Matthew Gray Gubler’s Spencer Reid isn’t in the Criminal Minds reboot, despite that, he already previously teased his return as the BAU’s boy genius.
Matthew Gray Gubler already hinted that he will ultimately return to Criminal Minds. The actor played Doctor Spencer Reid of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit and was one of the only two stars from the original cast who was still in the police procedural when it ended. Now that the Criminal Minds reboot is officially moving forward at Paramount+, there is a massive disappointment that Gubler is not at the center of the upcoming revival.
Criminal Minds premiered in 2005 on CBS and proceeded to run for 15 years before it ended in 2020. Not long after it wrapped up its network broadcast, its reboot with the same core cast was announced in 2021 and will be part of Paramount+’s original programming slate. The Criminal Minds reboot will be reformatted, however; instead of seeing the BAU hunt down an UnSub per episode, each 10-episode season will be devoted to a single case, allowing the storytelling to really focus in on the team’s profiling capabilities. Given Reid’s experience with the team, not to mention his eidetic memory, it would have been a great way to showcase his skills. If only he would return for the project.
Understandably, Gubler’s Criminal Minds season 16 absence is disappointing. Just because the actor isn’t officially part of the reboot’s cast, however, it doesn’t mean that he will never partake in it. In an interview with TVLine (via Yahoo!) leading to the procedural’s finale in 2020, the actor expressed his sadness over the show’s ending, especially after working on its for 15 years. Then, he proceeded to tease a potential revival saying that the Criminal Minds series finale plants plot seeds that could be revisited moving forward. This was before the original show even properly wrapped up, hinting that perhaps even as early as that, he already knew that there were already plans for the BAU to return on the small screen. This comment doesn’t sound like it came from someone who no longer wants to do anything with the series or play Doctor Spencer Reid again. Maybe, the show is just saving his return for later. Read Gubler’s full quote below:
“I know that everything has its time and I’m in no way sad that the show is closing, because I feel like we’ve done it beautifully, and I feel like there are roots there for it to re-hatch later. I kind of liken it to if you go to a concert, at a certain point the band has to leave the stage in order to have an encore. It’s just the natural progression.”
Why Matthew Gray Gubler’s Spencer Reid Isn’t Returning For Criminal Minds’ Reboot
Gubler isn’t the only cast member not returning for the Criminal Minds reboot. Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders star Daniel Henney, who played SSA Matt Simmons isn’t part of the confirmed cast. But unlike Gubler, whose reason for non-involvement is unclear, Henney’s absence may be chalked to a scheduling conflict as he is busy starring in Amazon’s The Wheel of Time. Because of this, there has been an assumption that the reason that Reid won’t be in the revival is because Gubler simply didn’t want to be in it. After all, the actor previously expressed wanting to take a break from playing his best-known role yet to branch out and try other endeavors. Towards the end of Criminal Minds, Gubler appeared in the Hulu comedy Dollface as Wes which kept him busy until 2022, but since that show has wrapped up, the actor doesn’t seem to have any project he’s working on right now — at least that has already been publicized. It’s possible that he is busy pursuing other endeavors that just haven’t been announced yet. Perhaps he was initially confirmed for the Criminal Minds reboot, but because it took so long to get it off the ground, at one point, even dubbed dead in the water, he opted to focus on finding other ventures forcing him to ultimately drop out from it.
Spencer Reid Missing Criminal Minds’ Reboot Season 1 Makes His Return Better
Right now, the Criminal Minds reboot is confirmed for a 10-episode season. Its initial run will see the BAU hunt down an UnSub who used the coronavirus pandemic to establish a network of fellow serial killers making the profilers’ job trickier. Depending on how Criminal Minds season 16 is received, there’s a chance that the revival will continue for more outings giving Reid the chance to return at a later date. Assuming that Gubler’s non-involvement is due to an unknown scheduling conflict, he could sort this issue out first leading to his eventual appearance in the potential Criminal Minds season 17. Admittedly, Reid will be sorely missed in the BAU’s upcoming return. Aside from being an integral member of the team, his interactions with his teammates and even the people he comes to work with are always interesting. If Paramount+ does things right, however, they can use Reid’s absence as a great set-up for his later reunion with the BAU which would make Gubler’s comeback to Criminal Minds all the more special.
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