The eleventh season of ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...

'' was ordered on May 11, 2015 by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. It premiered on September 30, 2015 on CBS and ended on May 4, 2016. The season consisted of 22 episodes.

Cast

The entire main cast returned for the season, except Jennifer Love Hewitt (Kate Callahan), who left the show in the season ten finale. On June 22, 2015, it was announced that

Aisha Tyler Aisha Nilaja Tyler (born September 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, director, and talk show host. She is known for playing Andrea Marino in the first season of ''Ghost Whisperer'', Dr. Tara Lewis in ''Criminal Minds'', Mother Nature ...

(coincidentally Hewitt's co-star during Season 1 of '' Ghost Whisperer'') would replace Hewitt in a recurring role as Dr. Tara Lewis, a psychologist with an eye on forensic psychology and its application toward the criminal justice system.

Main

Joe Mantegna Joseph Anthony Mantegna (, ; born November 13, 1947) is an American actor. Mantegna began his career on stage in 1969 in the Chicago production of the musical ''Hair''. He earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Joseph Jeff ...

as Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi (BAU Senior Agent) *

Shemar Moore Shemar Franklin Moore (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor. His notable roles include Malcolm Winters on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1994–2005), Derek Morgan on ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–2016), and the lead role of Sergeant II Dan ...

as Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan (BAU Agent) (Ep. 1-18) *

Matthew Gray Gubler Matthew Gray Gubler (, ; born March 9, 1980) is an American actor, filmmaker, fashion model, painter, illustrator, director, and author. He is best known for his role as criminal profiler Dr. Spencer Reid in the CBS television show ''Criminal M ...

as Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid (BAU Agent) *

A. J. Cook Andrea Joy Cook (born July 22, 1978) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau on the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–2020, 2022). Cook has also appeared in ''The Virgin ...

as Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau (BAU Agent) *

Kirsten Vangsness Kirsten Simone Vangsness (born July 7, 1972) is an American actress and writer. She is best known for her portrayal of FBI Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia on the CBS drama series ''Criminal Minds''. She portrayed the same character on the s ...

as Special Agent Penelope Garcia (BAU Technical Analyst & Co-Communications Liaison) *

Thomas Gibson Thomas Ellis Gibson (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his television roles as Daniel Nyland on ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–1997), Greg Montgomery on ''Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002) and Aaron Hotchner on '' ...

as Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner (BAU Unit Chief & Co-Communications Liaison)

Special guest star

Paget Brewster Paget Valerie Brewster (, ; born March 10, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She was first recognized for her recurring role as Kathy on the fourth season of the NBC sitcom ''Friends''. Her breakthrough role came as FBI Supervisory Specia ...

as Agent Emily Prentiss (Chief of Interpol-London Office) (Episode 19)

Recurring cast

as Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Tara Lewis (BAU Agent) *

Rochelle Aytes Rochelle Aytes is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as April Malloy on ABC drama series ''Mistresses'' (2013–16) and as the voice of Rochelle in the critically acclaimed video game ''Left 4 Dead 2'' (2009). Aytes al ...

as Savannah Hayes *

Amber Stevens Amber Dawn Stevens West is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Ashleigh Howard in the ABC Family series ''Greek'' (2007–2011)'','' Maxine in the NBC sitcom ''The Carmichael Show'' (2015–2017), and Claire Davis in the CBS ...

as Joy Struthers * Cade Owens as Jack Hotchner *

Josh Stewart Joshua Regnall Stewart (born February 6, 1977) is an American actor who is best known for his role as Holt McLaren in the FX TV series ''Dirt'' and as Detective William LaMontagne, Jr., on the CBS series ''Criminal Minds''. He was also cast as ...

as William "Will" LaMontagne Jr. * Mekhai Andersen as Henry LaMontagne * Phoenix Andersen as Michael LaMontagne *

Marisol Nichols Marisol Nichols (born November 2, 1973) is an American actress, known for her roles as Nadia Yassir on the Fox series '' 24'' and Hermione Lodge on the CW drama series '' Riverdale''. Early life Nichols was born in the Rogers Park neighborho ...

as Agent Natalie Colfax *

Frances Fisher Frances Louise Fisher (born May 11, 1952) is a British-born American actress. She began her career in theatre and later starred as record executive Suzette 'Red' Saxon in the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Guiding Light'' (1985). In film, she is ...

as Antonia Slade * Sheryl Lee Ralph as Hayden Montgomery *

Bodhi Elfman Bodhi Pine Elfman (born Bodhi Pine Saboff) is an American actor and the child of filmmaker Richard Elfman and Rhonda Joy Saboff. He is best known for playing the roles of Avram Hader in the Fox television series ''Touch'' and for his recurring r ...

as Peter Lewis / Mr. Scratch *

Aubrey Plaza Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom ''Park ...

as Cat Adams

Production

Jennifer Love Hewitt left the show because of her pregnancy, and her character Kate Callahan, handed in her resignation at the end of the season ten finale, due to her pregnancy and decision to devote the next year to her baby. It was announced that

would replace Hewitt in a recurring role as Dr. Tara Lewis. A.J. Cook revealed herself to be pregnant, and it was later revealed in the tenth-season finale that her character Jennifer "JJ" Jareau was also pregnant. She did not appear in the first six episodes (except the season premiere). Showrunner Erica Messer expressed her desire about bringing back old characters from previous seasons, including Spencer Reid's mother played by Jane Lynch. Cook appeared in the first episode "The Job" holding her sleeping baby Michael, played by Phoenix Andersen, her child in real life.

directed episode 18, "A Beautiful Disaster", in which

left the main cast (Moore went on to star as Hondo Harrelson in the CBS remake of ''SWAT''). On February 10, 2016, it was announced that

would return as

Emily Prentiss Emily Prentiss is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'', portrayed by Paget Brewster. Prentiss first appeared in "The Last Word" (episode nine of season two), replacing Agent Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini), who had qui ...

for one episode later in season 11 episode 19, titled "Tribute". The season ended on May 4, 2016, with the show's first cliffhanger finale since the fifth season. Messer said she felt it was time for another cliffhanger and thought that it served as a "really fun launch pad" into the twelfth season, which was officially ordered two days later.

Guest stars

announced her pregnancy, a fact that was carried over to her character Jennifer "JJ" Jareau as well. Showrunner Erica Messer stated in an interview that Cook's character JJ would not appear for the first five episodes of the season as Cook was on maternity leave. Messer continued talking about a guest star to replace Cook during her absence from the show as she said, "My hope is we could have a fun guest star when A.J.'s on maternity leave. It will be different because JJ won't be there. There is no replacing her as we know, but there's an opportunity there to have fun for a few episodes." Danny Glover 2014

joined the cast in the wake of Hewitt's exit, and played a recurring role as Dr. Tara Lewis, a forensic psychologist who always wanted to study psychopaths up close, to understand the human being behind the evil acts. Her previous job was to interview serial killers and determine whether they were fit to stand trial. It was announced that

Tim Kang Yila Timothy Kang (born March 16, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Kimball Cho in the television series ''The Mentalist'' and Gordon Katsumoto in the CBS/NBC reboot series '' Magnum P.I.'' Early life and education Kang wa ...

would guest-star on the show in the second episode of the season, "The Witness". while

is set to make an appearance. It was announced on August 5, 2015, that an alum from '' Glee'',

Ashley Fink Ashley Rae Fink (born November 20, 1986) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Lauren Zizes in the television series ''Glee'' and as Carter McMahon in '' Huge''. Personal life Ashley Rae Fink was born in Houston, Tex ...

, would guest star in the third episode of the season, "'Til Death Do Us Part".

returned as Rossi's daughter, Joy Struthers, in episode seven, "Target Rich".

also had a guest role in episode eleven, "Entropy".

On January 14, 2016, CBS announced that actor Danny Glover would guest-star as Derek Morgan's deceased father in the episode "Derek". On February 10, 2016, CBS announced that actor

would guest star in one episode in the latter part of the season, reprising her role as

. In an interview with '' TVGuide'', Erica Messer expressed her interest about bringing back characters from previous seasons instead of adding a new character to replace Hewitt permanently on the show. She explained, "I feel like when you look at 10 years of people we could bring back, it would be fun to do that." Messer added that bringing back old characters would allow the show to focus on the team without having to service a new regular character.

Episodes

Ratings

Live + SD ratings

Live + 7 Day (DVR) ratings

Home media

References

External links

* {{Criminal Minds Criminal Minds 2015 American television seasons 2016 American television seasons