Criminal Minds season 13: An AJ Cook – Kirsten Vangsness deal needs to get done
When we last reported on their status with the show, they were both seeking pay parity with their co-stars Matthew Gray Gubler and Joe Mantegna. Since that time, there hasn’t been that much of an update, and that’s fairly frustrating. This isn’t the first time that the two have faced tough negotiations, and have asked for something that is more than reasonable. It’d be a little different if they had only been on the show for a couple of years or were a very small part of the show. Yet, they’ve been main characters for more than a decade, and a huge part of the reason why people still watch Criminal Minds.
Beyond fairness and respecting the work that these two actresses have put into these roles over the years, one of the biggest reasons why Criminal Minds needs to sign Vangsness and Cook is clear: They simply cannot afford to lose anymore main characters. We’re a little over a year removed now from losing Shemar Moore, and it’s been almost a season since the departure of Thomas Gibson. Live ratings in the 18-49 demographic have declined since their departure and while you can try to cite a bunch of other factors for declining ratings, including a general decline for CBS shows across the board, the base facts are still the same.
Criminal Minds is one of those shows we like to describe as TV comfort food. That may be odd to say given that this is a show incredibly dark and at times disturbing, but you want to come home from work at the end of a long day and see some of your favorite characters solving crimes and putting away the bad guys. This is a show about the people just as much as it is the cases. People like Stephen Walker and Luke Alvez are great characters, but there’s not a built-in investment at this point in the game. It takes time to get casual viewers to grow into them, and there isn’t that much time left if you have to introduce more news characters on top of the ones you already have.
The earlier that CBS / ABC Studios get this contract situation out of the way, the better off it will be for Criminal Minds. We can all breathe a sigh of relief, and the focus can shift back from contracts to the sorts of stories that the writers can create. Fans deserve that, and obviously Cook and Vangsness do, as well. They’re not looking to leave the show; they’re just looking to get what they’ve earned.
Once there is a further update to report on with Cook and Vangsness, we’ll have it for you here. For now, be sure to click here to see some more news when it comes to Criminal Minds. Also, if you want to see why we think that Matthew Gray Gubler deserves an Emmy nomination this year then head on over to the link here. (Photo: CBS.)