'FBI' Star Officially Confirms "The Worst Is Yet To Come" in Season 9

Editor's note: The following contains major spoilers for FBI Season 9, Episode 1.

Summary

• In the Season 9 premiere of 'FBI,' a fired OA is still undercover with Anna’s strike team, testing his morals.
• Maggie and OA share a tense, emotional reunion, and her loyalty remains his anchor.
• The strike team arc spans multiple episodes, with darker stakes ahead before OA finds the light again.

The CBS drama series FBI is now in its ninth season, shaking things up after the shocking Season 8 finale moment when Special Agent Omar Adom “OA” Zidan (Zeeko Zaki) was fired from the bureau after refusing to participate in a cover-up related to a case involving a stolen bioweapon. That then turned into a secret operation with OA gathering intel undercover to put a stop to a strike team being run by Anna Vorpe (Claire Coffee), a shadowy government player who isn’t afraid to cross the line thanks to the protection she’s receiving. As Maggie (Missy Peregrym) has to navigate things with her new partner, Isaiah Green (Roland Buck III), OA struggles with the blurring moral line he’s doing everything he can to keep from crossing before he can get back to his job at the FBI.

Collider recently got the opportunity to chat with Zaki about the Season 9 shake-up for OA and how he’s dealing with everything. During the interview, he discussed what it’s been like to explore such a different kind of storyline for his character, the moral dilemma of the undercover assignment, that shocking moment when OA and Maggie finally crossed paths again, what it’s been like to work alongside Peregrym for so many seasons now, whether he could ever see a romance between their characters, and how he thinks fans will feel about how this story arc plays out.

‘FBI’ Is Really Shaking Things Up at the Start of Season 9

"Anytime we get to do something a little different, a little new, I get nothing but excited."

COLLIDER: I’m enjoying the new season. I had no idea where any of this was going to go, so it’s fun to see how it’s playing out. What did you think of this whole storyline for your character, once you found out where things were going to be headed with him? Did you know from last season’s finale where it was going? What has been the most surprising thing about it all?

ZEEKO ZAKI: The most surprising thing is definitely seeing a scene where you get fired from the job you’re doing. That was very surprising. But of course, they were very quick to reassure me that this wasn’t the end. I knew where it was going and I was really excited. Anytime we get to do something a little different, a little new, I get nothing but excited.

We know that Anna is trying to pass things off as being done for the greater good, but it doesn’t really seem that that’s the case. How hard is it for OA to work alongside people that he knows are just getting away with murder?

ZAKI: That’s the whole dilemma that he’s in. It’s really fun to play because there are these very wide or big gray areas in law enforcement that we’re exploring. What’s wrong for one person might not be wrong if you have the right clearance. It’s fun to play and to trust the writers to make sure that I’m not turning a blind eye to truly evil things, which we kind of are. It is very difficult for OA, but what we show is that doing anything for long enough, it starts to grow on you, so we’re hoping that it doesn’t grow too much. It was definitely really fun to play.

Even if it eventually means that he’s going to be putting a stop to all of this, do you worry about how he’s mentally going to be after he gets out of all of this?

ZAKI: I feel like there’s no mental left. We’re just these soldier machines. But for sure, that’s what I was really excited to get to play. We deal with death and these really dark topics a lot, but we’re getting to personalize it. We deal with it on a normal basis and it doesn’t affect us emotionally because that’s the job, but this one does affect him. And getting to play anything through a few episodes is always really special.

Is there anyone on this strike team that has a moral compass at all? Is there anyone that OA sees as an ally that he could work?

ZAKI: I feel like him and Devon (Casey Deidrick) definitely have a guy’s guys bond throughout the first few episodes. I think OA can see a good egg gone wrong versus a bad egg from the jump. It’s fun to play these things with Devon where, at the end of the day, he’s just a guy doing a job, the same way I’m a guy doing a job. It’s all just very interesting to play.

Does the action with the strike team feel any different from the action scenes that you were doing as FBI? Are there things that you’ve had to learn to do differently since you don’t have to play by the same rules?

ZAKI: No. Luckily enough, we’re all trained. We were all birthed in the same training with guns and stuff, so that was all very similar. I think it’s going to show more in how it’s shot and on the director’s take on an FBI fight scene versus a strike team fight scene. There are definitely moments that are new that we get to see. It’s all really exciting.

The First Time OA and Maggie Cross Paths in the ‘FBI’ Season 9 Premiere Is Shocking and Memorable

"It was really cool just to see how we were going to play it."

Image via CBS

The first time that OA and Maggie cross paths in the premiere after not having contact was quite a memorable and shocking moment. What was your reaction when you learned about that? What was it like to read that scene for the first time and to actually shoot that? How was it to have Maggie put a gun to OA’s head?

ZAKI: It was great. Missy [Peregrym] was all nervous and like, “I don’t want to hurt your head.” I was like, “Give it to me. These are big moments, so we need to make it real.” It was really cool just to see how we were going to play it. I’m happy it worked out.

We also learn that Maggie’s new partner, Isaiah, wasn’t fully unconscious the entire time and that he might have heard OA and Maggie talking. Will that become a problem? Is her new partner going to get nosy?

ZAKI: He definitely gets a little nosy. OA and Maggie’s loyalty always lies with each other, so it’s fun to see her play that as well.

After everything that OA went through and then getting fired, what does it mean to him to have the support of Isobel and Maggie? Is that why the hug on the roof between OA and Maggie is so heartfelt?

ZAKI: Yeah. He’s been alone for so long, so knowing that his partner is always there for him and that she’s still there for him, I think means the world. It was really nice that we got that moment on the roof to show that. OA is the bulldog of Isobel and Maggie, and they’re his girls. He definitely has the same trust in Isobel as well.

What are you enjoying about getting to Season 9 of FBI? Over time, there have been various cast changes. What’s it been like to work with Missy Peregrym for all of that time?

ZAKI: It’s amazing and the luckiest thing in the world. I can’t believe that we’re still going. The only thing that makes me believe it is everyone else’s work and just seeing how good it is, with the crew and the writers and all of that. It’s a different show when we’re not filming together, so it’s fun to get to play around with feeling like I’m on a completely different television show. We’re really getting to the point of having done everything before, so all new things are welcome and it’s really fun to get to play them.

How do you feel about the fact that we’ve actually gotten to see OA have a bit of a personal romantic life? That’s something that’s hard to find sometimes on procedurals like this. We saw him have this relationship with Gemma, but that fell apart. We saw some sparks with Zara, but that hasn’t gone any further. And there’s been talking for a while now about whether OA and Maggie would ever get together. What are your feelings about the possibility of that?

ZAKI: That is a definite pass. We have just morphed into such a brother-sister relationship. If you guys want a show, come and watch the filming of a romantic scene with us. It would be pretty funny. It’s really amazing getting to work with her this long, and I just hope that it never ends.

What can you say to tease what’s next, especially with OA’s story arc after the premiere? How much worse are things going to get for him before he can finally get back to what he knows as his life?

ZAKI: I’m really happy we didn’t fix this or finish this in one episode. So, the worst is yet to come. OA is going to go a little deeper and a little darker before we get to see him in the light.

Zeeko Zaki Thinks ‘FBI’ Fans Will Love How This Strike Team Arc Plays Out

"It plays out in the first three episodes, which is really fun."

Image via CBS

It was pretty clear with the premiere, and even with the finale last season, that this is not a story arc that was going to be wrapped up quickly. It seems like it’s going to take at least a little bit of time to stop this strike team. How do you feel about the way things play out with it? How do you think the audience will feel?

ZAKI: I think they’re going to love it. Anytime we take a story over more than one episode, I think it’s really exciting for the audience. We don’t take too long. It plays out in the first three episodes, which is really fun. Hopefully, it’s just long enough to feel like a different movie for a little while, and short enough not to turn you away from what you love our show for.

What’s it been like for you to work with this new group of actors on the show and to find your groove within the strike team?

ZAKI: It was really fun. It felt like I was doing a different job. It felt like my Season 9 didn’t start until I got back with Missy. Episode 4 felt like the first day of work. The first few episodes just felt like a really fun project that I got to shoot at the end of the summer.

What do you think OA really thinks of Anna? Now that he has spent time working with and for her, has it shaped his opinion any differently or is he very clear on how he sees what she’s doing?

ZAKI: He’s definitely very clear. With anybody, especially when we start getting into the rule-breaking people in positions of authority in our show, they’re all a product of this crazy world that we live in. Everybody started with the right intention and got poisoned, and I think he knows that. Whether he has a soft spot for her or not, at the end of the day, laws were broken and justice must be served.

We know what someone is shielding Anna and that OA is supposed to figure out who that is. How are we going to feel about that reveal?

ZAKI: That reveal is really awesome. It’s not what you expect. When I read it and when we were filming it, I was like, “Oh, this is good.” It definitely would be a spoiler, so I can’t say. But the way we do it is really nice. We will get to that in Episode 3.

FBI airs on CBS and is available to stream on Paramount+.