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‘Criminal Minds’ Season 11: Will Jane Lynch Return As Reid’s Mother?

By Meredith Jacobs
Published on: 02:37 PST, Jul 29, 2015

There are at least a couple of new faces coming to Criminal Minds in its upcoming 11th season, but will there also be someone from the past making an appearance? It sounds like it seems more likely now than it has before – and it is about time.

First, let’s discuss the new characters. As the Inquisitr previously reported, Aisha Tyler is going to be joining the BAU team in Criminal Minds season 11. She’ll be recurring as Dr. Tara Lewis, a psychologist who looks at using forensic psychology in the criminal justice system. She wanted to study psychopaths, and she was the one who interviewed them to determine if they could stand trial. As she did so, she had to see the humanity in these people to see if each had a conscience.

Another new character in the new season will be played by Marisol Nichols (who has appeared on another CBS procedural drama, NCIS, as ATF Agent Zoe Keats), as the actress revealed with a tweet of the show’s logo.

As for her character, TVLine has the details. Nichols will be guest starring in Criminal Minds season 11 episode 2 as Natalie Colfax, an FBI agent in Los Angeles, which suggests that she could be the agent the team works with on that week’s case. On Twitter, Tyler has posted photos from the set, including one of her with Nichols, Matthew Gray Gubler (Reid), Thomas Gibson (Hotch), and Shemar Moore (Morgan).

In other news, TVGuide.com has reported that it is possible that Season 11 could finally see the return of Reid’s mother on screen. Jane Lynch first appeared as Diana Reid in Season 1’s “The Fisher King,” and since that two-parter, she has been in three other episodes (“Revelations” in flashbacks when Reid was kidnapped, and “The Instincts” and “Memoriam”). That last on screen appearance came in Season 4, but that wasn’t the last time someone mentioned her. In Season 9, Reid mentioned she was doing much better as he received a postcard from her. According to executive producer Erica Messer, it may just be a matter of finding the right story to bring her back, since Lynch’s new show is on the same network as Criminal Minds.

“Now with Glee finished and [Lynch’s new show Angel From Hell] is on CBS … I don’t think that will be a problem. We absolutely want her back. I’ve talked to Matthew about it. We’ve got to find a reason to bring her back because I don’t want it to be unrealistic or just to have her. And we want to be able to use her well too.”

Messer went on to say, “I think she’ll come back and play again,” which bodes well for seeing more of Reid and his mother in the future on the procedural drama.

Criminal Minds Season 11 premieres Wednesday, September 30 at 9 p.m. on CBS.

[Image via CBS]

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