorists in Manhattan, but Eva was undeniably the star, and not sharing the spotlight made the episode stronger. FBI is so procedural with cases that character-heavy moments are essential. Law & Order: SVU is less successful at developing the ensemble of Manhattan's Special Victims Unit in the NBC corner of Dick Wolf's TV universe, since the focus is squarely on Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson. Even in episodes that are centered on other members of her team, the weight of the storyline falls on Benson more often than not. That's not a bad thing for the Law & Order franchise, and Hargitay is the face of the entire franchise for a reason. But having Benson at the center of most storylines sets SVU apart from FBI (and most other shows in the TV universe) and makes SVU fall short in developing newer characters, where FBI succeeds. Juliana Aidén Martinez has only appeared in 26 episodes so far, and Eva is far more developed than Corey Cott's Griffin on SVU. Cott has appeared in 25 SVU episodes to date since becoming an SVU series regular, and even Griffin's biggest stories have revolved around Benson to a certain extent. Why Law & Order: SVU Is Still Dick Wolf's Most Successful Show Virginia Sherwood/NBC Even though FBI has an edge on Law & Order: SVU in that one key way, SVU is still Dick Wolf's most successful TV show, and the competition isn't even close. SVU is hitting 600 episodes on NBC just a few days after Juliana Aidén Martinez's big FBI showcase aired on CBS. Even Law & Order is more than 50 episodes behind SVU, despite premiering nine years before the spinoff, and the original One Chicago show just hit 300 episodes. Unlike Law & Order (and every other Law & Order spinoff), SVU has never been canceled. While hosting the Emmys, Mariska Hargitay even cracked a joke about never experiencing a series finale because SVU just keeps on going. The show holds several television records, including Hargitay playing the longest-running primetime drama character in TV history and SVU ranking as the longest-running primetime live-action series. Plus, with nearly 600 episodes behind her, Hargitay is arguably the biggest network TV star in primetime today. Not every network TV actor gets to host the Emmys, and Olivia Benson is an icon of the small screen. Without Hargitay as the lead, SVU likely wouldn't have lasted for 28 seasons (so far); without SVU, Law & Order: Organized Crime almost certainly wouldn't have brought Christopher Meloni back to primetime, and NBC might never have taken the chance on bringing the original Law & Order back. Choose the movie with the higher Rotten Tomatoes score. Suffice it to say, FBI is never going to beat or even tie any records set by Law & Order: SVU, even though it does best NBC's show in at least one aspect. New FBI episodes will continue airing on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Release Date September 25, 2018 Network CBS Directors Dick Wolf Cast Missy Peregrym Maggie Bell Zeeko Zaki Omar Adom OA Zidan Writers Dick Wolf Creator(s) Dick Wolf, Craig Turk