Erica Messer discusses cast changes for upcoming season 7

[dysfunkshunell1.livejournal.com]

Can be found here http://www.tvguide.com/News/Criminal-Minds-Paget-Brewster-1033746.aspx

TVGuide.com: What can you say about letting Rachel Nichols go? Messer: It wasn't an easy decision and it took a village to make it. Having eight characters on Criminal Minds seemed unlikely. Rachel is a real trouper and a pro. She walked into an incredibly difficult position and handled it with grace. The cast felt she fit in — we're actually a funny group off-camera — and she will be missed by all of us who worked with her everyday.
TVGuide.com: How much did the fan outcry play into bringing back A.J. and Paget? Messer: Our fans are some of the most loyal I've ever known. And they're not shy. Their love for our show and investment in the characters is beyond encouraging. If they're enthusiasm helped everyone see how important the unity of our team is, fantastic.

So apparently Rachel didn't find out via Twitter AND it was a decision that included the show runner. As the CM family does, I wish Rachel well and am glad to have the original cast back. Here's to hoping Thomas Gibson closes on negotiations soon!

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Comments

[pat-san.livejournal.com]

Indeed. Thanks for sharing :D

[teenagewitch.livejournal.com]

I have to say that it sucks for her. I think shes an awesome actress who did a good job in a situation that was both unpopular with most fans and not easy with CM content.

[dysfunkshunell1.livejournal.com]

AGREED!

[eiko82.livejournal.com]

Agreed 100%.

[autumnsfire.livejournal.com]

The character was starting to grow on me. Because she was so different than Reid as the young one on the team, and the writers deserve a LOT of credit (as does Nicols) for really making the character start to stand out.

[arrivee.livejournal.com]

they were extreme assumptions when everyone thought she found out via twitter. it still blows, but i can't contain my happiness that the criminal minds family is back.

[tragicllyhip.livejournal.com]

why did people think she found out via twitter?

[dysfunkshunell1.livejournal.com]

No idea really. My thoughts are that they just assumed after how Kirsten Vangness found out via Twitter that the spinoff was canceled. Other than that, just people wanting to assume the worst.

[autumnsfire.livejournal.com]

Are you serious? That's how she found out?

Christ, that's low for someone to not let the cast know first.

[soundscape.livejournal.com]

Who knows. Maybe because it appeared on the ~interwebz before she addressed it personally? I'm sure someone assumed the worst, presented their assumption as fact, and it somehow snowballed into a giant mass of ridiculousness. :/

[tragicllyhip.livejournal.com]

she was probably responding to a bevy of tweets directed at her once the news hit online. I never thought she'd find out online, thats crazy. As for the Garcia situation, its not like KIrstin was out of a job, and it was during Upfronts week, so it makes sense the news would leak before she got a call.

I think things are being put right. Rachel is an actress, i know plenty of them, it sadly comes with the job. She was most likely being groomed for CBS for other things ultimately. I think she'll be fine.

[fun-french-fri.livejournal.com]

It was also how the entire cast found out that AJ and Paget were fired/being reduced. It's not a big leap to make.

[tragicllyhip.livejournal.com]

true, but its not how AJ or Paget found out. Either way, its not the most fair of businesses, so i'm not surprised by anything.

[fun-french-fri.livejournal.com]

They found out third-hand: their fellow cast members told them to check websites and then they saw that they were fired. and Rachel Nichols said on twitter earlier that she found out online.

[tragicllyhip.livejournal.com]

thats no fun, I feel bad for her, i wonder if it just leaked. She'll be ok though and as sad as it is, It doesn't make me want her character to stay.

[antoinettemason.livejournal.com]

to be fair, there's nothing in that interview about how rachel found out. i honestly don't know one way or the other, but i do know that when i read the news about her exit yesterday, i immediately checked her twitter and her last tweet from one hour previously mentioned nothing about the firing. which isn't to say that she didn't already know before that tweet and was simply remaining quiet until the official announcement, or that maybe the word came to her in that hour between the time i checked out her twitter. but since messer doesn't state explicitly that rachel was notified before the media was, we still don't know for sure.

[eiko82.livejournal.com]

That really sucks that she is going. I know that I'm a minority but I was really starting to like Seaver. I'm sad to see her go.

[murf1307.livejournal.com]

She's...she's leaving?

But. But.

*wails* This just keeps getting worse and worse! First they kill the spinoff and there's no proper ending -- just a Cliffie from Hell -- and now they're taking away my female eye-candy?

[blue-sunflowers.livejournal.com]

None of Erica's info is a shock, but pray no "loose ends" for Seaver. It's obvious Rachel wasn't gonna stick around what with Paget and AJ returning. The writers need to focus on the characters the audience actually cares about, not the half-season simpleton barely a handful of people liked. The show's better off without her. There are 7 other characters people would much rather watch. Rachel already got about 12 extra episodes than what she was originally hired for, so it's not like it was a bad run for her.

I'm happy CBS is fixing their awful decisions. The show wasn't broke until they broke it.

[just-chiara.livejournal.com]

I'm really REALLY happy that Paget is coming back, but also really REALLY sad to see Rachel leaving. I hope she'll get some other amazing part.

Side note: Having eight characters on Criminal Minds seemed unlikely.
Does this mean Thomas's contract is almost a done deal and they're positive they'll reach an agreement?

[moon-raven2.livejournal.com]

You kinda have to wonder why they did all this nonsense in the first place. Obviously they realized they'd made a mistake. Thank goodness.

[artistic-angle.livejournal.com]

Ha. Aj and Paget are back, so am I. I will have to get back to the iconing business soon. :D

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

From her mouth, she found out over twitter while on vacation.

[thecowboycliche.livejournal.com]

WOW.

Awful.

[the-gubette.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I couldn't really figure out how the reference article proved Rachel didn't find out on Twitter. Erica never said she got the balls to TELL Rachel she was fired. She just said it was a hard decision. Rachel made it pretty clear that she had no prior warning.

[artistic-angle.livejournal.com]

TBH I don't see it stated that it [twitter/internet] was an intended way to tell her. It comes with the times we are living, thanks to the internet things spread faster than fire. Also considering the fact that she was on vacation she might have been harder to reach (most people go on vacation to relax and get away). Anyway, that's not to say that this isn't unfortunate that she found out this way, just that it probably wasn't the way the information was meant to get to her.

[antoinettemason.livejournal.com]

that's what i was saying above. i don't see how anything said in that interview could be interpreted as to exactly how rachel found out about her firing. and since it's not like there hasn't been precedent of an actress learning over twitter, it wasn't hard to make the (correct) assumption.