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Criminal Minds fans launched a massive campaign to bring back co-star A.J. Cook, whose option for next season wasn’t picked up, including setting up an online petition that has gathered more than 35,000 signatures and mailing thousands of lipsticks and file folders to CBS. Well, I hear she might be coming back in the fall but only for one episode. CBS has been firmly standing by its decision to part ways with the actress, and there is no deal in place with her, but I hear showrunner Ed Bernero is behind the idea to get Cook back for one episode so her character JJ’s story could be tied up and given a proper exit. Cook had been largely quiet on the controversy besides tweeting a note to the show’s fans last week, thanking them for their support. Meanwhile, her co-star Paget Brewster is in discussions with CBS over the network’s offer to keep her on the show as a regular but for reduced number of episodes.
CBS’ ‘Criminal Minds’ Cuts Female Cast But Will Add New Female Cast Member; Fans and Co-Stars Back ‘Minds’ Actresses
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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Unacceptable in every way, shape and form, sexists.
Rob Jensen
I had hoped CBS would realize that their sexist behavior is unacceptable. I’ve been an avid CM fan for the past three years, but I probably won’t bother watching from here on out. I’m a 33-year-old woman who wants serious TV shows with strong, intelligent career women on them. I’m not interested in watching another boys’ club of law enforcement. Dropping AJ Cook and cutting back on Paget Brewster’s episodes is the worst decision CBS has made lately, and when you add that to the fact that they’re paying an alleged wife-abuser $2 million an episode, their message becomes not “we need to save money” but rather “we need to save money on good actresses in order to pay misogynistic idiots more money”.
Bottom line is, CBS is a sexist network and not only am I planning to drop Criminal Minds, but I’ll also drop EVERY SHOW run on CBS, as well as contacting advertisers with CBS to inform them of exactly why I’ve made this decision. I’ve also begun sending emails to the advertisers informing them that I will boycott unless they bring pressure on CBS to reverse this sexist behavior.
Obviously, as a single early-30s woman, I’m not in the demographic CBS cares about, but I still plan to make my voice heard.
Wasn’t it this show runner who interviewed with Deadline about how television was way to female oriented. He talked about how he wished more shows would focus on men.
Too many shows focus on men. Im sorry but that make no since about too “female oriented” look at all the CSIs the mentalist, castle,glades,supernatural(with hardly any females characters),house, dexter,eleventh hour,psych,chuck,rescue me,Royal Pains,nip/tuck,The 2 NCIS, all male oriented main characters so i think its pretty even if not more males
let me know how i can help. I totally agree. Although i cant stop watching CSI MIAMI i am in on the other boycotting. they have to know this isn’t right and people wont stand for it.
I honestly could not agree more. It is so upsetting to think about the decisions that CBS has made and how they will not only affect the show but CBS and their viewers in general.
I think AJ fit very well in the show and the cast had a nice dynamic, so why did that need to be changed? Logically, it does not make any sense to cut her character.
I have so many friends who feel the same way.
I agree with a lot of fans out there AJ fit inextremly well with the cast,there almost like a family. Why would anyone want to change that or take that away from there fans? I felt enough change when Mandy Pantkin left. I really cryed, and I will do the same with AJ.IU feel you have broken a family. I know things change,please look for another way to change the show,not by taking the main characters off the show.
Thank youfor your time in this matter.
Please don’t take anyone else off the show.
This decision to cut AJ is insane. It makes no sense whatsoever. I haven’t found one person to agree with this decision. This will affect the show and then, they’ll see they made a mistake. This will affect their ratings. They want their fans to follow them, but they don’t care about what we want. And after all, we’re the ones choosing the show or not. As a fan, I can say I’ll keep campaigning against this blatant stupidity.
I cannot believe that they are taking AJ off the program! She is soooo good at her part. So is Page Brewester….what is wrong with
CBS ?!? Criminial Minds is one of the few programs I watch and if these changes happen, I may not be watching any longer.
With out AJ Cook’s character in criminal minds I will probably not watch the show any longer.
It is not a sexist thing. If it were do you really think they would be hiring another female?
thats to keep us quite have a female but she not be on very often or her role isn’t as important. how should we take it. they show only has 3 females and now one and a half while the males remain. what else do you call it, because their characters are equally as important. I know i sound paranoid but im just really frustrated and mad right now because Emily is my favorite character and i hate the way their treating her and AJ
sexist sexist sexist! unfair unfair unfair! cbs this is the worst decision that you’ll ever make.
CBS is fricking retarted! this is so stupid im so mad! i feel sick! i honestly could throw up everytime i think about the sexist move of getting rid of AJ and cutting pagets time. im soo mad! i dont even think i can watch my favorite show without them ! i cant do it! im not watching anythign else on CBS EVERR! CBS is a bunch of ass wholes. thats the only way to describe them. god! sorry for the rant but im so mad and sad! they better not reduce pagets time. and now im intrested to see if they do something stupid as to “wrap up” jj. I HATE CBS!
Can’t believe that this show routinely shows violence against women – a child seeing her aunt raped and father killed and then abducted by the rapist/killer, presumably to meet both fates, was the one that stopped me watching ever again – and THIS is what has America screaming ‘sexism’ against it?
I will never understand people.
Bye bye Criminal Minds! Although JJ is not my favorite character, I despise what CBS is doing, and will not be watching season 6 in the Fall.
I have never before felt so moved by anything that happens on a TV show to comment or sign a petition, but this move by CBS has left a real bad taste in my mouth. I will no longer watch the show or anything else on the CBS schedule.
I completely agree I will not be watching criminal minds in the fall
I won’t be watching either. Bringing back A.J. for one episode to be written off and reducing Padget Brewster isn’t going to do it for me.
Well Good Bye Criminal Minds! This is just wrong! How much money can they possibly be saving by letting AJ go! I was soooo hoping I wouldn’t have to give up CM, but oh well! Run Paget!! You deserve better!
What exactly was it that CBS did? As an employer, opt not to continue a working relationship with an emploee? Happens all the time in the real world. That being said, I don’t know why anyone watches this show. It grows increasingly sadistic for the sake of being sadistic every season, and the serial-killer-of-the-week storylines have long ago grown tiresone.
I have never found it to be either sadistic — like the various CSI off-shoots can be — or overly repetitive.
But one of the primary things I loved about this show was that the women were just as good at their jobs, just as invested in the outcomes, as the men. The disrespect CBS has shown toward the women on the show and the female fanbase is overwhelming.
I agree!
I will still continue to watch the show. I never did see the need for JJ, but I blame the writers for that.
It IS unacceptable. There is no way they could give her a proper exit in one episode. You know it will just be more sexist bullshit like she’s getting married or she can’t handle the job anymore, when the show has already established that she CAN handle it.
It’s unbelievable how much they’re disrespecting these actresses. If this is how CBS behaves, I might just drop ALL of their shows.
I don’t want “one episode”, I want JJ in the show for the entire season! I’m very disappointed with CBS, they don’t care about the viewers, they’re going to destroy an amazing show. Without AJ Cook and a cut in Paget Brewster’s screen time I’m not going to watch the show anymore…
This is interesting. I could see a change of direction in the last few shows. The scripts were “reaching” more and neither as intelligent nor as engaging. I loved this show, and will miss it very much. Glad to see that I am not alone. I like A.J. Cook very much. Perhaps, she is lucky to get off the ship before it sinks.
If they think that ONE episode is going to be enough to stop us. THEY ARE WRONG.
If they don’t bring her back FOR GOOD they might as well just say BYE BYE to their ratings!
Hmm. Wow, how “generous” of CBS to offer her one episode to close the JJ-saga. I truly hope that AJ Cook, even if I´ll miss her terrible, will turn around with the words “Fuck you, your mess, you fix it,” (she is way too polite to use those exact words) unless they offer her a whole season or three.
It is saddened that the other cast memebers have remained as silenced as they have, only a tweet or two to show their support to, what they call: “A dreamboat”. I understand their hands are tied up to a point but they could/should stand togeter.
How many signitures, lipsticks or folders, will it take for CBS to actually listen to their audience? It is obvious that CM isn´t going anywhere but this just might be the beginning of the end, what a frightening thought.
Don’t waste your time and money. CBS don’t take any note of a show’s supporters at all. ELEVENTH HOUR fans sent in their wristwatches and CBS denied having received them.
I LOVED Eleventh Hour. I never missed it, I usually didn’t miss criminal minds either but I will not be watching it this season. I am done with it. These moves along with the CSI moves have made me rethink CBS altogether. I will watch NCIS since it is still my absolute favorite but only because all the characters will be coming back. When they cut one of them I will quit watching it too.
Eleventh Hour also had terrible ratings, and a very small (compared to most others) fanbase. It made sense for them to cancel it.
I still hope CBS will change decision and Criminal Minds stay the way it is. I love the show but I’m going to stop watching it when Paget and AJ will leave or appear in just few episodes. P.S Prentiss (Paget)is my favorite character.
I cant believe this… One episode? –’ Please… How can you tie up a character that’s on the show for 5 seasons in one episode?!
And we dont want AJ to get out of CM. We want her and Paget in the show full time.
If CBS keeps this decision.. I wont be watching season 6! Neither the spin-off! –’
your so right. this is sexist dumb cruel and – i could go on forever. CBS should be ashamed to ruin one of the best tv shows to hit our tv’s since 05 they suck!!
Typical. The male writing staff doesn’t do much with the female characters, so the network cuts them. With so many movies being targeted to young males, television is the last bastion of entertainment for women, so this really pisses us off.
It’s crazy people even care about this show or this actress
IF YOU THINK IT IS SO CRAZY.. THEN WHY WASTE YOUR TIME WRITING ANYTHING?
This is just a clear sign of the long running history of CBS being Sexist, racist, and discriminatory. Since CBS network gets all the viewers, they can remain so from our constant support. Heck, even the senate hearing couldn’t stop them. What makes you believe fans can??
I never cared for the show, but hearing all this buzz about it makes me loath CBS even more. I really hope NBC will have a comeback next fall, at least they treat their employees and fans with respect.
CBS has an in house policy to not allow mixed race couples, gay characters in leading roles and to keep the percentage of female leads to a minimum on their network.
Sexist and misogynistic to say the least. If you are upset call Les Moonves not Nina Tassler. She just wants to protect her job at all costs.
Women are paid less for equal work at CBS. I know.
To borrow from a brilliant twit#tag, it’s all “Criminally Mindless.”
I hope Brewster doesn’t get too screwed over for a deal with the shreds they might offer. Good luck. Filled with sardonic distaste at the whole business.
I hope AJ’s character gets a better send-off than something along the lines of needing/wanting to get away from the horrific daily encounters in order to focus on raising her family (especially with one of the male characters duking it out as a single father).
Had no plans to watch the CM spin off, whenever it got to the point of airing, and, with respect to those who do still work on CM, it’s one I’ll not be looking for when I do have the chance to siddown and watch something.
How’s about 0.1% of Moonves’ notorious bonus $$$ is rebounded to support its network shows. Ditto for the budget of 2.5 Men & the ridiculously overpriced contract for Sheen, who was paid apparently to accomodate the show’s schedule shift and assault on a rival network’s faltering time slot. How about the marketing department and spindoctors. Suspect they’re certainly overpaid to come up with the likes of “new creative directions” bull.
I find it hard to blithely accept the “refreshing” of the show and “new create direction” as explanatory schpiel. I also doubt the new (cheaper, part time) female character reputed to be integrated down the line will be considered anything but expendable and non-essential from the get go.
It’s “refreshing” & “costworthy” to brutally depict women as victims for popular entertainment consumption, but not as part of the hunt against those who perpetrate such things? Intentional or incidental, its still one Helluva message, CBS.
And launching the news and related spinbite while the cast were off and away, one of whom was actually abroad promoting the show (as he knew it) on behalf of the network? Classy. Forethinking. Filled to brimming with integrity and care for what goes into its network chapter. What a brand.
“Dollabill y’all” may be the bottom line, but teevee does in part rely on happy discoveries and intangibles, even if management and marketing suits perpetually struggle to qualify and quantify what the creative side of the business really means and contributes. Way to devalue and discard part of what’s successfully been lining the ratings and the coffers.
A*shats. I shake my head in your general direction.
BRILLIANTLY SPOKEN!
“It’s “refreshing” & “costworthy” to brutally depict women as victims for popular entertainment consumption, but not as part of the hunt against those who perpetrate such things? Intentional or incidental, its still one Helluva message, CBS.”
Seriously. CM is sadistic towards all its victims, but they’ve had a suspicious number of episodes with strong, successful (i.e. bitchy and castrating) women targeted because they are strong and successful. Looks like that attitude was how the creators/network really feel, and JJ and Emily’s characters were regarded as window-dressing from the start.
This sucks. It’s already been said by numerous people why letting her go is a bad decision, so I won’t go over that again. It’s pointless anyway. But, CBS isn’t through illustrating just how -I can’t even find a word to describe it- they are. Ed Bernero is behind the idea to get her back for an episode to give her a proper exit? Meaning that her getting one wasn’t part of the picture when they decided to let her go. They wouldn’t need to get her back for that one episode, that episode would be a done deal. One episode to wrap up her story would be nothing more than crumbs, but the original plan was the character didn’t (or doesn’t, because who knows if this will even happen) deserve that.
I could say a lot more about the probability of the type of exit episode she might get to write her out. That is, if CBS relents enough that there’s an actual exit episode, rather than an offhand comment by another character saying that she quit. I won’t say story because one episode to write the character out isn’t a story. And, there’s nothing in prior episodes to build on. They unfortunately will likely have to write her out to spend more time with her kid. And, that will be totally out of the blue. Well, to anyone who doesn’t assume that every WOMAN with a child will ultimately decide to quit. So if they do that, we’re left with the same cliche that doesn’t fit the character at all. And, if they decide on another story, there won’t even be something flimsy to hang the reason on.
JJ’s relationship with a New Orleans cop, started with an episode where the cop’s father died during Katrina while investigation an old rape allegation. He resurfaced in another episode about a serial killer that was taking out gay men in several states. There was enough angst over the two calling it quits, that it is entirely plausible to put reassuring closure there.
I have always wondered what the point of JJ’s role was. A press agent for an investigative unit? All of the investigators have behavioral analysis expertise, it’s reasonable to expect that any one of them should be adept at knowing what to say to the press.
Personally I’d prefer they dump Garcia and keep JJ.
CBS and Ed Bernero, CM Executive Producer, both have criminal minds in making this ridiculous decision. Petitions don’t scare them, but boycotts do. Try this, folks:
- BOYCOTT CBS
- BOYCOTT CHARLIE SHEEN AND TWO AND A HALF MEN – CBS JUST GAVE THIS LOSER $2 MILLION – PER EPISODE – GUESS WHERE THEY GOT THE MONEY?
- BOYCOTT CRIMINAL MINDS 2 – GUESS WHERE THEY GOT THE MONEY TO DO THIS SPIN OFF?
- SUPPORT CRIMINAL MINDS 1 – AND THE ACTORS WHO ARE LEFT; THEY SHOULD NOT PAY FOR ED BERNERO AND CBS STUPIDITY
Screw CBS. I barely watched that network anyhow and with this devolution to CRIMINAL MINDS I now have no reason to tune in since clearly they don’t want female viewers.
I truly hope that A.J. Cook was looking to get out. I can’t imagine that she was, but I hope so. If not, CBS is making a HUGE mistake. As a viewer of this show since the beginning, I am disappointed. I have enjoyed watching the evolution of all characters throughout each episode. To say she might get one episode to wrap up her character as “J.J.” is pathetic. After all the character “J.J.” has dealt with over the last five seasons, she is stronger than stating she cannot deal any longer and wants to spend more time with her family. “J.J.” has remained a constant amongst the team throughout changes and trials. She is the one to whom each and every member of the team looks for solidarity and continued strength. They have all had their moments, and “J.J.” has been there for all of them. To break up such an incredible cast that seems to have great chemistry both on and off the set will be detrimental. If A.J. Cook decides to appear in one or even a few episodes during season six, then I will watch those episodes and no further. I do wish A.J. Cook a fantastic future in what she loves to do, acting. I will follow her career beyond Criminal Minds.
-”I truly hope that A.J. Cook was looking to get out.”
Apparently not, if we’re to go by her tweets, her mother’s, her husband’s, and those of her co-stars.
BTW, Paget’s tweets on the matter were especially telling.
The female audience is powerful. These sexist shows need the female viewer. Women need to simply STOP watching these sexist shows. Stop watching the sexist movies. Don’t let yourself get dragged along by your boyfriend or husband. Studios seem to depend on that. They disrespect women AND get women to pay for their own disrespect. Mothers make family decisions and often decide what their kids watch. Stop permitting yourselves to be treated as cheap labor & incidental in life. It will continue as long as women keep watching these lame shows & movies. CBS seems to be taking NBC’s place of irrelevance. Criminal Minds seems so over – it already feels like it’s off the air
This is just somebody had CBS trying to save face. Since the season ended with a cliff hanger, she was ALWAYS coming back for one episode.
I take it that the one episode is one episode along with the season premiere. They said one episode to wrap up her story. There’s too much that needs to be finished from the season finale to spend any time on her leaving. So instead of her disappearing completely after the premiere, she gets one episode where she gets to say goodbye.
I also don’t think it’s CBS saving face. Because as far as I can understand the plans for her to get even one episode doesn’t even come from CBS. They would have been fine with her disappearing after the season premiere and one of the other characters briefly saying where she went.
My second reaction:
Time for somebody to contact the National Organization For Women regarding CBS’s deplorable pattern of sexist behavior.
– Rob