Why did Thomas Gibson leave Criminal Minds? Reason behind the actor's exit from the show explained

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 is available for streaming, with season 3 also confirmed. The latest revival slash sequel, which premiered on June 6, brought out some characters from the early days of the program. Felicity Huffman made a surprise guest appearance as Dr. Jill Gideon, while viewers also saw Matthew Gray Gubler's Dr. Spencer Reid.

One character, who fans have wanted back in the police procedural show for many years, though, didn't happen — Thomas Gibson's Aaron Hotchner.

Gibson's character was last spotted early in Season 12 of the OG series before the actor was fired and his character was written out of the show. The reason was his problematic on-set behavior.

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Was Thomas Gibson fired from Criminal Minds?

Thomas Gibson's Agent Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner was the unit chief of Quantico's Behavioral Analysis Unit. Well, at least, he was the boss but was written off the script fairly early in Criminal Minds Season 12.

The gist is that after a serial killer stalked his son, Jack, he went into the Witness Protection Program. But instead of returning to the BAU after the events, he chose to become a full-time father to his son after the ordeal.

However, behind the scenes, Gibson was dismissed from the long-running CBS show in August 2016 after he had an on-set altercation with one of the writer-producers of the show, which turned physical. While that incident sparked his suspension from the series, his problematic on-set behavior has been widely reported.

Before the physical altercation with the unnamed writer-producer, Deadline reported in August 2016 that the actor had a dispute with one of the show's assistant directors as well. That incident forced the actor to attend a mandatory anger management programme.

Talking about the incident that led to his suspension, Gibson told Deadline in a statement:

"There were creative differences on the set and a disagreement. I regret that it occurred. We all want to work together as a team to make the best show possible. We always have, and we always will."

Apart from his immediate suspension from Criminal Minds, it also ended his directing stint on the show. At the time, Thomas Gibson has directed six episodes across Seasons 8, 9, 10 and 11.

Thomas Gibson's Agent Hotch was last seen in Criminal Minds Season 12 Episode 2, titled "Sick Day," although it took four more episodes to completely write off his character in the series.

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Will Thomas Gibson's Agent Hotch return in the upcoming Season 3 of the Criminal Minds reboot?

Besides Gibson's tainted working history, there's no stopping him from reprising his role as Agent Hotch in the reboot of the police procedural show. Based on his storyline from the OG series, Hotch is still very much alive. He just chose family life over his work in the BAU.

Gibson's TikTok video in June also sparked hope for fans for a possible Criminal Mindsreturn. He talked about the show in the video and how his character Agent Hotch loves Emily Prentiss (played by Paget Brewster), now a core BAU member in the reboot.

Nevertheless, there's no confirmed news or any inkling that he would return for the upcoming Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3. While his character remains well-loved and respected in the BAU and some fans are still hopeful that he will return, the series has been successful without Thomas Gibson.

Season 3 for the reboot was confirmed a day before the Season 2 premiere on June 6. No news about when it will come out yet has been announceed, but production is scheduled to start before 2024 ends.

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Catch all 17 seasons of Criminal Minds on Paramount+, with the first 15 seasons also available for streaming on Hulu.