Criminal Minds star Paget Brewster is recalling her brief departure from the show after being fired and subsequently brought back.
“I think it was season six or seven or something,” Brewster, 57, said during the Monday, April 27, episode of Kristin Davis’ “Are You a Charlotte?” podcast.
The actress, who has portrayed Emily Prentiss since season 2 of the CBS crime drama, explained that Criminal Minds did a backdoor pilot for another series, meaning that the episode served as an introduction to a spin-off series and helped determine whether the spin-off would move forward.
“Apparently, this is what I heard, when Les Moonves — who is the now famously ousted president of CBS — when he got the pilot inside of our episode, it was the first time he’d watched the show [in a while],” Brewster claimed. “We think he saw the show for the first time in years and just said, ‘Oh, I don’t like those women. Get rid of those women.’ And so, A.J. Cook and I were fired.”
Moonves, 76, resigned from his position as chairman and CEO of the network in 2018 after allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and abuse.
Cook, 47, who plays Jennifer “JJ” Jareau on Criminal Minds, briefly left the series after season 5 in 2010, along with Brewster. The latter returned for several episodes in season 6 after her “agent went in and had a big fight” with CBS, Brewster alleged. Meanwhile, Cook returned as a main cast member in season 7.
Brewster claimed that although she was also asked to return full-time, she opted to leave the show after season 7 in 2012 because she was “so mad” at the network. She then ventured into comedy, including roles in the shows Grandfathered, Community and Another Period.
Eventually, Brewster reconsidered her decision to step away from Criminal Minds.
“I really did hold on to that anger for too long,” she recalled. “It was an unhealthy thing to hold onto. Because A.J. and I were like, ‘We were early, we knew our lines, we never got into fights.’ We were really angry. I held onto the anger for too long, and after four years, I finally thought, ‘Why am I not [on the show]? I love everyone there. I just don’t like Les Moonves, and I never have to see him because he doesn’t care about this show.’”
Brewster returned to the show during season 12 in 2016 following former costar Thomas Gibson’s firing for an altercation with a producer. Gibson, 63, played Aaron Hotchner, the chief of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. Brewster’s character replaced Gibson’s in the role.
Before agreeing to return to the show, Brewster said she argued for equal pay.
“I fought to try to get my episodic fee close to what the men were making ‘cause we were always paid less,” she explained. “I was like, ‘Well, I kind of have them over a barrel. They need me more than I need this show.’ So, I got my episode fee way up from what it was. Then, when the other female cast members, their contracts were up, so I said, ‘This is what I got. Go get more.’ … So then, they went in and they got big raises.”
Though Criminal Minds — which follows the Behavior Analysis Unit (BAU) as its team of profilers catch serial killers — was initially canceled after season 15 in 2020, the series was revived as Criminal Minds: Evolution in 2022. Brewster is among the cast members who returned for the revival.
Criminal Minds season 19 premieres on Paramount+ on May 28.
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