The New Season: Oh, Mandy! Patinkin quits ‘Criminal Minds’
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Today was NBC’s big day on the press tour, with the introduction of the company’s dynamic new co-chairmen, Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff.
But elsewhere in Hollywood, things were going pitter-patter as CBS, the top network in viewers but last in buzz, announced something that made the Earth almost tremble.
At least that’s how it felt at the Beverly Hilton when television reporters simultaneously received a news release via e-mail that said that Mandy Patinkin is leaving the top-rated “Criminal Minds” under mysterious circumstances that, according to the statement, have nothing to do with salary or contract negotiations.
Why then would the star of a hit show just up and leave? The news release cited “creative differences.” But, according to show-runner Ed Bernero, no one knows. On criminalmindsfanatic.blogspot.com, Bernero wrote that “everyone involved in the show has for two years bent over backward to give him ANYTHING he wanted.”
Bernero wrote that the network and studio expected Patinkin to report for duty for the season premiere and simply never showed, leaving them in “the proverbial lurch” because the first episode was centered around his character. Patinkin played lead FBI profiler Jason Gideon.
“Even to this moment, we have no word from him,” Bernero added. “He gave us no advance notice that anything was wrong, no opportunity to make the loss of the character work, no indication that we should be looking for someone else, no warning that we might have to rewrite the first seven scripts.”
ABC Studios and CBS Paramount Network Television, which co-produce the crime drama, had this to say in their statement: “Last week, Mandy Patinkin asked to be released from his role on ‘Criminal Minds.’ We have honored this request, which was not in any way connected to contract renegotiations or salary issues. His departure from the series will be explained to audiences in an episode to be filmed in the near future and broadcast early next season. We thank Mandy for helping to make ‘Criminal Minds’ a strong and successful series, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
The studios also said a new character will be added to the series for next season.
This is the second time the actor has left CBS hanging. In 1995, he quit CBS’ ‘Chicago Hope’ after one season, then returned in 1999 for its last season.
But CBS should not take it personally. Patinkin was a no-show for a press tour PBS panel on which he was expected to participate last week.
-- Maria Elena Fernandez
(Photo: Vivian Zink / CBS)