How Mandy's Departure Brought People Together
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 Nation - Wednesdays on CBS!).
In all seriousness, this season is shaping up to be our most exciting yet. It seemed like it would be pretty easy going when we started. We moved our offices from Culver City to Glendale. Our new digs are spaced out more and a little snazzier. And I learned that Glendale is conveniently located next to the sun's surface. Who knew? We also introduced three new writers - Charles Murray, Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin (technically it's two new writers as Jay and Dan work as a writing team - it can get weird, as they have to share a bunk in the writers' dorm). And we welcomed a few new faces to the crew.
That reminds me, I should really talk about the staff and crew. There are a lot of procedural dramas on the air. And a lot of shows come and go every year. I've learned a lot of amazing lessons since I started working here, but possibly the most important is how to run a successful show (it's kind of funny that that's what I've learned, like a waiter learning how to franchise restaurants. Well, hopefully it will come in useful some day. Dare to dream readers!).
Well, here at
Criminal Minds we have a very simple secret: family. This show is very much run like a family. It starts at the top with the executive producer Ed Bernero (and above him as well; we're lucky to have a great production company). He is very personable and expects to be treated the way he treats us. I think at some shows if you treated some of the top dogs the way they treated you, you'd be cashing unemployment faster than Shemar Moore can break down a door. In the first season it helped us pull together as underdogs when no one thought we'd last. In the second season it was about getting respect. If there were any worries heading into this season, I think it would be the potential for resting on our laurels.
Luckily for us, we weren't able to stay comfortable for too long.
Mandy Patinkin left the show just before the first episode, and that obviously affected many of the episodes and storylines. There were lots of articles written about it and people were always asking for the "scoop." But the crazy thing was that there wasn't much of a scoop. No one ever sweated it here. If anything, it made everyone pull together. The actors were great, making light of it in the read-throughs and really handling all the last-second changes gracefully. The crew busted their butts and put in some long days. And the writers used the challenge to add lots of story to the episodes. In a lot of ways, it really made everyone raise their game. And the viewers are going to benefit. There are some great episodes coming up. Including the introduction of our newest cast member!
Joe Mantegna is one of those guys that gives a show instant cred. You know him, you love him. I see Joe Mantegna's face and I want to watch him solve a crime. And he's from Chicago so Ed is pumped. (Ed's a big Chi-town guy - it's in everyone's best interest when the Bears win.) He has fit in great so far but he's not quite initiated yet. Cast members really aren't cast members until they've had a practical joke played on them (Last season a crew member dressed as Bigfoot rushed out of the woods at Shemar midshot and scared the s--t out of him) or appeared in one of Matthew Gubler's Unauthorized Documentaries (check YouTube). I'm sure Joe's moment will come.
The new season of Criminal Minds
premieres Wednesday at 9 pm/ET. Check out clips from the show in our Online Video Guide.
