Amanda Righetti and Owain Yeoman Exit the CBS Drama—Did Van Pelt and Rigsby Make it Out Alive?

The Mentalist family is down two members.

While their impending departures from the CBS series was first reported in August, before the sixth season even premiered, Amanda Righetti and Owain Yeoman's final episode as series regulars didn't air until Sunday, March 23.

Righetti and Yeoman, who have been with the show since it began in 2008, play special agents Grace Van Pelt and Wayne Rigsby, the show's fan favorite couple who wed in the season five finale, so viewers have been anxious to see how their story ends.

So did both Rigsby and Van Pelt make it out of "White as the Driven Snow," which began with Van Pelt kidnapped and in some serious danger, alive? Warning, spoilers ahead!

Though it looked rocky for a moment, Rigsby and Van Pelt both made it out of the hour alive...and happy!

Pulling off a tricky ruse with Jane (Simon Baker), Rigsby was able to rescue Van Pelt from Richard Haibach (William Mapother), the person hunting down and killing former CBI agents, though he was severely injured in the process.

After his stellar work on the case (and a recovery, of course), Rigsby was offered a full-time position with the FBI, but he turned it down as the couple decided to leave the law enforcement life behind. Don't you love it when your favorite TV characters actually get a happy ending?!

Fortunately, Righetti's fans won't have to wait too long to see her back on their TV screens as we exclusively reported that she's set to guest star on Chicago PD and Chicago Fire as a pediatrician during the NBC hit drama's upcoming crossover episodes. And there's even buzz that a third spinoff, Chicago M.D., could be in the works.

Prior to Sunday's episode, fans of the show were able to make#GoodbyeWayneandGrace a wordwide trending topic on Twitter. "Am so proud and humbled by #GoodbyeWayneandGrace trending worldwide," Yeoman wrote. "So lucky to have such awesome followers. Thanku."

The Mentalist airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on CBS.

Two Cast Members Say Goodbye

On this past Sunday’s episode of The Mentalist, the show’s fans said goodbye to two characters that have been there from the beginning.

Wayne Rigsby and Grace Van Pelt, played by Owain Yeoman and Amanda Righetti respectively, always had a mutual attraction that played out on screen. The “will they, won’t they” on and off relationship between the two characters led to much humor and drama as they navigated the waters of having an office romance.

The two dated other people in the show at times, with Grace Van Pelt even becoming engaged to an eventual villain who turned out to be Red John’s accomplice, but the two were reunited in the sixth season again.

In an interview with TV Guide, Yeoman said that both he and Righetti were satisfied with the closure provided for their characters.

“I feel very satisfied that we gave the characters the conclusion that we did,” Yeoman said. “We chose both the most satisfying but also the most practical way of ending their characters.”

On Sunday, Yeoman live-tweeted his character’s last episode of The Mentalist, even noting in one scene that it was a “very emotional scene to shoot” because it was “our last shot as a team” and the “last scene of my last night shooting.”

SRC: webpronews.com/

What departing star may already have new TV gig? (Amanda Righetti)

Regardless of whether or not this is the final season of “The Mentalist,” one of the series’ stars is clearly winning out already when it comes to getting another gig that could turn into something much more.

According to a new report from E! News, Amanda Righetti is going to guest-star in an upcoming crossover episode of “Chicago Fire” and new series “Chicago PD.” What is her role? She’s going to play the part of a pediatrician … which is of course causing all sorts of rumors on its own.

What is the reason for that? Think along the lines of the fact that there could be yet another spin-off for the NBC franchise, since there are rumors about a “Chicago MD” starting up featuring Righetti in the cast. Sources are conflicting as to whether or not there are discussions about this, we’re sure that it is something that has at least been discussed. Why not think about it? This franchise may not be a smash, but the numbers are pretty solid. The only reason that we’d be skeptical about this actually working out is because of the fact that it’s hard for any network to have three shows, and NBC already has a limited schedule thanks to NFL football being on during the fall.

Righetti is going to be departing “The Mentalist” very soon, and the show’s future is still being worked out. Yesterday, we wrote a piece suggesting that it is still very much possible that another network could pick up the show, even if it is canceled.