Thomas Gibson's time on CBS' Criminal Minds has come to an end. 
 
 "Thomas Gibson has been dismissed from Criminal Minds. Creative details for how the character's exit will be addressed in the show will be announced at a later date," producers ABC Studios and CBS Television Studios said in a statement. 
 
 The dismissal follows news that the actor — who had been on the veteran procedural since its start — kicked a writer on-set. As of Thursday, Gibson was facing a two-episode suspension following the incident. His character was to be written out of both episodes, with that now turning into being written out of the series on which he has starred for 11 seasons. 
 
 The incident occurred while Gibson was directing an episode of the drama's upcoming 12th season when he had a dispute with the hour's writer, who also happened to be on-set. Insiders say they got into an argument and tempers on both sides flared, with Gibson said to have instinctively reacted to aggression and kicked the writer. 
 
 "I love Criminal Minds and have put my heart and soul into it for the last 12 years," Gibson said in a statement to THR on Friday. "I had hoped to see it through to the end, but that won't be possible now. I would just like to say thank you to the writers, producers, actors, our amazing crew, and, most importantly, the best fans that a show could ever hope to have." 
 
 Gibson had been under contract for the ABC Studios/CBS Television Studios co-production for all of season 12. This was the second incident for Gibson during the course of the series; he pushed another producer a few years ago and had to attend anger management classes, though he was not suspended. 
 
 "There were creative differences on the set and a disagreement," Gibson said in a statement to THR on Thursday. "I regret that it occurred. We all want to work together as a team to make the best show possible. We always have and we always will." Gibson's dismissal from the series comes as Criminal Minds was already undergoing a bit of a creative change for season 12. The series said farewell to former leading man Shemar Moore last season, and will see Paget Brewster return for season 12. Brewster was a regular on the CBS drama from seasons two through seven. She was credited as a special guest in season nine and returned last season as part of the storyline that saw star Moore exit the series after 11 seasons. To help make up for the void, the drama cast CSI: Miami grad Adam Rodriguez as a series regular. He will debut in the season 12 premiere. ||||| Earlier today, we reported that Criminal Minds star Thomas Gibson had been suspended from CBS’s long-running unsub hunt, after an altercation where he reportedly kicked a member of the show’s writing staff. Now it looks like the former -And Greg’s suspension is being made permanent, with Variety reporting that Gibson has been fired from the show. 
 
 Criminal Minds is no stranger to losing cast members—actresses like Paget Brewster, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Rachel Nichols, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Aisha Tyler have all done short stints on the series, while the there-from-the-beginning Shemar Moore announced that he was leaving before the show’s upcoming 12th season. But the departure of Gibson’s Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner will presumably demand some twisty mental gymnastics from the show’s writers. (Here’s hoping Matthew Gray Gubler, who plays polymath and floppy-hairologist Dr. Spencer Reid, doesn’t haul off and deck a P.A. any time soon, because then they’ll really be screwed.) 
 
 Gibson’s “Hotch” has been the series’ functional lead since its inception way back in 2005, when a decade-plus of unsubs, serial killers, and sweeps-induced spousal murders were just a twinkle in creator Jeff Davis’ eye. According to a press release about Gibson’s firing, “Creative details for how the character’s exit will be addressed in the show will be announced at a later date,” presumably as soon as the show’s producers figure out how the hell they’re getting out of the hole their former star has punted them into. 
 
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– Showbiz can be a tough business—especially if you're a writer working anywhere near Thomas Gibson, apparently. The Hollywood Reporter reports the actor was fired from Criminal Minds, the CBS show he's starred on for 11 seasons, after kicking a writer. Gibson and the writer had gotten into an argument while Gibson was directing an episode for the upcoming season. "I love Criminal Minds and have put my heart and soul into it for the last 12 years," THR quotes Gibson as saying. "I had hoped to see it through to the end, but that won't be possible now." Gibson had already been in trouble for pushing a producer years earlier. The AV Club points out Gibson is far from the first Criminal Minds actor to depart the show, a list that includes Jennifer Love Hewitt, Aisha Tyler, and Jeanne Tripplehorn. Shemar Moore, who like Gibson had been on Criminal Minds from the beginning, left the show at the end of last season.