Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland'; TV's "The Shield") is reportedly in negotiations to star in the upcoming "Criminal Minds" spinoff on CBS.

The Oscar winner will play the "dynamic" and "mysterious" Cooper, an ex-profiler in the Behavioral Unit who returns to the scene after eight years.

Whitaker -- who may also get a producing credit -- will make an appearance on "Criminal Minds" this spring, in a move similar to the way "NCIS" introduced its "Los Angeles" spinoff last season.

http://insidetv.aol.com/2010/01/26/tv-casting-forest-whitaker-to-star-in-criminal-minds-spinoff/

I don't know about this. I'm a big Criminal Minds fan but all these spin-offs are getting to be a bit much. I like NCIS but I don't care for the spin-off. I used to like CSI but I always thought the spin-offs sucked. It would be different if they changed the plot from profilers like the parent show. Forest Whitaker is a good actor. He was great in the Shield. I just hope this show is better than the other spin-offs CBS has premiered.

I like it already :)