In case you missed it, after 11 seasons, Shemar Moore walked away from the CBS show that made him a household name. On Wednesday, March 23, Moore, who played the headstrong FBI Special Agent Derek Morgan on “Criminal Minds,” made his final appearance — the drama addressed his exit by having his character leave the bureau to focus on his family.
“All of us at ‘Criminal Minds’ are sad to say ‘see you later’ to Agent Derek Morgan. Even sadder that our friend Shemar Moore isn’t on set anymore. It was definitely a surprise that he wanted ‘To leap,’ as Moore said, ‘to try new things.’ For those reasons, we have nothing but love and respect for him and his choice. But it doesn’t mean we can’t also be really, really sad,” television writer and showrunner Erica Messer said in a statement released at the time.
Now, the police procedural has announced it’s beefing up its ranks with a sexy new cast member, Adam Rodriguez. The “CSI: Miami” alum has signed on the dotted line to play a special agent from the FBI Fugitive Task Force who joins the Behavioral Task Force, CBS announced. “We’re thrilled to introduce a new special agent by adding the very talented Adam Rodriguez to our amazing cast,” Messer said in a statement. “We have exciting storylines planned for his character and the entire BAU team as we head into our 12th season.”
Rodriguez, who’s set to make his debut during season 12’s premiere, joins Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Matthew Gray Gubler, A.J. Cook and Kirsten Vangsness on the long-running crime drama. “We’re all big fans of Adam’s and are excited to welcome him back to the CBS family as part of the terrific cast of Criminal Minds,” Glenn Geller, president of CBS Entertainment, said in a statement.
The hunky actor’s TV credits include “Jane the Virgin”, “Empire”, “Roswell”, “Ugly Betty” and “The Night Shift.” On the big screen, the 41-year-old’s starred in films like Magic Mike XXL, Magic Mike and I Can Do Bad All By Myself. “Criminal Minds” returns this fall on CBS. Stay tuned.
