‘Criminal Minds’ Season 11: Aisha Tyler Will Recur As Hotch Looks To Replace Kate
The Behavioral Analysis Unit on Criminal Minds is no stranger to change. While some of the team – Thomas Gibson’s Aaron Hotchner, Shemar Moore’s Derek Morgan, Matthew Gray Gubler’s Dr. Spencer Reid, and Kirsten Vangsness’ Penelope Garcia – have been around since the beginning (and A.J. Cook’s JJ left and then returned), others have left, and after the end of Season 10, fans knew another change was coming to the team in the fall.
Jennifer Love Hewitt joined Criminal Minds for its 10th season, following Jeanne Tripplehorn’s departure, and during the latter half of the season, both her character, Kate Callahan, and JJ revealed they were pregnant. While Cook will only be missing a few episodes, as the Inquisitr previously reported, Hewitt will not be returning, with her character going to Hotch at the end of the finale to tell him her plans to leave. (He did tell her she has a spot on the team if she chooses to return, so it is possible that she could be back at some point.) You can rewatch that conversation between Hotch and Kate from the finale below.
After that, it became a question of how Criminal Minds would fill the empty spot with the BAU.
Entertainment Weekly has revealed one way that they’ll be replacing Kate, along with some details about Aisha Tyler’s recurring character, Dr. Tara Lewis, “a psychologist with an eye on forensic psychology and its application toward the criminal justice system.”
“Her dream was to study psychopaths up close and personal – and her psychology background, combined with her experience in the FBI, brought her face-to-face with monsters. Her job was to stare them down and interview them, in order to determine if they were fit to stand trial. In the process, she made herself find the humanity inside these broken men (and, sometimes, women) in order to learn if there was a conscience behind their brutal crimes.”
Hotch will be conducting interviews to find a replacement for Kate. Tyler’s Dr. Lewis is the best candidate from that group, and helps the team with a case. Since Tyler’s character is recurring, it’s hard not to wonder how many episodes she’ll be around for and what else is in store for the team when it comes to replacements in Season 11.
Deadline has reported that Criminal Minds Season 11 will premiere on Wednesday, September 30. While most of CBS’ shows are premiering the week before in the fall, Survivor and Big Brother will both be airing 90-minute episodes on September 3 (with the former being its season premiere and the latter the season finale).
Criminal Minds Season 11 will air in its usual 9 p.m. time slot on Wednesdays this fall, with the premiere scheduled for September 30.
[Image via CBS]
