SueTube – Let’s talk TV with critic Susan Young

We’re not saying anything against Mandy Patinkin, we’ll let his co-stars like Shemar Moore do that.

Shemar railed against Mandy when he decided to simply not show up for work, quitting and leaving the cast and crew in the lurch.

“I don’t think it’s right. He left us hanging… no warning, no nothing. We all showed up to work on Day 1, and he didn’t,” a testy Shemar told a group of reporters during a CBS party last month. “He needs to take responsibility for his actions. (We’re) an ensemble, a team. We just want the courtesy and the respect that we deserve. And we felt like if he had given us that initially, this would be much easier to deal with. He essentially just slapped us in the face.”

Mandy will never work in this town again. Except maybe. Because he quit CBS’ “Chicago Hope” in 1995 after one season, then returned in 1999 for the final season. And CBS execs say he’ll come back to do at least a scene that ties up his character.

But enough about the old, now we’ve got the new: Joe Mantegna will join the cast as FBI Special Agent David Rossi, making his first appearance in the fifth episode of the season.

Here’s our Joe!

“We are all THRILLED (yep, they used capitals in the press release) to have Joe Mantegna joining our family. He’s an incredible actor, a genuinely nice person and, as a fellow Chicagoan, I can tell you he makes fantastic Italian Beef sandwiches and Chicago Style Hot Dogs,” said Executive Producer Ed Bernero.

Special Agent Rossi is an original member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit who took early retirement to go on lecture and book tours, and has volunteered to return to the unit.

Joe wowed us this summer in the miniseries “The Starter Wife,” which earned him an Emmy nomination. He also won a Tony Award for her performance in “Glengarry Glen Ross.”

His credits include the CBS series “Joan of Arcadia,” and we’d like to note that he has never once walked off a TV series.

All anyone really wants to know is why he stuck around as long as he did.

Mandy Patinkin asked to be let out of his contract with ABC Studios and CBS, so he can leave the wildly successful CBS series “Criminal Minds.”

MANDY PATINKIN

In a statement from the studio and network, the word was that this was “not in any way connected to contract renegotiations or salary issues. His departure from the series will be explained to audiences in an episode to be filmed in the near future and broadcast early next season.

“We thank Mandy for helping to make Criminal Minds a strong and successful series, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. A new character will be added to the series for next season.”

As for Patinkin, his statement reads, in part:

“Due to creative differences, Mandy has asked not to return to Criminal Minds this season. Mandy would like to thank the studios and network for releasing him from the series and he wishes the cast and crew continued success in all of their endeavors and looks forward to continuing to work with the Disney and CBS companies in other capacities in the future.”

“This isn’t the first time,” deadpans Adam Arkin, who co-starred with Patinkin on the CBS series “Chicago Hope” and happened to be in the position of chatting about Patinkin when he appeared on a panel in front of TV critics gathered at the summer press tour.

Patinkin quit CBS’ “Chicago Hope” in 1995 after one season, then returned in 1999 for the final season. Critics gathered in Los Angeles for the summer TV critics press tour figured something was up with Patinkin when he was a no-show for a PBS panel.