Paget signs a deal

[klutzy-girl.livejournal.com]

Brewster just closed a deal to return to the veteran CBS crime drama, and she will be in almost every episode next season. But Cook, whose option for next season was not picked up, will be gone after wrapping her character J.J.'s storyline in two episodes early next season.

I hear Brewster's pact is for 10 out of 13, which means that she will be in nearly every episode. The actress had been approached to continue as a regular on the show but for a reduced number of episodes; now the reduction seems to be pretty small.

Source
Wait, what is this about 13 episodes? Aren't we getting a full season? I'm confused now!

Comments

[busterhenry.livejournal.com]

I agree that most weeks Prentiss is just there "a line-delivery device to move the murders-of-the-week along." That's why I can't say I blame CBS for feeling like she's inessential. The showrunners just haven't demonstrated much of a willingness to develop a storyline for Prentiss over the years.

I agree that the "big moments" I pointed out for the women this year didn't add up to all that much. Which is part of the problem. Reid's one ep, "Uncanny Valley," was arguably a greater progression of that character's storyline than any of the women got in three.

That said, I should take "Solitary Man" out for JJ. I misremembered the ep, although there was some stuff in there for both JJ and Prentiss.

[midgetnazgul.livejournal.com]

Spencer, despite not being in the field all that much this season, has managed to have greater character development than JJ and Prentiss combined. A lot of that growth is subtle, though, and can be contributed equally to screenplay as well as MGG's acting.

Garcia's a bit of a different story, but she's a massive draw for the show, much like Abby from NCIS.

Perhaps part of the problem is the fact that Em's character doesn't have a defined job specialty like the men do, or even her predecessor Elle.

[busterhenry.livejournal.com]

I agree that Prentiss should always have had a niche carved out for her. If Prentiss were always the person who, say, interviewed women and children, then the writers would know to assign those tasks to her. The special skill they gave her was languages, which has come up like twice. It's like Mick the Sniper on the spinoff. How often does Whitaker's team need a sniper? If it's more than once, then they're doing something wrong.

Reid's growth has been able to be done subtly because there's been an overall story they've been trying to tell with him. It's admittedly a very easy story, the story of the newbie field agent coming into his own, but, still. They had a story in mind for him and, as a result, the writers and MGG have been able to throw in little bits here and there in addition to the spotlight episodes. I don't get the impression the showrunners mapped out a story they wanted to tell about Prentiss. Maybe something about women in law enforcement? That's the best I can come up with.

They also gave Reid some useful backstory, with the mentally ill mother, his issues about abandonment and bullying, his guilt over being a poor caretaker. All stuff that can be applied to random cases. Again, what's Prentiss' deal? She hates office politics? Who doesn't?

[midgetnazgul.livejournal.com]

The quality in character storyline can be summed up rather succinctly - Spence has been around since the pilot and has almost always been considered a main character.

Let's consider what was going on when Paget showed up, through her first season.

The woman who had played Elle cut her contract short at the end of first season, but they still had to write in an ending for her. Simultaneously, they had to cast for a replacement, film upcoming episodes and, most likely, continue writing for the rest of season 2. And then, of course, at the end of season 2, Mandy left abruptly. So much of what goes into a TV show much be thought up so far ahead of time, it's a small miracle we've gotten a character with so much potential.

[busterhenry.livejournal.com]

I agree with all of this. And I do hope they finally figure out what they do with her. I am dubious, though. Even with the chaos of Seasons 2* and 3, four seasons really is enough time for the showrunners to sit down and decide an area of specialization for Prentiss or that, as I noted before, they'll use Prentiss to tell a story about women in law enforcement.

I will note, though, that Prentiss was introduced with the idea for a storyline (the mysterious circumstances around her hiring) that never went anywhere. They missed an opportunity there to do something with her character, just as they missed opportunities to do something substantial with Rossi's clash of profiling styles or diva personality or haunted past. So it's not just that they didn't know what to do with Prentiss, because they had a perfectly good idea for Prentiss that they didn't bother to follow through on.

Like I said, I think it'll be great if they start using her more like the show's female lead, but, if they keep using her as they have, I can't really blame CBS for feeling like it's just not necessary to keep cutting paychecks so Prentiss can look thoughtful in the middle distance.