‘Criminal Minds’ season 11, episode 17 preview: Joe Mantegna directs ‘The Sandman’

“Criminal Minds” aired an episode entitled “Derek” that is proving itself to be an incredibly emotional hour of television, especially when it comes to Shemar Moore’s character of Derek Morgan. How do you follow up something that powerful? You’re going to get an opportunity to see the show try with “The Sandman,” an installment of the show that will be airing on Wednesday, March 16.

This episode will be directed by none other than cast member Joe Mantegna, and the synopsis below gives you a few details as to what to expect … including what is going to be coming up next for the Derek character:

“The BAU heads to Wichita in search of an UnSub abducting children while their parents sleep. Also, Morgan tries to find who was responsible for his attack.”

This is really one episode in a run of episodes being directed by cast members. Thomas Gibson was the man responsible for the “Derek” episode, and we’ve also got Matthew Gray Gubler taking on this role at some point a little later this season. The good news is that, at least for the time being, Derek still seems to be around and on his way to becoming a married man. We don’t have to tell you just how long we have spent wondering whether or not we were going to see him killed off in this episode. Granted, don’t think of this as any guarantee in the slightest that he is out of the woods. This is a show where almost anything can happen, and you have to prepare yourself for that.

Interested in getting some other news when it comes to “Criminal Minds,” including a full review for Wednesday night’s installment? Then be sure to head over to the link here now! Also, you can sign up over here in the event you want some other TV news on all we cover via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)