FBI TRUE is a docu-series that allows viewers to see some of the most astonishing and gripping cases told through the eyes of the FBI agents and behavioralists who worked those cases.
The series premiered on Paramount+ earlier in 2023 and will debut on CBS on Tuesday, October 3. Additionally, CBS will show never-before-seen episodes, including footage from the mole hunt of Robert Hansen, the spy who betrayed his country and sold America’s secrets.
TV Fanatic chatted with the EPs of FBI TRUE, Craig Turk and Anne Beagan, who worked together on the FBI scripted series. Anne is also a veteran FBI Special Agent-turned-producer.
The two EPs shared why they liked working together, some teasers about the CBS season premiere, and what other cases they’re excited for viewers to watch.
Check out the interview below.
You both have unique perspectives working on this docuseries. What made you decide to team up and create FBI TRUE?
Craig: That is a great question. Anne and I worked together on the scripted series FBI years ago and clicked immediately. She helped me navigate the FBI and learn the bureau, meet these agents, and understand what the FBI does in a way I don’t think anyone else could have done.
As we made the scripted series, I spent six to eight months in New York meeting agents and trying to understand deeply what I was writing about. One afternoon, we were at the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is down in Chelsea, and I was meeting a friend for a drink after work at the bar downstairs from the Jttf called the Brass Monkey.
I went downstairs, and while waiting, I saw some agents sitting at the bar. I went up and sat down next to them, and their conversation was fascinating. The way that they spoke to each other, the rhythms of the conversation, never needing to explain stuff because they understood what was stressful or a challenging opportunity.
It felt like this privileged look into these professionals doing what they do. I called Anne the next day and said I had an idea for a show, capturing agents talking to agents, featuring two people who speak to each other and know what they’re doing. It was early on that I had the idea for this show, and we’re thrilled that it’s become a reality.
Anne: If I could add to that, Laura. Part of spending time with Greg, which I should also mention, I’ve had four partners in the bureau, and Craig felt like a fifth partner to me. It was extraordinary when working with him as he did his research. But meetings in the office are stuffy.
One day, this agent, Eddie Heslin, showed up with a tie around his neck. Craig said something about the disheveled look of it, and he said that he grabbed it off the coat rack in the hall because the boss said he had to wear a tie to meet us.
Part of our time together involved offline drinks or dinners that I would set up with agents to get the more laid-back version right where the tie is not on or the shirt sleeves are rolled up. It’s extraordinary how agents speak to each other in that more relaxed offline setting.
These stories are so gripping and emotional. How did you choose which cases to highlight?
Craig: We have been spoiled for choice regarding the stories we’ve been able to do. We’ve shot some brand-new episodes that we’re incredibly excited about and have always wanted to do. We needed to see if the agents could access the footage we needed.
One of the things that we love about this show is the access to this never-before-seen footage to bring viewers. We decided on the biggest and best stories we haven’t told. Then, we’ve also returned to some of the episodes we’ve featured on Paramount+ that we loved.
We have changed them around a bit and, in some instances, added some new stuff and put together a package we’re thrilled to have on CBS.
How did you select which ones to play on, and was it always a plan to air some on CBS, or did the writers’ strike impact that?
Craig: We’ve had this incredible home at Paramount Plus for many seasons. We’ve had this tremendous response from our fan base and agents nationwide. Amy Reisenbach, the president of CBS, called and suggested bringing it to the network, saying it would be a good fit.
The audience at CBS is so intelligent and receptive to stories and characters in law enforcement that it felt like an incredibly natural fit. We couldn’t be happier to be there.
So, we’re going to see some never-before-seen footage then?
Craig: Absolutely. You’ll see many episodes that have never been aired anywhere else and have not been on Paramount Plus. Some of the best episodes we’ve ever made are coming.
Let’s discuss the series premiere, Boy in the Bunker. These complex cases, but they always touched me the most concerning children. Do you often use Behavioralists to profile a dangerous criminal?
Anne: Oh, yes. The BAU has a function beyond the obvious as well. They’ll also work counterintelligence. They’ll help with the interview strategy and serial killer cases. Indeed, this was an example of how to negotiate with someone and potentially his intentions.
Molly likes to say that Jimmy Lee Dykes was a promise keeper, which was very concerning. Every bad thing he had done in his past, he delivered on. So that was an indicator that he would do the wrong something he was threatening to do. So, profilers are an invaluable tool the FBI uses across the board.
I remember this case vaguely from ten years ago. How often do agents need to rehearse a rescue plan, making rescues take longer than the general public realizes?
Anne: That was genuinely unprecedented. The negotiations that were drawn out over the six days were critical in allowing the hostage rescue team to plan, prepare, rehearse, and build that above-ground bunker so that when they did have to do the deliberate assault, which is ultimately what happened, they were as prepared as they could be.
But it was truly unprecedented. The hostage rescue team trains for every scenario, but this was not in their playbook.
I can imagine. This was a different kind of case. What cases are you most excited for the viewers to see and discuss?
Craig: We absolutely love the first two episodes we have on CBS. As Anne said, The Alabama bunker case is an incredible example of the breadth of what the FBI does. We had this fantastic behavioral analyst, Molly Amman, who’s on there, and the head of the hostage rescue team, Bill Francis.
To see those two working together with the stakes so high and this clock ticking so fast, I can’t wait for the public response to that.
As you said, Laura, it involves a vulnerable kid who has already seen something terrible. I can’t wait for the public reaction to that and this incredible resolution.
During the second week, two half-hour episodes will be combined. The first of those is the Chelsea bombing, the very first episode of this show we ever shot and a favorite.
It features the most compelling first-hand body cam footage I’ve ever seen on TV. They chase down this terrorist, and it’s the body cam from the cop all the way through. Shots are fired, and they’re chasing this guy down the street, and there are SUVs swerving and people pulling rifles out of cars.
It is all caught on tape. It was stunning when we could obtain all this and put it together. I’m excited to see what people think of that episode.
Anne: To add to that, Laura, some other stories we’re excited about expand into the depth of the FBI that I don’t think many people appreciate. We investigate over 300 violations worldwide.
We’ll be educating people about the depth of why the bureau is where they are in the world, why it does what it does, and some things unique to only the FBI, such as public corruption, civil rights, and espionage.
Craig: Laura, I’ll give you I’ll give you a little a little sneak peek. A couple of episodes are coming up, which are pretty extraordinary and are brand new to CBS. They’ve never been aired anywhere.
One is called Operation Knockout, about American history’s most significant gang takedown. It was really recent and happened right here in Los Angeles. It is extraordinary and has one of the most emotionally compelling through lines for the women and the men who handled it that we’ve ever featured on the show.
Then, we shot an exceptional episode. Anne and I were in D.C. two weeks ago about the takedown of Robert Hanssen, the worst spy in American history, with Eric O’Neill, the young agent who was instrumental in bringing him down. So those two, which have never been seen anywhere, we can’t wait for.
Those must be later in the season.
Craig: Not too late. As soon as we shot them, our partners at the network studio asked how fast we could turn this around. So, we’re working on that now because we’re thrilled to get these on air.
I can’t wait. I’m a massive fan of crime TV and seeing how things work. What do you think the fans of the FBI franchise will enjoy about this series?
Anne: That it’s the actual agents in the flesh.
Craig: Anne and I worked together on the scripted series, and we were able to tell these amazing stories that were firmly grounded in what agents and cases are like. But it was exciting to bring natural agents onto TV and to allow them to tell their stories in their own words.
We have this phrase around the show that we like to say our show is elbows on the bar with the grit left in.
There’s no other way that people can understand what it’s like to be an FBI agent, see what these agents are seeing, and feel what they are feeling in real time. For us, that’s the real magic of the show.
I admit it was interesting to see agents talk in real time and then go back and show what happened.
Craig: I’m so happy that that that resonates with you because that’s one of the things that we think is so special is to hear their words and to get a sense of what that felt like.
When we read about a case in the newspaper, there’s a tendency to think it was a straight line, and they got from A to B, and they got the bad guy. That’s not obviously ever the case.
There are these incredible challenges that these agents navigate, and to be able to take viewers through that, not only to hear what these agents were feeling but to see what they saw, with this footage, is extraordinary.
FBI TRUE premieres on Tuesday, October 3 at 9/8c on CBS. It’s also streaming on Paramount Plus.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
