Shemar Moore Will Return to Criminal Minds for the Season 12 Finale

Moore exited the CBS series in March of 2016.

By Lauren Piester Mar 16, 2017 7:26 PMTags
Shemar MooreMike Coppola/Getty Images

Derek Morgan is coming back to the BAU. 

After exiting Criminal Minds almost exactly a year ago, Shemar Moore is making his return to the CBS drama to guest star in the season 12 finale. 

According to CBS, the episode brings Morgan back with a lead in the case against Mr. Scratch, the serial killer and escaped convict the team has been chasing for nearly three seasons. The episode will air Wednesday, May 10 at 9 p.m. on CBS. 

When we last saw Morgan, he had just nearly died after being abducted and tortured, and had decided to leave the team to focus on his new wife, Savannah (Rochelle Aytes) and their newborn baby. 

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Moore was the second original cast member to leave Criminal Minds, after Mandy Patinkin. At the time, he compared his time on the show to college, saying he was ready for grad school. "I'm very happy with what I've accomplished, but I want to take another step," he told E! News. "I'm just hungry like that. I want to see what else I can do."

Moore's exit was also not the only shake up the show dealt with in 2016. Thomas Gibson, who had also been with the show since it debuted in 2005, was fired in August after an on-set altercation with a producer. His character, Hotch, quit the FBI and went into witness protection in order to protect his family from the aforementioned Mr. Scratch. 

Criminal Minds airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBS.