What Happened To Shemar Moore After He Left Criminal Minds?
The actor switched from one procedural to another.
Criminal Minds lost one of its key characters in season 11 – Shemar Moore, known to show fans as FBI Special Agent Derek Morgan, left the show.
Thankfully, the writers did not kill off Moore's character, as is usually the case with actors who decide to leave the show. Instead, Derek Morgan simply made the decision to leave the FBI to spend more time with his family.
Shemar Moore has been with the show since season one, so his departure was unexpected and heartbreaking for many fans.
Other departures of main characters from the series were mostly accompanied by scandals: Mandy Patinkin, who played Agent Gideon, one day just didn't appear on the set, which shocked the show's creators.
The actor later admitted that he was not ready for the violence portrayed in each episode of the show, it affected his mental state, so he decided to leave the series without warning in the third season.
Thomas Gibson, who played beloved by many BAU leader Hotch, had a rather long history of breaking the law, such as drunk driving, and also used physical violence against members of the show more than once, which ended with his dismissal in season 12.
Shemar Moore, however, left without any conflict or drama – the actor decided that it was time for him to move on to new roles.
After leaving Criminal Minds, the actor joined the series S.W.A.T., where he plays Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson.
The actor also appeared in multiple episodes of the soap opera The Young and The Restless as a character named Malcolm Winters.
Shemar has taken up acting as well as voice acting, voicing Cyborg in the animated series The Death of Superman and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.
The fact that Moore's character Derek Morgan was not killed off in Criminal Minds allowed him to make several cameo appearances on the show, such as in the season 12 episode Red Light.
The reboot of original series, Criminal Minds: Evolution, has already been renewed for a second season, and fans are hoping to see the return of Derek Morgan.
Since S.W.A.T. has not yet been renewed for a seventh season and its fate is still unknown, there is little hope among fans that the actor will return to the role of a member of the BAU team, at least in a cameo.