Criminal Minds Vet Josh Stewart ‘Sadly’ Announces His Exit — What Does This Mean for JJ’s Husband Will?
Though all of Criminal Minds: Evolution‘s series regulars are returning for Season 2, one longtime recurring player will be — conspicuously? ominously? — MIA.
Josh Stewart, who made his debut as NOPD detective William LaMontagne Jr. way back in Season 2 of the original CBS crime drama, announced on X Wednesday that “sadly, my days of playing Will LaMontagne Jr. are over.”
He then added a note to inquiring fans, “You guys have been the absolute best.”
Paramount+ reps did not immediately respond to TVLine’s request for comment on Stewart’s social media post.
After making his debut as Will in Criminal Minds Season 2, Stewart popped up at least once almost every season — including, and vero notably, in the two-part Season 7 finale, in which Will and Special Agent JJ Jareau (played by franchise vet A.J. Cook) tied the knot. (The two LEOs had met while working the aforementioned Season 2 case in New Orleans.)
In the Evolution revival’s first season, which was able to spend more time with the BAU agents at home, Stewart appeared in nine out of 10 episodes, as Will confided in wife JJ his concern that he had cancer.
Will’s cancer scare was inspired by a similar ordeal that cast member Cook’s real-life husband Nathan went through in 2019.
“It’s based on a true-life illness that we wanted to honor,” showrunner Erica Messer told TVLine. “We wanted to plant that seed now.”
Luckily for Will, it turned out he only had a treatable, inflamed thyroid, so “next [season], hopefully, he’s going to be OK,” Messer said. “But” — and that but looms very large now — “he’s not necessarily out of the woods forever.”
Concurrent with his occasional appearances on Criminal Minds, Stewart has had roles on USA Network’s Shooter series and Netflix’s The Punisher. His pre-Criminal Minds TV credits include Third Watch, Dirt, No Ordinary Family and The Waking Dead: Webisodes.
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So sad to hear he’s leaving. Hope he gets a good send off!
That does not bode well. I see lots of tears in my future. Damn!! I liked him and I liked them together. And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. DO NOT put JJ and Spenser (should Matthew Reid come back) together. They should not be love interests … they are more like brother and sister. Regardless of what happened in the originals final season.
I agree. JJ telling Reid that she loved him during their kidnapping came out of left field.
Just please don’t pair up JJ with Reid if he comes back. I’m still not over the cringe of season 15.
My guess is that they went so heavy with him/JJ’s home life last season that they’re moving onto a different home life this season. But that does sound very final.
Another unnecessary exit. I still want Hotch back, too.
Hotch isn’t ever coming back…fired for cause
People do get second chances if they prove they’ve changed. I hope he’s had a lot of anger management therapy.
Me too…..Don’t get me wrong, Prentiss is a good leader, but it was just something about Hotch that made the team click better….
Hotch is my fav team member. It’s really not the same without him. It just doesn’t click.
Well fanservice pandering has begun. My guess Reid will be JJs rebound. Hope it will be an offscreen relationship like Street and Chris on SWAT.
Please not another death. I mean…seriously, does every single character have to lose a love interest/spouse. I know this is drama but that is just absurd. It’s also lazy writing.
Hopefully he is just off camera.
I hope so too. He can go on assignment and if we need to see JJ outside of work it can be her adapting to empty nesting with the kids moving on to college-age and could tell in interesting story about other kinds of work/life balance – CM has so often been BAU/family and crossing the streams, we don’t get much of anything but dating/family/kids or Life V Death Title Rematch, seeing JJ and Emily out drinking more, or contrasting like, suburban mom cooking classes and book club with a complex victim exchange ring would be on brand but acknowledge that these characters have, like, personalities.
I loved his character and the portrayal of Will throughout the original series. i liked Will and JJ together. I’ve enjoyed Josh’s work in other series as well. I echo another commenter in saying I hope they don’t make this an excuse to put JJ and Reid together. I’ll miss Will.
Aw, that’s a shame. Here’s hoping the decision was his call, at least, and that he gets a good send-off, however they write him out.
No!!! I always liked Will and thought it was great that he and JJ made their relationship work all these years. Please don’t let this be a setup to JJ and Reid. In fact, don’t kill Will off, just don’t show him and let JJ mention him
Noooooo!!! There have been rumors for a long while that they might kill him off, but I was hoping it would never happen. I love him with JJ!
One would ask will the two people who have confessed to loving each other now come together? My guess is no. Mr. Gubler has expressed no interest in returning, and this is probably the last season (for real) of CM. Paramount said 2 seasons…. So, now what? I wish she would pack up the kids and find Hotch! They were the two I wished were together!
Not fussed TBH, their home life stuff was very weak and distracted from what the show should be about.
A lot of veteran series, especially on CBS and Paramount+, have been cutting back cast members and series regulars to reduce costs. With Zach Gilford, last year’s unsub, returning as a regular, a new unsub coming aboard, and possibly even Matthew Gray Gubler making an appearance, it’s likely the producers had to make cuts to meet their limited budget with such a large cast. It’s possible JJ’s family life won’t play as big of a role in Season 2.
I always liked his character but got annoyed how much time was spent on JJ’s marriage last season.
Unless Matthew Gray Gubler resumes his role as Dr. Spencer Reid, I’m not paying extra to watch these streaming episodes. Luckily for me, my TV service allows me to be able to rewatch the original series.
No Will can’t leave! I have been a fan for this whole series and can’t imagine no Will!
I hope that nothing bad happens to Will and that he and JJ don’t break up. It’s entirely possible to keep them together w/o having Will be seen on screen. I hate that the writers of these shows don’t like to write happy couples and don’t like to have more than one canon couple on the show at the same time.
Not a fan of Prentiss in the lead at all. JJ would have been a better choice.
They need a “decision” on Will in the show, unless I missed it.
I’m almost bored with the show at this point