Former Criminal Minds co-stars Shemar Moore and Kirsten Vangsness seemingly have been maintaining their friendship, much to the delight of the show’s dedicated fans.
TV Insider reported that Moore, who played Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan until the show’s 13th season, joined Vangsness for a Los Angeles Sparks basketball game. As fans are aware, Vangsness’ Criminal Minds character, technical analyst Penelope Garcia and Morgan had a close, flirtatious friendship during their time together at the Behavioral Analysis Unit.
On August 21, Vangsness shared several pictures that showed her spending time with Moore, his 2-year-old daughter, Frankie, and Frankie’s mother, actress Jesiree Dizon, at the basketball game on Instagram.
In the caption of the post, Vangsness mentioned Garcia and Morgan’s nicknames for each other. She also complimented Dizon.
“The Baby Girl sees the Baby Girls and @shemarfmoore aka Chocolate Thunder (please note that @jesiree is a glowing angel in every single picture she’s ever taken ⚡️),” wrote Vangsness.
Several Criminal Minds fans flocked to the post’s comments section to share their excitement about the pictures.
“this healed something in me,” wrote a commenter.
“OMG!!! HELLO!? is nobody else freaking out,” added another.
“‘Garcia, you’ll always be my original baby girl’ I will never forget these words on Derek’s last episode. I’m so happy to see you guys having a great time together!!” shared a different person.
“Y’all are all fabulous. I do love it when chosen family gets to see one another, especially with careers and kids and life keeping everyone busy!” commented a social media user.
“Awh what a beautiful reunion,” chimed in a fan.
Vangsness is currently starring as Garcia in the Criminal Minds Paramount+ revival, Criminal Minds: Evolution, which premiered in 2022. During a December 2024 panel at the Empire Convention, Vangsness shared if she has any similarities with Garcia, whom she’s been playing since the first season of Criminal Minds, which premiered in 2005 on CBS.
“I can’t type. She can. She knows more about computers. We both talk very fast. We both like to use our imaginations. We both like to dress extravagantly. But different, kind of,” said the actress.
In addition, Vangsness said she and her Criminal Minds character “value kindness.” She also said that she views herself as Garcia’s “guardian.”
