"Criminal Minds" season 12 is one of CBS's most profitable shows but it recently fell from its flagship status. With Thomas Gibson and Shemar Moore leaving the show almost at the same time, the crime-drama series' ratings took a plunge, and things are not looking better.
'Criminal Minds' Season 12 Dwindling Ratings
GameNGuide already reported that fans were calling for Thomas Gibson (Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner) to return to "Criminal Minds" season 12 following the debut of Damon Gupton (Stephen Walker) last week. Gupton stood as Gibson's replacement after he left the second episode of season 12. Reports claim that Gibson had a spat with co-executive producer and writer Virgil Williams over creative differences.
More so, "Criminal Minds" season 12 saw the departure of Shemar Moore at the end of season 11. This definitely spelled disaster for the CBS flagship series and new reports claim that the ratings prove it. To recall, the series with Thomas Gibson and Shemar Moore saw stellar ratings in Season 10.
Could Thomas Gibson and Shemar Moore's departure mark the end of "Criminal Minds? For a show that premiered in 2005 with over 19 million viewers, it's sad to see ratings below 8 million in Season 12. Ratings remained relatively consistent for years, but now there's been a significant change.
'Criminal Minds' Season 12 Dwindling Ratings
Even with Thomas Gibson and Shemar Moore in Season 11, the series already experienced a slight dip. Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, Kirsten Vangsness and Matthew Gray Gubler were raking in big bucks for the networks. Now it seems that the remaining cast won't be doing the same thing on "Criminal Minds" season 12.
The "Criminal Minds" season 12 viewership isn't just based on The United States either. In the days of Thomas Gibson and Shemar Moore, ratings for the show in Europe were quite exciting. In 2013, the CBS crime-drama series was the fourth most profitable show in Europe. It seems that fans calling to boycott the show using the hashtag #NoHotchNoWatch are becoming successful.