Did ‘Criminal Minds’ Hint At Another Cast Shake-Up?
Criminal Minds has been one of the most popular police procedural TV series since it premiered in September 2005. One of the show’s biggest cornerstones is Matthew Gray Gubler, who plays the role of a young genius doctor and BAU profiler Spencer Reid. The latest episode failed to feature the actor’s character given the importance of his participation in solving cases.
That being said, many Criminal Minds fans are concerned that this might be another cast rotation that the show has been doing for the past few seasons. Aisha Tyler’s Tara Lewis wasn’t there either, which made most fans fret given the show’s infamous cast shake-up. One example was Thomas Gibson when he was fired in August 2016 following an altercation with one of the show’s writers, who also left the show a few months ago.
On the plus side, Gubler and Tyler’s absence in the latest episode doesn’t necessarily mean that they are leaving. In fact, this is not the first time that Gubler’s Spencer Reid did not appear on Criminal Minds. As CarterMatt pointed out, the show has been one of the long-standing TV series and its actors apparently need some time to rest. For most fans, as long as no major characters making an exit from the show, there is nothing to worry about.
Criminal Minds is no stranger when it comes to cast member changes, but when CBS started doing it, some fans quit watching the show. When Thomas Gibson’s contract was terminated, his avid fans rallied behind him, and even tried to file a petition in an attempt to get him back on the series. All of them began to boycott the show and started a Twitter feast with a massive hashtag #NoHotchNoWatch.
Shemar Moore also left the show in 2015, but he has been paying the show visits since his departure. However, his guest appearances didn’t help the series pull its high ratings back. Most Gibson fans claim that their decision to boycott the series has catapulted the show into low scores. Season 13 only had seven million fans who tuned in when it premiered in September 2017. The figure is three million less than Season 11 premiere that earned 10 million viewers when Thomas Gibson was still part of the show.
Karen Finney, a famous political consultant is also one of the actor’s avid fans. She recently took her disappointments to Twitter, saying that Criminal Minds will never be the same without Thomas Gibson. To this date, fans still hope to see Hotch again despite the countless requests that fall on deaf ears.
Have to say @CrimMinds_CBS is not the same without @ImThomasGibson ##NoHotchNoWatch
— Karen Finney (@finneyk) November 21, 2017
Criminal Minds airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
[Featured Image by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]
