Joe Mantegna, who has been nominated for multiple Emmys over the course of his career, has agreed to replace Mandy Patinkin on the CBS drama Criminal Minds. Patinkin, who held the lead role on Criminal Minds for the show's first two seasons, abruptly left the series just as production on the third season was set to begin, citing creative differences. After scrambling to find a replacement, a search that reportedly included Harvey Keitel among its candidates, producers announced over the weekend that they have agreed to terms with Mantegna.
The casting change marks a unique convergence of pop culture icons. Patinkin is perhaps best known for his role as Inigo Montoya in the classic film The Princess Bride, while Mantegna's work includes his voice work as Fat Tony on The Simpsons and his Bill Swersky role on Saturday Night Live as one of the original "Superfans". In addition, his SNL monologue was punctuated with a renowned Joe Montana joke. This casting change, therefore, marks the first time in memory that one of the dozens of interchangeably tedious network police procedurals has approached relevance in the realm of pop culture, a moment that is sure to be unique and fleeting.
You can read more about Mantegna's hiring here, if you really want to.
[Image credit: © MGM/UA]
