Actress Lola Glaudini of the hit CBS drama "Criminal Minds" speaks with Harry Smith about her role as Elle Greenaway, an FBI profiler who tries to track down serial criminals before they strike again. watch
Question: I enjoyed Lola Glaudini on Criminal Minds. She did an excellent job! Why is she no longer a member of the cast?
Answer: After weeks of ducking this often-asked question, because I had yet to see an official explanation anywhere, here's a detail from an upcoming TV Guide story (on newsstands this week) on new cast member Paget Brewster: "They were looking to bring in a female agent who was unknown to the unit. Ed [Bernero, the show's executive producer] said, 'We've grown complacent as writers with who these people are, and we need to shake it up.'" Characters get written out of shows all the time, especially on shows like this and especially when producers want to make changes from season to season. If there's more to the actress's departure than a creative desire to shake things up, I'm not aware of it. As I've said before, at least with Elle's character, they gave her plenty of dramatic context for leaving the team. It's not like she just disappeared without an explanation ...read more
Question: Lola Glaudini is leaving Criminal Minds (I think Oct. 25 was her last episode) and taking her character, Elle Greenaway, with her. Do you know why? Is it her choice or the show's, and who will be her replacement, if anyone? I really enjoy Criminal Minds, my third favorite crime drama behind Without a Trace and Law & Order: SVU, and I am afraid that the show will suffer without her. The cast, as they are now, click, and someone new could affect the dynamic. If you ask me, the one who should get the boot is A.J. Cook, who plays J.J. Why exactly is she a cast regular? She doesn't do anything a random recurring character couldn't do. At least they made Garcia a regular and got something right.
Answer: I can't say if the actress was involved in the decision to write the character off the show, but from what I can tell, at least the story line gave her solid dramatic reasons for departing, which is more than many such characters get. On the other plus side, one of my favorite TV
...read more
