“Criminal Minds” is one of the most enduring crime formats on television (alongside “NCIS”) (even though the series took a nearly three-year hiatus and then returned under the title “Criminal Minds: Evolution”). Anyone who is a fan of the series will likely have one character in particular close to their hearts: Detective William LaMontagne Jr. He has been played by Josh Stewart since the second season. But as the actor has now announced via X (formerly Twitter), he is now leaving the series for good.
When asked by a Josh Stewart replied: “Unfortunately not. My days as William LaMontagne Jr. are over. You are the absolute best!”
Josh Stewart has been one of the series’ recurring actors since the second season of “Criminal Minds”, appearing in at least one episode in every season (with the exception of seasons 6 and 10). In the two-part season 7 finale, Will married Special Agent JJ Jareau (AJ Cook). In the first season of “Criminal Minds: Evolution” (or season 16 of “Criminal Minds”), he revealed to JJ that he feared he had cancer. In the end it turned out to be “just” a thyroid infection.
The fact that Josh Stewart has now announced his departure from ‘Criminal Minds’ could indicate that William LaMontagne Jr. will still die and is written out of the series without reappearing. We’ll find out if that’s the case when the new episodes come out. A date is still unclear. Filming for the 17th season only started this week.
The episodes of the first season “Criminal Minds: Evolution” are currently shown in a double package every Tuesday evening on Saturday 1. If you want to watch the entire season in one go, you can do so with a Disney+ subscription. The new episodes of “Evolution” will start there first in the future.