Mandy Patinkin

New Face, Same Old Minds

• Oct 31, 2007 04:30 PM ET
• by Matt Roush

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... read more

The New Season: Wednesday Heats Up

• Sep 26, 2007 02:49 PM ET
• by Matt Roush

Lucy Kate Hale, Michelle Ryan and Molly Price in Bionic Woman by Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Photo

First, an important public-service announcement: Tonight on The War, we relive D-Day, a momentous turning point in military history brought to vivid life by those who lived through it, courtesy of Ken Burns' masterful way with documentary narrative. I know this is premiere week, and Wednesday is the most competitive night for new shows this season, but I wouldn't be doing my duty if I didn't remind everyone that this is TV you not only shouldn't miss, but it's an experience you'll never forget. (The reality, though, is that PBS is giving viewers multiple opportunities to see these episodes, and I can't think of a better gift DVD for holiday season.) Back to the network game, where only one of the nine new series being launched on Wednesdays is MIA: ABC’s marvelous Pushing Daisies, its premiere pushed back a week by the tsunami-like launch of Dancing with the Stars, which once again is turning out to be the ratings monster everyone expected. (And the men, by and large, had a bla... read more

How Mandy's Departure Brought People Together

• Sep 24, 2007 10:49 PM ET
• by Nic Wegener

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... read more

The New TV Season: Burning Questions Answered!

• Sep 5, 2007 07:00 PM ET
• by Stephen Battaglio

Kate Walsh by Eric Ogden/ABC

The 2007-08 season is starting soon and there are many questions looming. After consulting a few network insiders, The Biz is going to try to answer a few of the big ones.Will Private Practice be the next Joey?Ah, the much maligned spin-off. The answer is no. The audience still has a lot of goodwill towards Grey's Anatomy. ABC has surrounded it on Wednesday with two of its strongest pilots, Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money. It has a solid night, with Private Practice as a presold tent pole to hold it up. But expect the veteran cast on PP to attract an older audience than the Grey's mother ship.Will the recent controversy over Kid Nation help or hurt the show?Help — but only for the first week. "The publicity is not about the show, it's about the making of the show, not about the content," said one exec at a competing network. "Viewers are not going to stay around for three or four weeks just to see if CBS has been doing something unethical." That being said, network researc... read more

Exclusive: Mandy Patinkin Returns to Criminal Minds!

• Aug 14, 2007 04:10 PM ET
• by Michael Ausiello

Mandy Patinkin by Tony Barson/WireImage.com

Mandygate just gets weirder and weirder. My moles at Criminal Minds have just confirmed for me exclusively that disgraced cranky-pants Mandy Patinkin will be returning to the show this fall after all — but only for one episode (airing Oct. 3), so as to provide some closure for his Gideon character. Strange as that may sound, though, that isn't the really odd part: He'll only be in one scene, and he'll essentially be the only one in it.Why? Well, duh! My spies tell me that no one in the cast wanted to work opposite him again after he brought production to a standstill by pulling a no-show without even calling in (cough, cough) sick. What's more, Minds' producers were forced to use a special crew to shoot the pariah's scene because the show's regular staff refused to be on set with him. Except possibly to Patinkin, who seems to live in his own world, the backlash against him isn't entirely a surprise. Last month, costar Shemar Moore raked him over the coals at press tour. "I don'... read more

Criminal Minds Trades Inigo Montoya for Joe Mantegna

• Aug 11, 2007 10:45 PM ET
• by Matt Mitovich

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. read more

Harvey Keitel Out of Running for Criminal Minds Lead

• Aug 9, 2007 07:31 PM ET
• by TV Guide News

Harvey, we hardly knew ya. Just hours after word broke that Harvey Keitel was thisclose to signing a contract with Criminal Minds for the spot left vacant by the disappearing Mandy Patinkin, sources say the deal is no longer on the table. This makes Keitel the latest big name to be stricken from the show’s most-wanted list. Others include Geena Davis, Michael Keaton and Bob Hoskins. Despite the suspense surrounding the search, we hear the show is still chugging along fine without the replacement. The first three episodes are already in the can (with Patinkin’s absence being dealt with in the season-opener). This means that whoever the new character is, he/she (and we suspect it’s a he) won’t be appearing until later in the season. — Reporting by Jonathan SmallRelated: Harvey Keitel Emerges as Front-runner for Criminal Minds Top Spot read more

Harvey Keitel Emerges as Front-runner for Criminal Minds Top Spot

• Aug 8, 2007 09:27 PM ET
• by TV Guide News

Harvery Keitel by Gary Gershoff/WireImage.com

Looks like the mystery surrounding who will replace Mandy Patinkin on Criminal Minds is closer to being solved. Sources tell TV Guide that the producers and the network are in serious negotiations with Harvey Keitel.While not a done deal yet, this is the closest they’ve come to filling the role. This would mark the Oscar-nominated actor's first series-lead role. —Reporting by Jonathan Small read more

Any news on Mandy Patinkin's ...

• Aug 8, 2007 04:00 AM ET
• by Michael Ausiello

Question: Any news on Mandy Patinkin's sudden departure from Criminal Minds?

Answer: You didn't hear? There are two new front-runners!

Thelma, Batman Not Criminal-Minded: Who's Left to Replace Mandy?

• Aug 7, 2007 03:18 PM ET
• by Michael Ausiello

Mandy Patinkin by Michael Desmond/Touchstone Television

It's official. Doris Roberts and I are the only two remaining showbiz "names" that haven't been approached about replacing Mandy Patinkin on Criminal Minds.Early on, you'll recall, Oscar winner Geena Davis was considered to be the front-runner to get the job. But she took a pass, according to my spy, because she wasn't keen on "the nature of the show." (Funny — she didn't seem to have a problem with "the nature" of the Geena Davis Show, and that was god-awful.) Michael Keaton nixed the gig, too, presumably because he wasn't ready to do TV full-time.And they're just the tip of the iceberg. To give you some idea of just how wide a net the show's producers are casting, I've listed some celebs that are under consideration below, with a few key letters asterisked out to protect their anonymity. Of course, if Shemar Moore wants to blab their identities, too, who am I to shush him?Among the stars who've been approached and took a pass:**b ***k*n*J*** **t**owSi****ne* **av*r Among the ... read more