Missy Peregrym's performance as an investment banker in a 2017 episode of Law & Order: SVU caught the attention of producer Dick Wolf, leading to her starring role in FBI. The episode, titled Net Worth, featured her character navigating a sexual assault case amid career pressures. This role demonstrated her ability to handle complex scenes opposite Mariska Hargitay.
Missy Peregrym, known for portraying FBI agent Maggie Bell, first impressed Dick Wolf through her guest appearance on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In the Season 18 episode "Net Worth," aired in 2017, she played Zoe White, an investment banker sexually assaulted by her billionaire client, Eli Colton, portrayed by Tate Donovan.
The story begins at a lavish party for wealthy elites, after which the assault occurs. Zoe, as the central figure, grapples with her attacker's attempts to discredit her while balancing her drive to protect her lucrative career position. This nuanced portrayal goes beyond a simple victim narrative, showing Zoe's internal conflicts between seeking justice and preserving professional standing.
Wolf praised Peregrym's skills in a Deadline interview, noting her ability to hold her own in a three-and-a-half-minute scene with Mariska Hargitay's Captain Benson. "If you take on Mariska one-on-one for a three-and-a-half-minute scene — that's pretty good!" he said.
Peregrym discussed the experience with People magazine, describing the episode as an unexpected audition for FBI's first season. She emphasized the rarity of such opportunities in the industry: "It's very rare," she explained. "The whole story is rare that you would have that experience, but that's what's cool about this industry — that you just never know where the next thing is going to come from."
Her performance highlighted her suitability for a lead in a procedural crime series. FBI, produced by Wolf, is currently in its eighth season on CBS and has been renewed for a ninth.