Criminal Minds was under the limelight for the past month since they fired the lead actor of the series. He appeared in two episodes of the 12th season during which he was held responsible for behaving slightly violently on the sets, and he was fired for the same.
After this incident, viewers believed that the show would not sustain for long since it would lose its charm. The fans believed that the show would not be as interesting as it has been till now. Rumours suggested that since the exit of Thomas Gibson’s character, Aaron Hotchner from the show, the ratings of the show have tanked drastically.
However, the reports suggest otherwise according to the numbers presented by PremiereDate. The report suggested that the show rated number 2 in the top series on CBS for season 11. For season 12, the viewer count was 8.92 million taking the third spot.
The boycott now seems to have come to an end with the steady increase in the ratings recording the highest rating in the last two months. With this week’s ratings, Criminal minds took over Empire Season 3 as well.
The series is not only popular in the homeland but internationally as well the show is well-appreciated, and the previous ratings suggest that the show won’t go down easy. This gives the 13th season a possible hope of surviving.
Rumors also suggest that Thomas Gibson will make an appearance at some point in the course of season 12 so that the show gets enough boost to the ratings for a renewal. Other media sources have confirmed the fact that Gibson will be a part of the 13th season as and when it releases.
The source is supposed to have this confirmed from official sources and considered the way in which his character was written off; he can be brought back to the show easily. The return could be as soon as in one of the next few episodes as well.
However, there are other sources that suggest that network and production team is still standing strong on their decision on this incident. The Inquisitr suggested that the main heads of the show have sternly said no to Gibson’s return to the show.
All of these are still only speculations as season 12 is still airing. The show will be back with new episodes for the second half of the season on the 4th of January. CBS as well has not themselves confirmed anything yet. Fans are only holding on to the hope of finding some development on Gibson taking back his role on the show.
The Behavioral Analysis Unit of Criminal Minds has already filled Gibson’s empty spot by casting Damon Gupton as a new series regular. Gupton is not going to replace Gibson’s character, but he is there to make the BAU complete after Gibson’s absence. The new leader of the team that Hotch led will be announced soon on the show and will be someone from the known circle.
TVLine reported Damon Gupton to be a profiler from FBI with the name of Special Agent Stephen Walker. His job is that of an experienced profiler, and his set of skills is supposed to fit right in with the team. The skills he has acquired are suggested to be essential to the plot and team.
The executive producer of the show stated that the BAU family is growing and that they are excited to have Damon on board to work with the crew. He has already been introduced on the show with the episode from the 7th of December. However, this addition to the team received mixed reactions from the fans. In fact, the fans have expressed irritation over the new addition.