“I got to kiss Joe Mantegna.” When TV Insider brings up her arc on Criminal Minds: Evolution while talking to Felicity Huffman about Doc, on which she is now a series regular, that’s her immediate reaction.
“That’s pretty much all I said for like two weeks. They were like, ‘Hi, what are you up to?’ And I was like, ‘I get to kiss Joey Mantegna,’” she laughs.
Huffman recurred in the 17th season of the Paramount+ drama; it aired for 15 on CBS before the sequel debuted on the streaming service. (It’s now heading into Season 19.) She played Dr. Jill Gideon, ex-wife of Mandy Patinkin‘s Jason. She also had major history — and a bit of a present — with Mantegna’s David Rossi. They reconnected when the BAU had to turn to her upon learning their UnSubs that season had a connection to the team’s early days, back when those three were involved. Rossi and Gideon had credit on the paper the Gold Star program used to find its candidates, while, back then, Jill had to stay in the shadows.
Though Jill did blame Rossi for Gideon’s death, she apologized and explained that she’d been mad that he left while her husband wouldn’t — because she knew the job would kill him. Jill then kissed Rossi as a distraction to get him to leave so she could bait one of the UnSubs into taking her so she could talk to him. Huffman was last seen in the penultimate episode of Season 17. Could we see her again?
“I don’t know. I actually wrote, and I was like, ‘Can I come back on?’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s see what’s going on.’ We’ll see,” she tells TV Insider. “But that’s a lovely show. And what great people. Gosh, I’ve had such great luck that show and this show [Doc], it’s a very small boat, so you want to make sure you fill it with lovely people.”
Do you want to see Felicity Huffman return as Jill Gideon to Criminal Minds: Evolution? Let us know in the comments section below.
Criminal Minds: Evolution, Season 19, TBA, Paramount+