Criminal Minds is a popular procedural show, like NCIS and CSI, that is getting a spin-off, but all may not be well on the set of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior.
First, producers of the original Criminal Minds basically fired actress A.J. Cook, who played the popular character J.J., and were going to cut down on actress Paget Brewster’s screen time. Fan outcry kept Paget’s character Emily Prentiss on the show, and it looks like they’ve replaced J.J. with another blonde, Rachel Nichols as Agent Ashley Seaver.
The new show Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior has a solid cast. Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker heads the unit, and Janeane Garofalo plays Agent Beth Griffith. But Janeane seems to be a bit disillusioned about how twisted the plots of CM really are.
Don’t get Janeane Garofalo wrong — she’s happy working on Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, the upcoming spin-off of the popular CBS crime drama. In fact, she even named her new dog Unsub, after a bit of the show’s jargon. But she sometimes wonders if the show has to be so creepy.
“I don’t mean to be such a puritan, but if I had kids, I would not allow them to watch,” Garofalo tells TV Guide Magazine. “That’s an issue I grapple with.”
Garofalo plays Agt. Beth Griffith on the procedural, which stars Oscar winner Forest Whitaker (a premiere date is not yet set). “Before I [signed on], I had discussions with the producer/creators, and was led to believe the show would not be so violent,” she says. The episode she’s currently shooting involves a female corpse being dragged to sundry crime scenes. “I don’t believe we need to find clever ways for somebody to slice somebody up.”
Garofalo says the producers have been “very open” to her concerns and adds, “I don’t mean to sound like I’m criticizing, because I’m thrilled that they want to hire me. I’m still surprised by it.”
[TV Guide, print edition, December 20, 2010]
Criminal Minds has some of the creepiest story lines on network TV. One of the reasons Mandy Patinkin gave for leaving the show was reportedly because he thought there was too much violence, so Janeane may need to reconcile her ideals with the direction of the show if she wants to stay on it.
Forest Whitaker apparently doesn’t have much patience for nervous guest stars on the show, as Justine Bateman found out the hard way, according to the Enquirer.
Exasperated Oscar winner Forest Whitaker walked off the set of his new CBS series, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, when flustered guest star Justine Bateman could NOT stop flubbing her lines — and he told the director: Don’t call me back until she gets it right! Justine, a TV vet who starred for years on the smash sitcom Family Ties, has just one small paragraph of dialogue, but kept flubbing it — and the more she flubbed, the more nervous she became. After 30 embarrassing minutes of hearing her say, “I’m really sorry,” Whitaker stormed off. An hour later, the director finally decided he’d shot enough takes to correct Bateman’s ongoing bungles in the editing room. Called back to the set, Whitaker delivered his response to Justine’s d-d-d-dialogue — in just one perfect take!
[National Enquirer, print edition, January 3, 2011]
I can’t decide if this makes Forest sound like a douche or a frustrated professional. Maybe a little of both.
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior will probably be a hit, like CSI: Miami and NCIS: Los Angeles are. I don’t know if I’ll be watching. I haven’t been watching Criminal Minds as loyally this season. I think I’m burned out on way-twisted serial killers of the week, and I think Janeane is wrong: the show is trying to find new ways to slice somebody up.
Forest Whitaker is shown on 10/9/10. Justine Bateman is shown on 4/11/10 and 2/21/09. She looks so rough! Janeane Garofalo is shown on 2/4/10. Credit: WENN.com
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