Derek Morgan is making a come back!
After announcing last spring that he was walking away from “Criminal Minds,” actor Shemar Moore revealed he’s reprising his popular role in the upcoming season 12 finale.
“Of course I’ve missed it!” Moore recently told ET during a Facebook Live interview. “I was so blessed to do 11 years on Criminal Minds and bring Derek Morgan to life. Flirt with my original ‘baby girl’ Penelope Garcia, chase all the UnSubs and bad guys and kick down doors. I miss it, but one door closes and another one opens.”
Those doors being the big screen rom-com The Bounce Back, which he both produced and acted in as well as his role in the CBS reboot of “S.W.A.T.,” which is currently filming its pilot. “Me leaving ‘Criminal Minds’ was for many reasons and it was nothing negative or unhappiness,” Moore said. “It was hard to leave. That was one of the hardest decisions I’ve made, but I don’t regret it because I’m a dreamer, and I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished.”
While Moore appears to have found continued success following his exit. He revealed he’s still looking for “the one.”
“I haven’t fallen in love yet, but I’ve tried,” he admitted. “I want to because I’m excited to be a dad. I’m excited to have a partner in crime. I’m excited to be a husband.”
“What’s life if you’ve got to do it by yourself?”
As for the “evolution of Derek Morgan” in the season 12 finale, Moore dished: “It was different but it was the same. It was like going home,” Moore said of returning to set after a year away. “Even though I had been gone a year, it felt like I was just there last week. It was home, it was family, it was so familiar. And we just got right into it with the acting and the comraderies and the jokes.”
He continued, “Derek comes home with some pertinent information that is going to help the team deal with Scratch — the bad guy. And then it’s just you get to see Derek with the team and Derek’s going to revisit with his baby girl.”
As for any possibility of Moore returning to “Criminal Minds” on a more regular basis, he said, “In my heart, I’m open to that. Of course, of course, of course. In my heart, yes.”
“But there’s a thing called the business of Hollywood, so there’s a lot of politics and there’s a lot of important, fancy people that make those decisions,” he continued. “So, it’s not just like, ‘Hey guys! I’m free today! Can I come in and flirt with Baby Girl?’ It doesn’t work that way.”
“The elevator doors close, but they can always open up again,” Moore added. “Derek Morgan is not dead and I will tease you this: Derek Morgan does not die in the finale, how about that? Some real deep stuff does happen, but Derek Morgan kicking the bucket is not one of them.”
Are you here for it? Catch Moore’s return to “Criminal Minds” during season 12’s finale on May 10 on CBS.
