‘The Mentalist’ season 7 spoilers: ‘Make It or Break It’ alum lands major guest role
It’s been a while since some “Mentalist” casting news has graced our doorstep, so we are certainly pleased to send the following your way!
According to a new report from TVLine, Josie Loren of “Make It or Break It” fame has been cast to play the role of Michelle Vega, the eager and ambitious new member of the FBI team that is straight out of the academy. This is a character we’ve written about a little bit in the past, and she could be the latest problem for Patrick Jane in the screw-with-the-system department. He’s already got Dennis Abbott to worry about, and you have to think that some of his behavior patterns could at least change a little bit thanks to the presence of Lisbon as his new girlfriend.
Even though the show is on a temporary hiatus now and not on the CBS fall schedule, filming will still take place this summer / fall so that it can be ready as a fill-in in the event of a cancellation somewhere. Our guess is that with the Sunday-night lineup pretty solidified this year save for maybe “Madam Secretary,” it would not be a shock to see the show fall somewhere else, such as on a Tuesday or Wednesday night for a while. Our only hope is that everything is not so great a hit that the network eventually sticks the show on Saturday and just shrugs in defense over it.
Among the major stories to tackle this coming season is the new relationship for Simon Baker’s character, which is something that he has never had to deal with while on the job before. Also, we’re sure that the show will find a way to tie in all of Jane’s searches for Red John into something else that happens, even if John is already dead and (feasibly) buried.
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Photo: CBS
Em
August 4, 2014 @ 12:09 pm
I’d like to see two seasons of 13 episodes. That would give the cast time to do and develop other things and keep the episodes fresh. Just a thought. I also think I’d like that possibility
Mark Strong
July 23, 2014 @ 6:07 am
I just have the question of why are they adding a new character. I mean everything before now has been pointing to season seven most likely being the final season, so why being in a new charcter, not to mention with the addition of Vega there seems to be more people on the team then when they were back at the CBI.
Sara
August 3, 2014 @ 6:20 pm
I agree. I like this team and there’s plenty of room for character development with Abbott, Wylie and Fischer (who really are still new.) This new person seems like an after thought. Rather see Jane getting on with his life (actually having a future) and watching them (J/L) mesh work life with personal life. Plenty of material there. I have a hunch they’re trying to kick up the drama and add another obstacle between Lisbon and Jane. They can create their own friction without a third party. They did very well at that for the six years before Marcus Pike came along…
Mark Strong
August 3, 2014 @ 8:56 pm
As of now I don’t think that this new character is ment to be an obstacle between Jane and Lisbon, or at least I don’t get that feeling like I did when they were talking about Fischer before last season, though I could be wrong.
To me Vega is ment to have replaced Lisbon on the team, since remember Lisbon had put in and was granted a transfer and after Jane told her that he loves her, she changed her mind. So the FBI would have still transfered in someone new to replace her. Also it was never said what the FBI’s stance was on co-workers in the same unit dating, so Lisbon could have been moved to another unit because she is dating Jane. (Or maybe they go the route where Lisbon doesn’t work for the FBI anymore, as unlikely as that would seem, I mean remember in the season finale Cho said that Lisbon wouldn’t have started working at the FBI office in DC for a month after she moved, so one wonders with no work what would Lisbon have done for that month.) Not to mention that with Wylie seeming to be a regular, if that means he may be able to go out in the field, that could mean that Vega could be partnered with him since Jane is partnered with Lisbon and Cho seems to be partnered with Fischer, though thats not to say that Vega could be partnered with Jane and Lisbon with someone else on the team.
Since they changed the love triangle from Jane-Fischer to Lisbon-Pike, then that could explain why it seems like an after thought. I mean people said that Pike seemed like a after thought, and even in the season finale, after the build up of the Lisbon-Pike- Jane love triangle, they made it feel like the only reason Lisbon was leaving was for the job then because she was in love with Pike. (Or at least that’s what I thought.)
Not to mention since the show was nearly canceled it could feel like Vega is
Sara
August 4, 2014 @ 11:07 am
I don’t think the Feds. have as much concern with coworkers or
partners dating as a police unit would. Otherwise, why would Abbott
set Jane and Lisbon up for a ‘special evening’?? (Il Tavolo Bianco).
And that was relayed from Abbott to Aurelio, since Abbott obviously made
the dinner reservation. Personally, I think Abbott prefers Lisbon
there (whatever it means for Jane’s relationship with Lisbon doesn’t
make much of a difference to him) because she handles Jane better than
anyone else could. And we know Abbott knew of Jane’s feelings for Lisbon. And call it curiosity, but I’d still like to see Rigsby and Van
Pelt’s reaction to Jane/Lisbon, given that whole dating and the CBI
storyline. That’s aside from bringing them back. I’d favor that over a new character.
If there was really a need to fill a gap in the department
prior to Lisbon’s return, they could transfer someone in temporarily.
They (government) move people around all the time. I also thought I
read a teaser somewhere about a potential ‘romantic triangle.’ Fischer
did add a little friction to the story, but barely enough to deter
Jane. I’m glad that part worked out. I hope what I read was nothing
more than a minor subplot instead of the same type of Pike-Lisbon-Jane triangle. There’s also a part of me that questions
why they would develop Lisbon and Jane and then knock it down. When I first read the interview with
Bruno, I got the sense he was ready to end this show. I’ve picked up a
different impression suddenly. Maybe it’s because of the late
renewal that took everyone by surprise. He just might be keeping the
door open again. I’m just wondering what that’ll mean for the end of
this season.
Mark Strong
August 4, 2014 @ 2:56 pm
I don’t think Abbott seeming to get Jane and Lisbon together means that the FBI doesn’t have a rule against co-workers dating and working together.
I mean as Bruno himself pointed out, that the end of the season could have been the series finale, so I don’t think they would have bothered much about mentioning the FBI’s opinion on the matter. I mean bringing up the matter wouldn’t have brought the happy feeling they were going for, since fans would be wondering what the FBI’s posistion would mean for Jane and Lisbon’s relationship.
Also what the real FBI thinks doesn’t matter much, since they have already showed that they don’t care about actually protrying the FBI because if they did then Lisbon wouldn’t have been hired in the first place since they FBI doesn’t hire anyone over the age of 37 unless they are a military vet, and as season six seemed to point Lisbon has to be in her 40’s and she isn’t a military vet.
In my opinion Abbott only pointed Jane to get together with Lisbon because he wants to keep Jane happy and in line, and Jane has always shown that he would listen to Lisbon. Besides Abbott doesn’t strike me as a fool, so I believe that he knows that there was a chance that over the years Jane and Lisbon could have ended up falling in love.
Lat summer when it was announced that Fischer was coming, they went back and forth with making it seem like something would happen between Jane and her or with Jane and Lisbon. A point of that was that they had called Fischer the new leading female, which is why I had said at the time, that either Lisbon wasn’t going to be head of the unit (this was before it was said that they would be moving to the FBI, so I was assuming that they would still be at the CBI.) or that she was going to be written off.
The person who plays Fischer apparently also said that the original idea was for Jane and Fischer to get together, but then they changed it.