Many fans of Criminal Minds are already aware that CBS has a spinoff headed to TV this season. It’s called Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, and characters from the upcoming series helped out Agent Hotchner and the rest of the gang during an episode this past TV season. Anna Gunn starred in the original episode, but on Monday, we learned that Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders has found another female lead. Forever’s Alana De La Garza has just signed on for the TV drama.
When the spinoff got picked up to series, we learned that it would be doing so with Gary Sinise still in the lead. Unfortunately, Anna Gunn, who played a linguist and international law expert in the initial backdoor pilot episode, was not considered to be a good fit for the drama and was dropped. Since Gunn’s character was seen as redundant by the folks over at CBS, it should come as no surprise that Alana De La Garza will be playing a very different character. TV Line is noting that De La Garza’s character will be called Clara, and she’ll be the anthropologist on the Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders team. She’s also described as well traveled.
The show does have another female on board. Annie Funke will play Mae, the medical examiner within the team. Rounding out the cast is Tyler James Williams, formerly of The Walking Dead and Big Hero 6’s Daniel Henney.
De La Garza should certainly know her way around a procedural. About a decade ago, the actress played an ADA on Law & Order while simultaneously playing a romantic interest on CSI: Miami. She later graduated to playing lead character Jo Martinez on ABC’s Forever, but when that series was cancelled following its Season 1 finale, De La Garza was obviously looking for work. Beyond Borders should theoretically be a great fit for the actress, considering her TV background.
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders will, in a lot of ways, be like its predecessor. However, there will be some notable changes. The series is going international, and will feature a team of professionals who are helping Americans who get into trouble while abroad. The backdoor episode featured a family that was kidnapped while on vacation and the team came in to save the day, with a little help from Hotch and company. So far, we haven’t heard whether or not CBS has any crossover episodes planned for Criminal Minds and Beyond Borders, but with the popularity of such episodes in this day and age, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the shows cross over at some point. That is, provided Beyond Borders is a hit with audiences.
