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 ...
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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
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Criminal Minds' Mandy Patinkin
Call it Stealth Television. Last season, CBS' Criminal Minds (Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET) simmered just below pop culture's boiling point. Now a solid hit, the show's true-to-life stories of the FBI's hunt for serial killers, rapists, arsonists and terrorists frighten — and fascinate — millions of loyal fans. Many of whom may be harboring such questions as:
Is there a real Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) at the FBI? Yes, it is considered an elite team of agent profilers. "Of the 12,000 FBI agents," says star Mandy Patinkin, "only 26 are in the BAU."
What led series creator Ed Bernero to want to write about this subject? He's a former Chicago cop whose 10 years
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