Joe Mantegna, the actor who voiced Fat Tony on The Simpsons, is set to replace Mandy Patinkin on the crime drama Criminal Minds.

Patinkin abruptly quit the lead role in Criminal Minds last month, citing what he called "creative differences."

Joe Mantegna, shown in June, will step into the Criminal Minds series after the departure of Mandy Patinkin.
(Matt Sayles/Associated Press)

Patinkin played the boss of an FBI behavioural analysis unit which tries to anticipate the next move by serial criminals.

It's not known how Mantegna will be written into the show, now shooting its third season. Patinkin has agreed to shoot one more episode.

Mantegna, 59, is a three-time Emmy nominee, most recently for his role on the miniseries The Starter Wife.

He has co-starred on two CBS series, Joan of Arcadia and First Monday, as well as on the miniseries The Last Don, which earned him an Emmy nomination.

Producers of the prime-time series have been hunting for someone to replace Patinkin's tormented cop character since his departure on the first day of shooting of the new season.