Criminal Minds star Shemar Moore played Derek Morgan in the hit series for 11 seasons before leaving for other opportunities. The show would last for a few more years even after losing Moore, which was a testament to its popularity and staying power. However, long before Criminal Minds found its momentum, Moore didn’t even think Criminal Minds would last past its first episode.

Shemar Moore wasn’t sure fans would get ‘Criminal Minds’

Criminal Minds aired at a time when there were already several police procedurals populating television. Shows like Law & Order, NCIS, CSI, and others were satisfying the audience’s appetite for law enforcement drama when Moore’s show made its debut. However, Criminal Minds took a different approach to the familiar cop story by studying the minds and patterns of some of television’s most disturbing criminals. But although Moore had faith in the show’s quality, he wasn’t sure the series had a digestible premise.

“When I shot the pilot, I said, ‘This show’s not going to get picked up,’” he once told Assignment X. “
“Not because I didn’t think it was good, but I didn’t know what it was, I just knew it was another cop show and I was like, ‘There’s a hundred and two cop shows, why do they need a hundred and three?’”

The S.W.A.T. star couldn’t have been more wrong, and enjoyed a long and fulfilling television career thanks to the show’s success.

“And then we got picked up. I was like, ‘Great, I’ve got a job.’ I was happy to be an actor with a job. And then in Season 1, all of a sudden, we started to find our legs and find our own identity, and then by Season 2 and especially 3, I will never say that we’re the best show on television, or better than another show, but I will probably say that I believe that as far as network television goes, we are a very unique show,” he said.

Moore felt even greater pride in the series when it lasted as long as some of television’s most acclaimed shows like its rival Law & Order.

“I was just talking to Matt LeBlanc, and I told him, the running joke but truth is, not many people, not many actors, can say they’ve been on a top show for [eleven] years. So maybe we have to talk to the cast of Friends, the cast of Law & Order, Seinfeld, and that’s a small group. Now, I’m not comparing us to those shows, but our similarity is, we’re still here, and that’s a feat in itself, and I’m so proud to be a part of that. Because it’s changed my life, it’s enhanced my career, and it’s a notch on the belt,” he said.

‘Criminal Minds’ honored Shemar Moore’s 1 request for his character Derek Morgan

Moore might not have lasted as long as other series regulars who’d been on the show. But after fearing he was going to be killed off, he left Criminal Minds on good terms. This was because he genuinely enjoyed his character Derek Morgan, which he made sure was a role that would have some depth to it.

“In the early days, I said very adamantly to the writers and producers, ‘I don’t just want to be the tough guy who kicks down doors. As fun as that is, because it’s very fun to carry a gun and shoot the bad guys and beat them up and chase them through fire escapes and jump over cars and run into burning buildings and run out, I don’t just want to be the brawn. I want to have levels and layers,’” Moore said.

The writers did that and more by giving Morgan a compelling backstory while also making him three-dimensional.

“What I like about my character is, he comes off very alpha male and tough, like he could take anybody on, but he has vulnerabilities and he has weaknesses and he has charm. He’s a man’s man, he’s a real guy and the biggest compliment I get in the street, so to speak, is not, ‘Oh, I love your show’ or ‘You’re my favorite character,’ it’s, ‘I identify with your character and I love to watch your work.’ That’s a compliment,” he said.