PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST: FALL TV PREVIEW PARTIES 2011: CBS PANEL: CRIMINAL MINDS {PUBLIC SHORT VERSION}

Summary

One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media’s Fall Preview series. Held at the Paley Center in Los Angeles, this evening celebrates the upcoming seventh season of “Criminal Minds,” the drama series about a team of “profilers” from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, all of whom track criminals by anticipating their actions.

Moderator Michael Schneider (Los Angeles bureau chief, TV Guide magazine) introduces the panelists: executive producer Erica Messer; and cast members Kirsten Vangsness (Penelope Garcia), A.J. Cook (Jennifer “JJ” Jareau), Matthew Gray Gubler (Spencer Reid), Shemar Moore (Derek Morgan), Paget Brewster (Emily Prentiss), Thomas Gibson (Aaron “Hotch” Hotchner), and Joe Mantegna (David Rossi).

The panelists touch on such topics as: Mantegna’s tweets about the upcoming “badass” season; plans to further explore "the layers" of the team’s members, with focus on the plot development of Prentiss’s “return from the dead”; why Brewster and Cook were fired and rehired by the network; the network’s attempts to “rock the boat” and lack of understanding of the actors’ cohesive chemistry; the talent of the writers and actors in bringing J.J. and Prentiss back in a convincing way; the strong fan reaction to the characters’ departures; a failed pilot shot by Brewster in her time away from the show; the challenge of planning the new season while unaware of the actors’ fates; the character of Morgan and his struggles in accepting Prentiss’s “death”; Morgan's continued pursuit of her “killer” Ian Doyle, played by Timothy V. Murphy; the characters’ varied reactions to Prentiss’s return and the reveal that Hotch knew that she was alive; Moore’s view of the protective Morgan as more than a mere “tough guy” and his sense of betrayal at Hotch’s deception; potential future storylines for Reid; Hotch’s budgetary challenges and their “eerie” parallels to the show’s real-life woes; whether the romance between Garcia and Kevin, played by Nicholas Brendon, will continue; Garcia’s shifting role in the unit because of the return of Prentiss and J.J.; plans to introduce Rossi’s first wife, teased in previous seasons; Mantegna’s interest in the show because of its strong ensemble nature; other characters the cast would like to play, including Moore’s interest in playing a villain; the return of Ian Doyle in upcoming episodes; Brewster’s mischievous tweets “in character” as Moore; Gibson’s hopes for exciting plotlines for the reserved Hotch; attention in recent episodes to the “wall of fallen agents”; and praise for the show’s strong writing team.

Details

• NETWORK: N/A
• DATE: September 6, 2011 6:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 0:35:52
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: 106306
• GENRE: Seminars
• SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
• SERIES RUN: N/A
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Michael Schneider … Moderator
• Kirsten Vangsness … Panelist
• A.J. Cook … Panelist
• Matthew Gray Gubler … Panelist
• Shemar Moore … Panelist
• Paget Brewster … Panelist
• Thomas Gibson … Panelist
• Joe Mantegna … Panelist
• Erica Messer … Panelist
• Nicholas Brendon
• Timothy V. Murphy