O.G. Criminal Minds fans are in for a treat!
The 2024 Hulu mystery series Death and Other Details has a surprise for followers of the long-running crime drama. Not only is the new show led by BAU alum Mandy Patinkin, but Jayne Atkinson, who portrays Chief Erin Strauss in the original Criminal Minds series and the Evolution spin-off, also plays a crucial role. In fact, the two share a scene together early on!
Premiering January 16, 2024, Death and Other Details follows famous detective Rufus Cotesworth (Patinkin) and Imogene (Violett Beane) — a woman from his past — as they attempt to solve the mysterious death of a wealthy man while on a cruise.
Atkinson joins the cast as Katherine Collier, the snobbish wife of a powerful businessman.
After the death, every passenger on the cruise becomes a suspect, and the stakes are high for Detective Cotesworth as he is pressed for time to prove Imogene’s innocence because she doesn’t have a solid alibi.
The second episode of the series, called “Sordid,” sees the detective questioning the Collier family, including Katherine — paving the way to a shocking Criminal Minds reunion, given Patinkin’s rocky history with the show.
Patinkin was in the original cast of the CBS procedural drama as BAU founder Jason Gideon when it premiered in 2005. However, newer fans might not recognize him. The stage and screen actor had a controversial departure from the show in 2007, before the start of the third season; Patinkin would later state that starring in the show was the “biggest public mistake” he’s made in his career.
In the same interview with New York Magazine, Patinkin said about Criminal Minds, “I thought it was something very different. I never thought they were going to kill and rape all these women every night, every day, week after week, year after year. It was very destructive to my soul and my personality. After that, I didn’t think I would get to work in television again.”
Criminal Minds aired for a total of 15 seasons until 2020, and was then revived for a spin-off series called Criminal Minds: Evolution, which premiered on Paramount+ in 2022.
Atkinson made her debut in Criminal Minds in the Season 2 episode “No Way Out Part II: The Evilution of Frank,” and went on to frequent more episodes, including Patinkin’s final appearances in Season 3, “Doubt” and “In Name of Blood”.
Due to the tension surrounding Patinkin’s departure, watching the acclaimed actor share the small screen with Atkinson again was a surprise. When Patinkin, himself, reflected on his handling of the situation in 2013, he told New York Times that he wrote apology notes to his cast mates and returned to film a final scene, but that didn’t stop a producer from to comparing him to “the father who goes out for a carton of milk and then just never comes home.”
The show replaced Patinkin with Joe Mantegna as “BAU founding father” David Rossi, who went on to reprise his role in Evolution, which is gearing up for its second season.
Despite being over 15 years too late, the reunion provides some long-awaited emotional relief for Criminal Minds fans, in addition to being a sweet touch for the new series.
Death and Other Details is currently streaming on Hulu.
https://nypost.com/feed
