Aug 5 2010 01:51 PM ET

Exclusive: 'Criminal Minds' spin-off adds former 'West Wing'-er Richard Schiff

richard-schiffImage Credit: Paul Morigi/WireImage.comForest Whitaker, meet your new boss.

West Wing Emmy winner Richard Schiff is joining CBS’ Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior in the recurring role of FBI director Jack Fickler, sources confirm to me exclusively.

Schiff—who most recently starred on the ill-fated Fox drama Past Life—will debut in the first episode of the spin-off, which is slated to launch at midseason.

CM: SB stars Whitaker as the head of an elite team of agents within the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. The cast also includes Janeane Garofalo, Matt Ryan, Michael Kelly, Beau Garrett, and Minds mainstay Kirsten Vangsness.

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Comments (32 total) Add your comment
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  • teresa

    I’m starting to think this may not be all bad. I’ll give it a chance.

  • ggny

    Richard Schiff being casted makes this show go from Crappy Spin off to a show that might be good

  • ythu

    I will not give it a chance

    • Cheery

      Exactly. Screw them and the horse they came in on. After Paget leave’s I’m done.

      • Sonya

        Agreed SCREW THEM when AJ Cook goes I GO.

  • Janey

    Damn! I was crossing my fingers saying “please don’t be Schiff, please don’t be Schiff” because I really don’t want to watch this trainwreck show but Schiff is my favourite actor. :(

  • Megan

    I’m Bitter about what happened with AJ Cook and Paget Brewster on the original Criminal Minds and refuse to watch this regardless of who is in it.

    • Ele

      ditto

    • eskeigh

      My thoughts exactly.

    • Debbie

      Did you not get the memo that Paget’s going to be in most of the episodes?

      I don’t like what happened but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to give it a chance.

    • natalia

      +3

      (although I see they changed most of the cast that appeared in that CM episode, but still)

    • Cheryl Norman

      I won’t watch CM:SB. It’s unrealistic. I will stick with the original, at least for a while.

  • Happy Go Lucky

    I guess it’s nice that Schiff has found a fruitful career, being wasted in awful network procedurals.

  • EveatEden

    oooh this might be worth watching after all. Loved him on West Wing! Heck just LOVED West Wing.

    • Julz

      I still watch West Wing reruns on Bravo. One of the best shows ever.

  • Corinne

    The pilot sucked, but same thing for NCISLA. I’ll definitely check it out. They look to be trying to make improvements.

  • Julz

    Very interesting. I’m definitely going to give this a shot. I’m hoping with Forest Whitaker, Jeneane Garafolo and Richard Schiff that this will be an improvement from the “pilot”. I didn’t realize that Kristen Vangness would be on it as well. Love that.

  • Dominique

    Will Kristen Vangness remain a regular on the original CM or will she be on the spin-off fulltime?

    • eskeigh

      She will remain a regular on the mothership. She’ll only be gueststarring on the spin-off for a few episodes, much like what Abby and Vance were doing on NCIS/NCIS:LA.

  • soleil444

    Refuse to watch this damn spin-off. I prefer the original show: CM. After what CBS make, no thanks. Disguess it.

  • Ashleigh

    Goddammit.

    I really don’t wanna watch this. I could have resisted if it were just Kirsten Vangsness that I liked, but Richard Schiff? Damn, damn, damn.

    That being said, if the pilot is as bad as the jump off episode for it in the Original Series was, no actor could make me watch it for long.

  • Stu Harris

    Will all you obsessed rabid CM fans get over the whole AJ and Paget thing,please.

    • Blair

      What CBS has done to AJ and Paget will not be forgotten for a while. What an ignorant plea.

  • Conserv

    Too bad Garafolo is on the show. SInce I dont support Obama she wont have to worry about a racist watching. UP YOURS Garafolo and I am now done with the reg Crim Minds show. Too bad BUT I will not support some piece of crap who says I am racist becasue I dont like Obama.

  • Steven Reines

    Too bad. I was hoping he’d be cast as Bradley Whitford’s old partner on The Good Guys. We’d find out he’s more like Colin Hanks’ character than Bradley’s.

    • segsig

      Gary Cole got that part a while back.

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