The Untold Truth of Why Shemar Moore Left 'Criminal Minds'

Introduction

Shemar Moore played Derek Morgan on the CBS crime drama, Criminal Minds. He has been in Hollywood for more than two decades, specializing on the small screen, though he has a number of films under his belts. He joined the cast in 2005, had 11 explosive seasons before leaving in 2016. Now he plays Sergeant Daniel 'Hondo' Harrelson on another crime drama series, S.W.A.T.

With Criminal Minds returning for its 15th and final season set to air between 2019 and 2020, the showrunner, Erica Messer has mentioned the possibility of bringing back former characters including Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin), Aaron 'Hotch' Hotchner (Thomas Gibson), and B.A.U. heartthrob, Morgan (Shemar Moore) for a final run. While the news is refreshing, let's explore the real reason Moore left in the first place.

Why Did Shemar Moore Leave Criminal Minds?

After playing Malcolm Winters for 8 years in the long-running series, Young and Restless, Shemar Moore landed the role of the rugged F.B.I. agent Derek Morgan in the CBS crime drama, Criminal Minds. 11 seasons and 251 episodes after, he turned in his badge, leaving many a wet eye. Morgan bid his farewell in March 2016, on a season 11 episode titled A Beautiful Disaster.

Moore was cast in the seventh pilot of the show as the hunky profiler, Derek Morgan, who wasn't afraid to chase down the most dangerous serial killers in the country, in 2005. Fans crushed on him and were crushed when he left the bureau. While Derek had an emotional last season on the show which saw him kidnapped, nearly killed, found out his girlfriend and future wife, Savannah (Rochelle Aytes) was pregnant, thankfully, the writers were easy on our hearts — they didn’t kill him off. He left the bureau to take care of his family.

For his role in the series, he earned an Image Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series in 2015 as well as a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Crime Drama TV Actor in 2016. Moreover, his character was included in TV Guide's list of TV's Sexiest Crime Fighters.

Why Did He Leave the Long-Running Series?

After his pregnant wife was shot on a former episode, though she and their baby survive, Agent Morgan saw the need to leave to take care of his family. On the procedural, Moore left the show for the same reason Morgan did, to care for his family. Find out if the hunk of an actor is married.

Moore has always taken his acting career serious and according to him, treated it like a school. For him, Young and Restless was high school, Criminal Minds, college, and now, he's ready for graduate school. While money, a quest for stardom, contract termination, and hostility could be possible reasons why the actor left the show, on the contrary, his reasons include the need to fuel his creativity, grow personally, try new things, and find out what else he is capable of.

While Moore was leaving the show, he wasn't sure what opportunities lie ahead of him or what was going to happen. As it were, he told TV Guide that he was ready to grow and just wanted to leap, and even though he doesn't know where he'll land, he believes that he's definitely going to land. He landed a regular role in another CBS crime drama show, S.W.A.T. as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson shortly after he left the BAU.

Will He Return for Criminal Minds' Final Season?

Shemar Moore was one of the actors who left the show on very good terms with both the producers and CBS and is thus open to returning to Criminal Minds if the producers ever ask him to come back. He is thankful for the series, noting that therein, he not only grew as a person but also as an actor. It also introduced him to producing. Moore co-produced a movie titled The Bounce Back in which he also co-starred in.

For not killing his character on the show, Shemar Moore said he would go back and salute just like he did in Young and Restless. He was in season 12 finale and also appeared once more in season 13. As earlier noted, there’s a pretty good chance he would be in the final season, to be a part of the show's goodbye.