It hasn't been easy being a Criminal Minds fan with regards to what has been going on behind the scenes; Thomas Gibson signed his contract for this season very close to the shooting start date for and of course there was the big shake up that saw both AJ Cook and Paget Brewster temporarily leaving the show last year. Now there is more big news as Paget Brewster has decided that season 7 will be her last on the hit CBS show; why has she decided to leave?
Deadline.com received a statement from Brewster that said:
"After six wonderful years playing Emily Prentiss, I have decided it’s time for me to move on. As much as I will miss my Criminal Minds family, I am excited about the future and other opportunities."
These opportunities include wanting to go the half-hour comedy route as Brewster attempted last year when there was a provision in her contract with Criminal Minds. This allowed Brewster to shoot the half-hour comedy pilot My Life as an Experiment for NBC. When the show wasn't picked up she returned to Criminal Minds as there was a clause in her contract that meant she had to return if they wanted her too.
After the outcry from fans regarding Brewster and Cook's exit they chose to bring both these characters back and Brewster wasn't 100% thrilled by this, telling TV Guide "I had another year on my contract that I didn't know about, so I had to come back! I said, 'Hey, I kinda want an apology and maybe a raise.' And they were like, 'No, we'll sue you!'" Not that she was entirely unhappy about returning to her Criminal Minds family and Brewster did add "And the nicest thing was the fans coming up to me the whole time. That was the best." This year, Brewster asked for the same provision so she could try out for pilot season and they refused, leading her to quit Criminal Minds.
Both executive producer Erica Messer and co-star Thomas Gibson have released statements about this news that support Brewster, Messer says "We were all sad to hear the news, but we respect and support any decision Paget wants to make. Personally, I’m a huge fan and will continue to be one wherever she goes." Gibson echoes this sentiment with "We all love Paget and her character and will miss her greatly but I know that she will have continued great success."
Most of the other stars have recently renegotiated their contracts and will return for season 8; these include Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, Joe Mantegna and AJ Cook. Matthew Gray Gubler is currently renegotiating his contract.
How do you feel about Brewster departing the show for a second time? How will they write Prentiss out? Let us know your thoughts on this news in the comments below.
The photo for producer Erica Messer is wrong. It's a photo of Rachel Nichols, the actress that Messer fired from the show because fans did not like her Ashley Seaver character–because it was believed Seaver/Nichols was replacing JJ/AJ Cook.
Yeah, unfortunately that's a separate site's fault :( I wish we had the power to change it.
NO. I hope Matthew does not go. Otherwise, I'm never watching this show again.
After last season drama about cast shake up, maybe the writers were right in thinking it was the best way to move the show forward because so far season 7 has been a complete waste of time. Hopefully Erica Messer will be the next one to leave and perhaps she can take Hotch with her. Just because she has a crush on him, doesn’t mean the rest of think he a heartthrob and want to watch him develop a relationship with this Beth woman. If that’s the best Thomas Gibson can come up with to improve his character when he was negotiating his contract, ‘I need a girlfriend to make me more interesting’ it makes him really sad.
How exactly do you know Erica Messer has a crush on him ? Or that was in his contract? Morron.! I completely disagree with you. A lot of fans are invested in the characters and are interested in Hotch's new relationship. And it isn't just Hotch's personal life that is being explored in this series. I , and a lot of others think that Hotchner's relationship with his son is interesting or the friendship between Morgan and Garcia for instance.
wow i actually think season 7 is really good….but oh god paget listen to the fans dont leave again we had to go through enough pain last year…dont do it again!!!!!