Looks like Harvey Keitel won't be returning to television anytime soon.

Rumors had pegged the former Bad Lieutenant star Harvey Keitel as a lock for being the replacement for outbound Criminal Minds linchpin Mandy Patinkin, who very publicly decided to depart the series at the start of the upcoming season. (Coincidentally, I've been watching Patinkin in the first season of Showtime's Dead Like Me these past few days.)

However, Criminal Minds show runner Ed Bernero has instead announced (via the Criminal Minds Fanatic blog) that Joe Mantegna will join the cast of the police procedural next season. Details about the new character that Mantegna will play and when said character will first premiere remain under wraps.

The reason behind the switcheroo? Negotiations with Keitel went nowhere and producers were forced to look elsewhere for a new series lead. Mantegna for his part has appeared on the Tiffany network several times in the last few years, appearing on Joan of Arcadia, First Monday, telepic A Very Married Christmas, and miniseries The Last Don.

Let's just hope that the Criminal Minds gang's first task isn't to take down "Fat Tony" and his nefarious Springfield crime syndicate. That's a little too much meta, even for my taste.

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Jace is an LA-based television development and acquisitions exec who watches way too much television for his own good and would love a TiVo for every room in the house. (He’s halfway there.) His blog, Televisionary, can be found at televisionaryblog.com.

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