Entertainment

‘Criminal Minds’ Schedule Change And Spoilers: When Can Fans See The Season 12, Episode 5 Show And What Can They Expect From ‘The Anti-Terrorism Squad’?

Published on: November 2, 2016 at 3:32 PM
By Stacy Carey

A Criminal Minds schedule change for Wednesday night will likely have fans anxious for updates, as CBS has decided to hold the new episode that was supposed to air on November 2 until next week. New episodes of Survivor and Code Black will still air as scheduled, but the next new episode of Criminal Minds will now air on November 9.

TVLine shares the update regarding the Criminal Minds schedule change . The Season 12, Episode 5 show, titled “The Anti-Terrorism Squad,” will focus on a storyline revolving around two high school students who are the only surviving members of attacks on their families, teases TV Guide . As Garcia digs into the case, a theory develops regarding how bullying may be at the center of the suspect’s motives.

This next episode is slated to be the first where Aaron “Hotch” Hotchner is fully gone from the show. The firing of actor Thomas Gibson has been a hot topic for Criminal Minds viewers, with many banding together to boycott the show. As viewers will remember, Gibson was initially suspended for a short time after a physical altercation with a writer/producer with the show a few months ago. Very soon after the suspension was announced, however, the show permanently fired the actor.

During Episodes 3 and 4, Hotch was simply out of town on an special extended assignment. Emily Prentiss returned to the team and the next show, now set to air on November 9, marks the first episode where Hotch is gone for good, although viewers may not notice much of anything referenced about this by the team.

Fans will surely be disappointed to be put on hold when it comes to the next new episode of Criminal Minds . CBS was prepared to go ahead with “The Anti-Terrorism Squad” despite airing against the 2016 Country Music Association Awards airing Wednesday on ABC, but once the World Series between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs went to Game 7 set to air Wednesday night as well, it seems the network decided that a change was warranted.

NBC made a somewhat similar decision, moving the next new episodes of all three of its Wednesday night shows, Blindspot, Chicago P.D. , and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, to November 9 instead as well. It seems that both ABC and the CW, set to air Arrow and Frequency , are sticking to the original plans to air the new scheduled shows.

Can Criminal Minds recover from the departure of Thomas Gibson’s Hotch? While there are quite a few viewers who are up in arms over this situation, there are others who think that Shemar Moore’s departure from the character of Derek Morgan last year was a tougher pill to swallow. The series has said farewell to numerous characters over its 12-season run, but the drama behind Gibson’s dismissal has generated more buzz than most departures.

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What else can fans expect as Season 12 continues? Criminal Minds spoilers tease that there will be fun moments ahead between Garcia and Adam Rodriguez’s new character of Luke Alvez, and Episode 6 centers around a case involving three children who go missing while riding their bikes. The BAU team will look for connections to a prior case from 30 years ago as they scramble to find the kids in this one. Prentiss was originally slated to be back for just a short run, but with Hotch’s departure, she’s back with the team full-time.

Do you think that CBS made the right call by keeping new episodes of Survivor and Code Black airing Wednesday night, but moving the next new episode of Criminal Minds to next week because of Game 7 of the World Series? Do you think that the series will further address Thomas Gibson’s departure as Aaron Hotchner or just leave him away on “temporary assignment” for good?

[Featured Image by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]

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