Criminal Minds is notable for its revolving cast, but one of the best main characters was nearly lost after only the pilot episode. The first episode of Criminal Minds introduced viewers to the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), which consisted of Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin), Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson), Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore), Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini), and tech analyst Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness). While two of the main cast members would be gone before Criminal Minds season 3, the rest of the original characters were able to establish themselves as beloved figures throughout the majority of the 15-season series.
One of the best aspects of Criminal Minds that was established within the first two episodes is the dynamic between enelope Garcia and Derek Morgan, who would remain on the show until season 11 and the series finale, respectively. While the series would be missing an incredible part of its character relationships after Shemar Moore left, Criminal Minds still maintained the great presence of Penelope Garcia until the series’ final moments. As one of only three cast members to remain on the show from the pilot until the finale, Kirsten Vangsness’s Garcia is considered one of Criminal Minds’ best characters, but she wasn’t originally supposed to have such a substantial arc.
Vangsness revealed that she was originally only slated to appear in Criminal Minds’ pilot episode (via Parade), which would have meant losing out on not only the beloved Garcia-Morgan banter, but also on one of the show’s best characters after just one episode. Thankfully, the producers of Criminal Minds decided to bring Vangsness back for the second episode of season 1, with the table read becoming the start of the show’s greatest recurring bit. Vangsness recalled that after the table read for episode 2, only Criminal Minds‘ main cast was supposed to stay to watch a video about sexual harassment, but Vangsness, as only a guest star in the first two episodes, still decided to stay and sit next to Shemar Moore. The two began joking around during the meeting, not realizing that the writers were picking up on their natural chemistry.
Following the table read for Criminal Minds season 1, episode 2, Vangsness received a call that she had new script pages with re-writes that included the same type of banter she and Moore had done at the reading. The platonic flirtations between Garcia and Morgan became one of the greatest aspects of Criminal Minds, which never would have happened had Vangsness not been invited back for the episode 2 table read. Similarly, had she not stayed and joked around with Moore, it’s possible her Criminal Minds character would have been phased out of the series without a real plan for Garcia. Vangsness herself mentioned that she “wouldn’t have this job if it wasn’t for Shemar,” suggesting that Garcia may have only had a two-episode stint without their real-life chemistry.
Understanding that Vangsness and Moore’s chemistry is just as natural off-screen as it is on-screen makes the relationship between Garcia and Morgan all the more special on Criminal Minds, especially since it was the driving factor in saving Garcia’s character. To support just how different Criminal Minds could have been without their series-changing chemistry, Penelope Garcia ended up appearing in every episode of Criminal Minds but one, which is more than any other character in the series. After her significant role on all 15 seasons of the original show, Kirsten Vangsness’s Penelope Garcia is also slated to return in the Criminal Minds season 16 reboot for Paramount+, though her appearance is likely to be missing the Derek Morgan banter if Shemar Moore declines to reprise his role.
