Shemar Moore, Thomas Gibson and Joe Mantegna in Criminal Minds by Vivian Zink/ABC Studios
Cheers to Criminal Minds for adding Joe Mantegna to the cast without missing a beat. The veteran character actor fits right in on CBS' hit drama as Special Agent David Rossi, the mysteriously out-of-retirement founder of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. With his warm-'n'-fuzzy recent roles in Joan of Arcadia and The Starter Wife, it's easy to forget Mantegna first made his name in the dark, crime-ridden world of David Mamet, so Criminal's twisted plotlines are nothing new to him. Mandy Who?• Read and react to Bruce's opinions on Nip/Tuck, The Hills and more!• Share your own raves and rants about other shows on the brand-new Reader Cheers & Jeers discussion board.• We may feature your Cheer or Jeer on TVGuide.com or in TV Guide magazine!
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Paget Brewster, Thomas Gibson and Joe Mantegna in The Unit by Michael Desmond/ABC Studios
Say this for Joe Mantegna: He doesn’t make Criminal Minds any worse. Like that’s even possible. This inexplicably popular crime drama remains the most pretentious, the most simplistic and the most dehumanizing of CBS’ current glut of procedurals. Replacing Mandy Patinkin, who quit between seasons — I’m guessing he finally watched an episode — Mantegna makes a valiant effort at creating an actual character, but he invariably gets lost amid the wood (his supporting cast) and the cheese (the scripts).We first see him bird hunting in a Virginia marsh. The next time we see water, a dead body (a brutalized, mutilated woman, naturally) is floating in a Dallas suburb. This victim’s backstory? She comes home to find a "Have You Seen Me?" poster on her door with her own face on it. Understandably spooked, she goes to the sheriff, who figures it’s just a Halloween prank. We know better, having seen this show in action before. Soon enough, she’s a go...
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Joe Mantegna, Criminal Minds
After months of controversy, speculation and anticipation, Joe Mantegna will finally have his Criminal Minds moment. Tonight (at 9 pm/ET, CBS) he debuts as Agent David Rossi, replacing Mandy Patinkin's Jason Gideon, whose mental meltdown caused him to bag the Behavioral Analysis Unit earlier this season.
Like Mantegna, Rossi will hit the ground running. No sooner is the showboating founding father of the BAU called out of retirement than he's tapped to solve the "Have You Seen Me?" murders: Victims find a missing-person flier on their doors with their own photo on it before they disappear. One thing's for sure: This ain't The Starter Wife. "I've learned more about torture devices than I would ever wan
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Whenever I bring guests to set, there is always one thing that amazes them more than anything else: the food. Scratch that. Two things. First, they comment on how the ladies of the show are even more striking in person... then they comment on the food. There's lots of food on set. Every day, there are two meals prepared by catering. For breakfast, our caterer Hannah makes made-to-order plates from the catering truck as well as an omelet bar, some sort of hot entrée, and an assortment of rolls, cereals, etc;. Even while the crew eats breakfast, they are already working toward the lunch that will be served seven hours later. Lunch is cafeteria-style with different meat options, a fish, sides, pastas and salad bars. In addition, two "snacks" are served. There is one between breakfast and lunch, and one five hours after lunch (the crew works very long days on set). The crew works 14 hour days — and sometimes much more. It's necessary to keep them fueled. I however work at a d...
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Criminal Minds is back! Well, at least in the homes of America it is. It's been back for us since the start of June. While you guys were busy watching shows that judged whether people could dance, sing, spell and lose weight, we've been coming up with new ways to terrify America and rescue those in fictional peril. Currently we're shooting our eighth episode and have writers working on up to the 12th episode. So, in our minds it's the middle of the season. I had to think back a little to remember this season's first episode. Sitting in the writers' room and reading all the drafts, it's funny to realize how much has happened to our characters since we last left off. Oh America, are you in for a treat! A lovely, frightful treat! Not to give away too much information, but by the fifth episode every cast member will be replaced by a child and they will have to form their own society. Seems weird, but it's not. You'll love it. (Just kidding, that's the premise of our new lead-in Kid Nati...
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Joe Mantegna by John Shearer/WireImage.com
New cast member Joe Mantegna will make his first appearance on Criminal Minds in the fifth episode of the season, CBS has announced. "We are all thrilled to have Joe Mantegna joining our family," says executive producer Ed Bernero. "He's an incredible actor, a genuinely nice person and, as a fellow Chicagoan, I can tell you he makes fantastic Italian beef sandwiches and Chicago-style hot dogs." (Patinkin, I hear, could barely turn out a decent grilled cheese.)"We've been fans of Joe's since his early days on the stage. He will be a wonderful addition to our cast," adds executive producers Mark Gordon and Deb Spera.Mantegna will play Special Agent Rossi, an original member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit who took early retirement to go on book tours, and has now volunteered to return. Someone lock the door behind him, 'K?But wait, there's more! Mandy Patinkin is returning to Minds... under somewhat unusual circumstances. See the Ausiello Report for the exclusive (and rather juicy) de...
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Joe Mantegna courtesy Cliff Lipson/CBS
Prior to the recording of this week's podcast, Ausiello said Joe Mantegna was Criminal Minds' new front-runner, and this time the front-runner actually crossed the finish line. Joan of Arcadia's pop has been called upon to fill the vacancy left when Mandy Patinkin... well, we're still not 100 percent sure what he did. "We are very excited to tell you all that Joe Mantegna is officially joining the cast," Bernero shares at the Criminal Minds Fanatic blog. "Thanks for hanging with us, everyone."In the weeks since Patinkin's defection from the hit CBS series, such big names as Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel and Doris Roberts [wink-wink] were tossed around as possible subs. At this point, with Minds being several episodes into production on the new season, Mantegna is not likely to first appear until November sweeps.
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August Schellenberg in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Annabel Reyes/HBO
Nominations for the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, to be broadcast Sept. 16 on Fox, were announced Thursday morning. Here are the major races in the miniseries or TV-movie field.Lead Actress in a Miniseries or TV-movie:Queen Latifah (Life Support)Helen Mirren (Prime Suspect: The Final Act)Mary-Louise Parker (The Robber Bride)Debra Messing (The Starter Wife)Gena Rowlands (What If God Were the Sun)Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV-movie:Robert Duvall (Broken Trail)Tom Selleck (Jesse Stone: Sea Change)Jim Broadbent (Longford)William H. Macy (Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King)Matthew Perry (The Ron Clark Story)Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV-movie:Greta Scacchi (Broken Trail)Anna Paquin (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee)Samantha Morton (Longford)Judy Davis (The Starter Wife)Toni Collette (Tsunami: The Aftermath)Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV-movie:Thomas Haden Church (Broken Trail)August Schellenberg (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee) Aidan Qui...
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Speaking of Nip/Tuck, TVGuide.com has learned that Bruno Campos (aka Quentin/"the Carver") will guest-star on this season's ninth episode of CBS' Cold Case, playing a dead man who serves a key role (via flashbacks) in solving a mystery.... Joe Mantegna is the studio-executive boss of Debra Messing's ex-husband in USA Network's spring 2007 limited series, The Starter Wife.... Clea Lewis (Ellen) will play Andy Richter's wife on the NBC mid-season comedy, Andy Barker, P.I. Lewis replaces Amy Farrington, who filled the role in the pilot.
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Dennis Miller, Joe Mantegna and Lauren Tom have joined Bonnie Hunt's untitled ABC comedy about a divorcée detective.... CBS has picked up You've Reached the Elliotts, Chris Elliott's semiautobiographical comedy about a man juggling a so-so showbiz career and his home life.... John Terry (Jack's dad on Lost) is the latest addition to ABC's Secrets of a Small Town.... Ashley Scott (who was so nasty to Jessica Alba in Into the Blue) has come aboard CBS' Jericho.... Richard Coyle (BBC's Coupling) will play Cryptic Man on CBS' superhero drama, Ultra.
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