Who played gideon on criminal minds

Criminal Minds’ Jason Gideon left the show after three seasons due to emotional distress, but specifically, actor Mandy Patinkin left the show abruptly due to “creative differences.”

Overview

Criminal Minds had a 15-season run on CBS. During this time, the show would experience continuous departures and non-returns of fan-favourite characters and original cast members. While some were amicable, there were some that were not.

One in particular from earlier seasons of the series is that of Mandy Patinkin, who played the role of Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon.

Part of the original cast and member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit, Patinkin left the show in season three citing “creative differences,” as his reason for leaving, differences which seemingly did not affect him joining the cast of Homeland in 2011.

What was Criminal Minds?

In 2005, CBS premiered the crime procedural drama series Criminal Minds. The series, created by Jeff Davis, was an immediate hit with fans and became one of the channel’s flagship shows.

The premise of the series was, “The cases of the F.B.I. Behavioral Analysis Unit (B.A.U.), an elite group of profilers who analyze the nation’s most dangerous serial killers and individual heinous crimes in an effort to anticipate their next moves before they strike again.”

Prior to the fifteenth season, CBS confirmed that the season would be the series finale.

While reasons for the cancellation were not shared, the biggest contributor to the decision was arguably a drop in numbers of live plus same day viewership and rating numbers at the time.

A look at Jason Gideon from Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds’ Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon first appeared on the series in the pilot episode titled Extreme Aggressor. When he was introduced in the story, Gideon had just returned from a six-month medical leave.

The leave was taken following his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), triggered by seeing six agents under his supervision killed by the bomber they were profiling.

Upon his return, he was promoted to a senior position as the Senior Supervisory Special Agent. However, viewers fell in love with the character’s empathy, which was shown throughout the three seasons that he was part of Criminal Minds.

Even more so since the series did not get to explore his personal life, with the only known personal details about the character being that he had an estranged son called Stephen. The two were estranged due to Gideon’s preoccupation with his job.

Why did Gideon leave Criminal Minds?

During season two’s final episodes, Gideon’s friend, Sarah Jacobs died at the hands of a serial killer whose motive was to kill all the people saved by the Senior Supervisory Special Agent.

As a result, when season three commenced, Gideon was still traumatised by the experience. In addition to this, he lost victims to The Campus Killer, Nathan Tubbs, who was let go when contradictory evidence was found.

When it was finally discovered that Nathan was The Campus Killer, Gideon decided to hand in his resignation and quit his job.

The character’s last scene shows him in Nevada sharing that he is uncertain about where he is going. He then drives off into the sunset.

Did Gideon return to Criminal Minds?

After his departure from the show in season three, Gideon never made a physical return to the cast of the show. But his character was referenced throughout the rest of the seasons until season 10, when he is found dead in his cabin.

It is later revealed that Gideon was murdered by an unsub from an unsolved case he had in 1978, Donnie Mallick. Mallick was still abducting women, and the BAU, while investigating Gideon’s murder, was able to finally find Mallick and rescue the women he had held hostage.

Gideon’s death on the series confirmed that Mandy Patinkin would not return to the series.

Why did Mandy Patinkin leave Criminal Minds?

Five years after leaving Criminal Minds and a year after being cast as Saul Berenson on Homelands, Patinkin finally spoke on his reason for leaving Criminal Minds in an interview with Deadline, stating:

“The biggest public mistake I ever made was that I chose to do Criminal Minds in the first place. I thought it was something very different. I never thought they were going to kill and rape all these women every night, every day, week after week, year after year. It was very destructive to my soul and my personality.”

The sentiments were considered hypocritical considering his casting on Homeland, which arguably portrayed similar narratives.

Final thoughts

Mandy Patinkin is an acclaimed actor with a career spanning over three decades. For television viewers, one of his most memorable roles was as Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon in the first three seasons of the Criminal Minds.

His departure from the show after season three was abrupt and somewhat controversial.

In the years that followed, Patinkin described the decision to join the cast as his “biggest mistake,” citing the violence and misogyny on the series as the reason for his departure.

In 2014, during season 10 of the series, the show would permanently write off the character, as Gideon was discovered murdered in his cabin.

CBS’ Criminal Minds has had an incredible run. Over 300 episodes have aired since it debuted in 2005 and it has even been given a couple of spinoffs, though neither were particularly popular or lasted super long. The show will wrap up its 15th and final season next TV season, but while we wait, let's talk about how the Criminal Minds cast has gone through a lot of changes over the years.

As would be expected for a long-running drama, over the show’s run a lot of the Criminal Minds cast members have come and gone and come again, some under some pretty sketchy circumstances. So which characters have left Criminal Minds (and which have returned) and why did they do it? Let’s take a look.

Why Mandy Patinkin Left Criminal Minds

Mandy Patinkin was the original star of the show. Patinkin played Senior Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon, the head of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). Mandy Patinkin left show after two seasons after “creative differences.” It would be years before he finally explained his departure. In an interview, Patinkin explained that he didn’t feel comfortable with the a lot of the subject matter covered on the show and decided it wasn’t something he wanted to be a part of.

His character Jason Gideon’s departure was equally perplexing, as Mandy Patinkin seemed to have caught the producers by surprise. Ultimately, Gideon was written out quickly, resigning after a particularly difficult case. Eight seasons later, the character was killed (off screen) by a serial killer being pursued by the BAU team.

Why Shemar Moore Left Criminal Minds

Shemar Moore’s character Derek Morgan is among the most popular characters over the show’s run. A star for over 10 seasons on the show, he's returned to Criminal Minds in a guest-starring capacity in the time since. However, when he left for good, according to what he said at the time, it was to spend more time with his wife and baby, though it was announced soon after that he would be starring in a new CBS show, S.W.A.T.

Shemar Moore's sendoff was more emotional than many of the other actors, as he was one of the few who left the show on very good terms with both the show’s producers and CBS. On the procedural, Derek Morgan left the BAU for the same reason Moore left the show, to care for his family.

Why Thomas Gibson Left Criminal Minds

Thomas Gibson’s exit from Criminal Minds was by far the most controversial. Gibson, who played Unit Chief Senior Special Agent Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner, was fired from the show after an on-set fight with a producer that allegedly got physical during the filming of Season 12 in 2016. The show was only two episodes into the season when the confrontation occurred and Gibson was fired the day after the reported fight.

Gibson's character was written out quickly, as Hotch was placed in Witness Protection to protect his son from a serial killer. There has been talk about the character returning for a possible guest spot, but that seems unlikely given the acrimonious departure.

Why A.J. Cook Left Criminal Minds

A.J. Cook is one of the original stars of Criminal Minds cast, with her character JJ going all the way back to the beginning. However, her run as a cast member has not been without its ups and downs. After Season 5, it was announced that Cook did not have her contract renewed in what was reported to be a cost-cutting move by the show’s producer. She did appear in a handful of episodes in Season 6 to wrap up their storylines and she was gone. Just not for long.

The passionate fans of the show were outraged and eventually the show relented and brought her back before the start of Season 7. A.J. Cook has been a cast member on Criminal Minds ever since.

Why Paget Brewster Left Criminal Minds

Like A.J. Cook, Paget Brewster’s run on the show has been filled with ups and downs. Brewster’s character Emily Prentiss first appeared in the middle of Season 2 after Elle Greenaway, played by Lola Glaudini, left the BAU when Glaudini left the show.

Brewster would go on to star as a full-time Criminal Minds cast member through part of Season 7, when she left the show to pursue other opportunities. She continued to appear as a guest star a few times after that though. Then, at the end of Season 11, she returned for Shemar Moore’s final episode, returning for good for Season 12. Paget Brewster has been back as a regular on the series ever since and currently is the Unit Chief of the BAU.

Why Jeanne Tripplehorn Left Criminal Minds

Jeanne Tripplehorn burst onto the Hollywood scene in the early nineties when she starred in a number of box office hits (and one infamous bomb). She played Michael Douglas’ wife in Basic Instinct, then went on to play Tom Cruise’s wife in The Firm. The only flick to mess that run up was to star as Kevin Costner’s love interest of sorts in the notorious Waterworld.

She joined the cast of Criminal Minds in Season 8 as Dr. Alex Blake. Her run with the show was fairly short, leaving after just two seasons when contract negotiations fell apart. Her character's exit came after she decided working in BAU reminded her too much of her deceased son and she left.

Why Jennifer Love Hewitt Left Criminal Minds

It’s easy to forget that Jennifer Love Hewitt starred on Criminal Minds for two seasons as Kate Callahan. Her character’s arc ended dramatically when a pregnant Callahan faced every mother’s nightmare. Her niece, whom she had adopted after the death of her sister and brother-in-law in the September 11th attacks, was kidnapped and then rescued. Kate Callahan decided she needed to take some time away to care for with adopted daughter and soon-to-be-born baby.

Like her character, Jennifer Love Hewitt left the show at the same time for maternity reasons. Like the character, Hewitt was pregnant with her second child and it was announced before Season 11 that she would be leaving the show to care for her growing family.

Why Rachel Nichols Left Criminal Minds

Rachel Nichols joined the show first as a guest star in a three-episode arc that eventually morphed into her getting signed on as a full cast member. She joined as Ashley Seaver, an up-and-coming FBI trainee, but that gig was controversial at first, with fans angry that she was seemingly replacing the two popular characters played by A.J. Cook and Paget Brewster. Ultimately, she didn’t last very long. She was let go after just one season when Cook and Brewster returned.

Why Damon Gupton Left Criminal Minds

Blink and you might have missed Damon Gupton’s very brief run on the show during Season 12 as Special Agent Stephen Walker. Gupton departed the show as fast as he joined when the network decided not to renew his contract in the wake of a number of cast maneuvers before Season 13.

Why Lola Glaudini Left Criminal Minds

VERY early on, Lola Glaudini starred as Elle Greenaway in the first season of Criminal Minds. This was not Glaudini's first time playing an FBI agent, as she also starred on The Sopranos as Deborah Ciccerone-Waldrup, a Federal Agent going after Tony Soprano.

Elle Greenaway had a violent end to her run with the BAU, both being shot and shooting suspects in her final episode. Lola Glaudini's personal reason for leaving the Criminal Minds cast was not nearly as dramatic. She reportedly wasn't happy living in LA where the show is shot and wanted to return to her home on the East Coast.

So there it is. The topsy-turvy world that is the Criminal Minds cast. It's been a wild ride for the fans of the show and for the actors that have helped make the show the huge success it is. Do you think everyone in the cast will make it all the way until the end a year from now?

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Up next: NCIS: Why Each Of The Major Cast Members Left