"Criminal Minds" Season 12 ended with a cliffhanger, in which the lives of several of agents were in grave danger after getting ambushed on their way to Scratch's hideout. At least one of them is sure to have not survived—Damon Gupton, who portrayed Agent Stephen Walker, is departing the show.
Damon exits 'Criminal Minds'
According to Deadline, actor Damon Gupton has been removed from the cast of "Criminal Minds" Season 13 due to creative reasons. Gupton joined the procedural series in the middle of Season 12 after Thomas Gibson was terminated. Along with him, Paget Brewster returned as a regular and reprised her role as Prentiss.
Adam Rodriguez was also booked as FBI Agent Luke Alvez while Aisha Tyler was promoted as a regular as Dr. Tara Lewis.
In the finale of last season, the SUVs of Walker, Prentiss, Rossi, JJ, Tara and Alvez were taken out and then an 18-wheeler truck came rammed into them. As Damon's exit has been confirmed, it is safe to presume that his character would be one of the fatalities Deadline pointed out. If not, he would probably sustain injuries that are bad enough to enable him to return. Meanwhile, it is not yet clear whether the show will bring in a new character to fill in Agent Walker's spot.
In a related casting news, Kirsten Vangsness and A.J. Cook are still negotiating to get higher salaries.
They want something that will put them on the same level as their male co-stars, Joe Mantegna and Matthew Gray Gubler. Mantegna and Gubler have already signed new deals for "Criminal Minds" Season 13. Reports said Vangsness and Cook would be willing to leave the series if they don't get the pay they want.
What to expect in Season 13
The next season of "Criminal Minds" will pick up in the aftermath of the car accident, TV Guide reported. Aside from getting some answers on what happened to the agents that were in the SUVs, showrunner Erica Messer dished some details on what would come down in Season 13.
According to Messer, it is possible the Dr.
Spencer Reid would be fully reinstated to the BAU. They want him back on the team and to get on with cases. The storyline involving Scratch will also continue, but it was not yet confirmed if it would end in Season 13. "Part of me feels like we should leave Scratch around," Messer said. She added that Scratch is a great bad guy and finishing his arc would mean creating another bad character to be a threat to the team.
"Criminal Minds" Season 13 has an order of 22 episodes. It is scheduled to premiere sometime in September.
