‘FBI True,’ Which Investigates ‘Heart-Stopping’ Criminal Cases, Premieres on CBS

FBI True 'Terror in Times Square'
FBI True episode ‘Terror in Times Square: Chasing a Madman’ chronicles the foiling of a 2010 terrorist bombing attempt in the busy New York neighborhood. (Image credit: CBS)

FBI True, a docuseries that takes viewers through significant, and often shocking, cases in the history of the FBI, starts on CBS Tuesday, November 7. The show premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT and shifts to 10 p.m. a week later. 

FBI True has run for multiple seasons on Paramount Plus. The episodes starting November 7 are original to CBS, and have not streamed on Paramount Plus until their broadcast premieres. 

Each episode focuses on one or two cases, and features FBI agents that took serious personal risks in the line of duty. “FBI True pulls no punches as the agents share emotional stories with each other,” said CBS. “They relive the heart-stopping moments of their biggest cases, revealing new details of how they foiled major criminal and terrorist plots.”

The show features what CBS calls “legendary” Special Agents, who sit down with their fellow agents to share their stories over a drink. 

The series premiere features two cases: one about a deputy sheriff who is murdered by a Latino gang in California in 2005, which results in massive anti-gang initiative Operation Knockout; and the other about a vendor in New York’s Times Square who witnessed a man trying to set off a gigantic bomb. The FBI learns that the bomber was connected to the Pakistani Taliban. 

The November 14 episode looks at a U.S. deputy marshal who is killed in 1992 while staking out a fugitive at Ruby Ridge in Idaho. The November 21 program looks into Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent who was selling vital national secrets to the Russians. 

FBI True executive producers are Craig Turk, Anne Beagan and Shawn Efran. Turk is co-creator of the Dick Wolf scripted drama FBI. Beagan was an FBI special agent before working in television and Efran worked on 60 Minutes. Solly Granatstein is the showrunner and exec producer, and Azadeh De Leon exec produces as well. 

Thinking Hat Productions, Anne Beagan Productions and Efran Films Canada produce the show in association with CBS and Paramount Global’s See It Now Studios. 

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.