‘Criminal Minds’ season 12: No plans to (directly) replace Shemar Moore’s Morgan

Now that we’re a couple of days removed from the still-sad departure of Shemar Moore on “Criminal Minds,” we are admittedly at the time in which we have to start looking towards the future, and what it could hold for the series on CBS.

First and foremost, you must look at the cast. Matthew Gray Gubler, Joe Mantegna, and Thomas Gibson are the only male regulars with Moore gone, and when you look at the women, the show’s in even worse state with just Kristen Vangsness and AJ Cook. Five regulars is a pretty small roster, and it makes sense for someone else to be brought in or promoted eventually. (Given Aisha Tyler’s other responsibilities, we’re not sure she has the time to do this full-time.)

What showrunner Erica Messer ultimately wants to make clear is rather simple: While it’s possible that someone else could be coming on board the show in the future, they are not thinking in a linear fashion when it comes to finding a replacement for Derek. Here is what she said to TV Guide:

“There is no replacing Derek Morgan by any means. We’ll need to see who might come play for a while. It’s hard to be the new kid and we’ve seen it a lot. We’ve seen a few characters come and go. It’s a hard gig. I think Aisha’s done an amazing job this season. So it’s a conversation that we have not really pursued any further. Now that everyone knows, we can sort of all be on the same page and settle in to that for a minute before we figure out what we’re doing for Season 12 — fingers crossed since we still don’t have a pickup for that.”

By it being a “hard gig,” we imagine that one of the things Messer may be referring to is that this is a demanding job, both in terms of your time and your emotions. While you are paid very well for your work, it’s still a lot to bear on your schedule.

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