Shemar Moore Finally Explained Why He Left Criminal Minds — And It’s Heartbreaking

Why Did Shemar Moore Leave ‘Criminal Minds’?

Image via CBS

In the show, Morgan’s Season 11 arc sees him fighting for his life on multiple occasions, and eventually he decides to leave the BAU to focus on his new family with his wife and child. Moore, on the other hand, left Criminal Minds for different reasons, and he explains them during an interview with TV Guide. Essentially, he felt like his time on the show had reached a natural conclusion, and he was excited to pursue other acting opportunities. “I’ve treated my acting career like school. The Young and the Restless: eight years. [That was] high school. Criminal Minds: college,” Moore described. “Now I’m ready for grad school, a Ph.D., whatever you want to call it. I’m just ready to grow.”

Moore further explains, “I wanted to see what the next chapter of my acting career is and also have a little balance so I could pursue other avenues of my life. I want to get married, I want to have kids, I want to travel.” So, there is some overlap between his and Morgan’s reasons for exiting the show. However, with the main reason being to see what’s next for his career, Moore did manage to find his “grad school” acting role as the lead of his own TV series, S.W.A.T. A year after turning in his FBI badge, Moore began his role as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson in 2017, where he joins the LAPD to once again fight against dangerous criminals. The show’s eighth season just aired in 2025, but it has been cancelled for the third and final time, giving hope to fans that he may want to dabble in college (Criminal Minds) again. But a spin-off with Moore’s Hondo still in the lead has been greenlit, putting a damper on this hope.

Can Shemar Moore Return to ‘Criminal Minds’?

With his long-running project being cancelled, Moore may have more leeway to return to Criminal Minds, and willing it to happen may not just be fanciful thinking. Even in that 2016 interview with TV Guide, Moore expressed his openness to returning to the series. “Erica Messer [showrunner] refused to kill Derek Morgan,” Moore says. “Those elevator doors closed. Am I going to sign a long-term contract? Probably not. But if they ask me to come back and dance, yes, I would be willing to do that. [But] not right away.” It’s a sentiment he maintains as, even in a 2024 interview with TV Insider, Moore, he says “all [he] needs is an invitation” since he will “never forget where [he] came from.”

Since then, Moore has made guest appearances on the show, further supporting his openness to revisiting Criminal Minds. In the Season 12 finale, Morgan returns briefly to the BAU with a major lead for their case, helping them track down the elusive and formidable serial killer, Mr. Scratch. However, in Season 13, Episode 5, “Lucky Strikes”, Morgan makes a more meaningful return, where he helps Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), who is reliving the trauma that the episodic case brings to the surface. Seeing the iconic, flirty friendship being reunited was a delight to fans everywhere, but it was also the last time Moore was able to reprise his role.

However, in a 2024 interview with TVLine, Messer cites scheduling conflicts with S.W.A.T. as the reason they weren’t able to have Moore on the team for Evolution Season 2. As such, the show’s cancellation may increase the likelihood of Moore making an appearance, although the spin-off could also cause the same scheduling conflicts.

Derek Morgan Should Not Return to ‘Criminal Minds’ As a Regular

Like how Gubler made a brief appearance in the latest season of Evolution, Moore’s potential return to the series would pack a hell of a nostalgic punch. Hearing the word “babygirl” come out of him again and seeing Garcia’s heartfelt response is something any Criminal Minds fan would beg for. As a guest star, Moore would be a sentimental and invaluable addition to the team, but reprising his role as a series regular would not make much sense. Given his new spin-off, it is less likely to happen, but the idea of him reprising his role holistically would also just not be beneficial to Criminal Minds.

This may be a crime to say, but the show has unexpectedly but effectively replaced Morgan’s role in the team. Of course, there will always be one Derek Morgan and his character, for all its nostalgia, is irreplaceable, but his function in the team is well and truly replaced. Now, Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez), Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler), and even Jennifer “JJ” Jareau (A.J. Cook) embody the more physical roles in the team, where they mainly operate on the field and provide the muscle — the role Morgan used to have. Even Garcia has built a fun rapport with Alvez and rookie Tyler Green (James-Ryan Hatanaka). While it is incomparable to Morgan’s relationship with Garcia, it somewhat fills that role, too. With the cast as big and evolved as it is now, bringing Morgan back to the BAU just doesn’t make as much sense anymore.

Beyond being a symbol of nostalgia, Derek Morgan simply wouldn’t fit into the team properly as a series regular. However, nearly ten years after he left the show, we could never refuse the opportunity to see Morgan grace the screen again, at least in a guest star capacity.