‘Criminal Minds’: Will Shemar Moore’s Derek Morgan Return for Tonight’s Series Finale?

While a number of former Criminal Minds stars will be making an appearance in Wednesday night’s two-part series finale, one will be sitting it out. Shemar Moore, who played Derek Morgan on the CBS procedural from 2005 to 2016, won’t be reprising his role. In an interview with TVLine, showrunner Erica Messer revealed why the actor wasn’t able to make it back to the set.

“I’ve been asked if Shemar is coming back, and it’s [a] no,” Messer began. “He’s very busy shooting S.W.A.T. Again, I wanted to be able to acknowledge the history of the series, certainly in that finale, and was able to do it in a different way.”

Messer also teased the meaning of the finale’s title, “And in the End,” as well as the show’s connection to The Fab Four.

“It will all be clear in the final 10 minutes of the series,” Messer said. “‘And in the end… the love you take is equal to the love you make…’ Those were the final lyrics ever recorded by The Beatles, a group the characters always loved.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Moore posted on Instagram that his mother, Marilyn Joan Wilson-Moore, had passed away on Feb. 8 at the age of 76.

“Marilyn Joan Wilson-Moore, my mother, best friend, and partner in crime passed away Feb 8th at 76 years old,” Moore began. “I miss her more than I ever thought possible and I don’t know how to do this life without her …. but I get my strength from her and I will be okay because of HER,” Moore wrote in the caption.

While Criminal Minds may be coming to an end after 15 seasons, co-star Matthew Gray Gubler recently teased that the show might find a way to live on in some form or another.

“I know that everything has its time and I’m in no way sad that the show is closing because I feel like we’ve done it beautifully, and I feel like there are roots there for it to re-hatch later,” Gubler told TVLine. “I kind of liken it to if you go to a concert, at a certain point the band has to leave the stage in order to have an encore. It’s just the natural progression.”

The two-part Criminal Minds series finale will kick off on CBS Wednesday, Feb. 19 with “Face Off” at 9 p.m. ET. “And in the End” will follow up immediately afterward at 10 p.m. ET. Subscribers to CBS All-Access can also stream the episodes live.