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UPDATE: Despite speculation that British-born Simon Mirren might be headed back home, it turns out the trip he will be making is from Burbank/Studio City where Criminal Minds producers ABC Studios and CBS TV Studios are based, to Culver City. I hear that, after 6 years on Criminal Minds, Mirren is finalizing an overall deal with Sony Pictures TV. Mirren had been looking to pursue his own development. When ABC Studios indicated it was not interested, he was quickly snapped up by Sony, which shifted its overall deal strategy last summer towards signing top-tier writer/showrunners. Mirren’s overall pact with Sony is expected to begin in June, after Mirren’s current deal for Criminal Minds expires at the end of the season. Additionally, Mirren is executive producing The Sector, a project in the works at Cinemax, which is now looking to do more originals. He is shepherding that project with Scott Free, Anne Thomopoluos and Aaron and Matt Benay.
PREVIOUS EXCLUSIVE: Criminal Minds executive producer/ showrunner Simon Mirren is leaving the veteran crime drama. Mirren, who joined the series right after the pilot as a supervising producer, was promoted to executive producer at the beginning of Season 5.
This past October, WME-repped Mirren, along with fellow Criminal Minds veteran, exec producer Erica Messer, took over showrunner duties alongside longtime exec producer/showrunner Ed Bernero when Chris Mundy left as showrunner of the Criminal Minds spinoff and Bernero shifted his attention to the new series. There is talk that Bernero may also leave Criminal Minds at the end of the season. He has a drama pilot, Partners, in contention at ABC but even if his pilot goes to series, he is expected to still have some involvement with the Criminal Minds franchise.
Staying on is Messer, considered a rising star on Criminal Minds. She joined the mothership series after the pilot as a co-producer and became an executive producer at the beginning of the current sixth season. British writer Mirren, nephew of actress Helen Mirren, previously worked on Third Watch, co-created/exec producer by Bernero, and Without a Trace.
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Well now we’re totally screwed!
WAIT, WHAT!!!!!!
Now this may be the beginning of the end. Nath was right.
This show is really coming undone at the seams.
The drama with this show never seems to stop. If Ed Bernero leaves, then he needs to take the dreadful Ashley Seaver character that he created along with him.
Yes! Please! Take her to his new, shiny spin off and spare our original show of this ripoff, poorly thought-of character
ABSOLUTELY… let her go hang on the sequel that I can’t stand, instead of continuing to screw up our original show. Now, if they’d only grovel and get Paget back.
My name is Caroline and I approve this message.
I totally agree!! does anyone even know her name without someone telling them it???
Not lost at all. Bernero is the problem. Get rid of the higher level writers on that show, bring in some great show runner under deal at CBS and repace the writers who can’t write. Have you been watching this season? Our favorite actors will be back I hope!
Yes, Bernero most definitely is the problem. He left Criminal Minds in a very weakened state, running off to handle the spinoff and work on his new pilot. To top it off, he created the most asinine character ever, Seaver! He needs to go as well as the stupid character he created. It would be beyond fantastic if they could get Andrew Wilder back or at least someone of his caliber to be the show runner as well as writer for the show. Wilder was terrific at maintaining a high level of quality on the show; it was a big mistake to let him go (another stupid CBS move).
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…… Andrew Wilder?!?!? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
The whole *problem* with this season is that the show’s established writer’s have left, and that Bernero isn’t fully focusing on the show. Now that Mirren has gone, the only writer left who was with the show in season one or season two is Erica Messer. Chris Mundy, Andrew Wilder, Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie, and Debra Fisher have all gone, and been replaced with new writers, in the past two seasons.
I knew something was very very wrong, but didn’t know exactly what. Didn’t have the Hx w/the show. Oy. Good Dx. Now what?
The Fox, Riding The Lightning & No Way Out defined what Criminal Minds could be. Simon was without doubt the best writer on the show and his episodes always stood out.
Go Ed and take Seaver with you!
Ditto!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is horrible news! I have been watching the show since the beginning and I will be extremely saddened to see Mr. Mirren go. He has written some of my favorite episodes. This is a huge loss to the CM fans. First AJ, then Paget, and now Simon…. this is a tough year. I wish you well in all of your future endeavors Simon.
This = beginning of the end.
Who cares, he’s just another talent deficient Hollywood hack who knew somebody. I love the self-importance you guys place on yourselves. You actually think that one person can do these jobs better than another, when it’s all connections and who you fuck. Oh, and I’ll let you in on a little secret – nobody in the rest of the country cares, that’s why TV is DYING. In a few years you’ll all be out of work. Oh, and if you’re a young man struggling to break into TV writing you are FUCKED. THere’s no future in this profession. And if you’re a young woman or member of a minority group struggling to break into the profession your odds are better buying lotto tickets.
He’s a superstar. No surprise he’s being snapped up elsewhere.
Simon Mirren wrote some of the best episodes on CM so I’m really dismayed to hear that he’s leaving. Sadly, good writers are extremely thin on the ground at CM these days, the show can’t afford to lose one of the few remaining good writers they have there.
I’d much prefer to see Bernero go, it’s not that he’s interested in the show anymore anyway. Plus if he goes he can take his dreadful creation Seaver with him.
David makes a huge point. Someone swept up the superstar…
Keep CM going.. although it does seem like it is floating right now.
The truth is, he’s a bum who’s never been able to write. And a lot of the people you’re blaming are responsible for his success.
He’s a smooth talker who can’t put three sensible words together on paper.
Seaver is great.
The episodes in season 6 was bad before she came on. But it seems like people like to jump on the band waggon and blame her when she has nothing to do with the direction of this show. so typical american. Keep seaver she is great
Define great.
Also, define what a BAU is and what a profiler is and what a cadet is.
Thanks
What!!!! Seaver is perhaps one of the most poorly conceived characters ever!! If anything, that character highlights just how off course the show has gone, it doesn’t need to keep going down this track. Yes, towards the later part of season 5 the episodes were slipping, but that is thanks to the fact that CBS fired people like Andrew Wilder which was beyond stupid!!!!!
Bernero is more out there than at CM anyway, so if he “officially” leaves, it won’t make a difference. They need to get a showrunner who cares about this show, strong writers, beg Paget to stay, and get rid of the Seaver character.
Oh God, whatever, nobody is blaming the actress that plays Seaver, although I am not to keen on her acting. That character is just an epic fail and needs to be written off the show before it circles more into the toliet.
Will be interested to see what Mirren works on next. Bernero, yeah, stay or go makes no difference because he has been all over the place except CM.
This show needs to get back on track.
I assume by great you mean “hot.” Can’t argue with that: she’s beautiful. But her character is just terrible.
Great at doing what??? Her character sucks!
Oh my, I think the drama of criminal minds has shifted from onscreen to offscreen. The behind the scenes story is actually better than the show right now.
Is it me or is there only women that hate Seaver. Every post about Seaver hate is 95% women. what is up with that. I like her she is a fresh face on this show this show could use fresh face. So i am glad she is here.
An showrunners exit all the time on shows. Nothing new about that. This is being blown up to a big thing. But in reality it is bo big deal at all
What the hell does it matter if a majority of the people who dislike the Seaver character are women? I don’t believe there is even a way to determine that now. But anyway, who cares! Bottom line that character sucks and needs to get off the show!
Will be interesting to see what CBS cooks up as far as a showrunner for CM. They had better get it back in gear or season 7 may very well be the last season for CM
I don’t see the news of Mirren’s leaving, or Bornero for that matter, being that big a deal for the show. If anything, this gives the powers that be an opportunity to bring some new blood onto the show. I’d love if they could get some of the people who used to work on Cold Case and Without a Trace onto the show. While not given the critical praise that they deserved, there were some wonderful people on those shows – Meredith Stiehm, Greg Plageman, Erin Mitchell, Veena Cabreros Sud, Jan Nash, Greg Walker, Scott White, Ed Redlich, and Timothy Busfield.
What worries me the most about the show is the involvment of ABC as a producer. I know many people have b!tched about CBS on this board during the past year, but they know how to improve the production of their shows whereas ABC has a history of royally screwing with their shows’ productions. If anything, CBS needs to get ABC completely out of the daily operations of the show’s production.
Well, it’s tough to follow Lenny’s ray of sunshine in the above post (take a drink, man, it’ll all work out) but I’ll give it a shot.
This is a bummer of a day for Criminal Minds. Losing Simon will hurt — but it’s exciting to hear he’s going on to his own projects. The Sector sounds awesome! I for one cannot wait. A tag team of Mirren and Scott Free is a can’t miss. Plus now he’ll be able to develop his own shows so it shouldn’t be too long till we get our Mirren fix.
Yeah, it most definitely has to be mostly women that hate Seaver. I’m a guy and I like her. She’s hot and likeable.
I’d like John Gallagher to be promoted. He has written some of my favorite episodes. Maybe tray and get Andrew Wilder back?
Messer seems alright.
Some people have a problem understanding the difference between the actor and the character.
Dude, nobody is blaming the actress for the ill concieved character; and nobody is blaming the character for the decline in the quality of the show.
Fans don’t like the character because she is a complete misfit for the team. For 5 seasons it has been emphasized that the BAU is an elite team of specialized agents who had to work to earn a place on that team. This character is a CADET. She hasn’t worked her way up the ranks to earn a spot in any specialized unit. It completely undermines everything the unit stands for.
Besides, she was supposed to be helping the team ONE time, because of her personal experience with serial killers. She screwed up then, and as a reward, got a full-time position at the elite BAU. How does that even make any sense?
I work for the government. Trust me. It makes perfect sense.
Team Simon should stop posting about him before the real truth comes out.
Team Andrew Wilder should stop posting about Simon before the real truth comes out.
This year I think you guys should find and catch frank. Make it a two hour show, and the best show you guys ever did.
This is Eric again. About frank I can come up with a great story, and write it down. But frank should be caught.
Frank is dead–took Jane with him and leaped in front of that train, remember?
Profile says a last act of peeing in Gideon’s cornflakes, since he knew Gideon was a railfan…