Country of origin United States Original network CBS | No. of episodes 15 | |
Starring Joe Mantegna
Matthew Gray Gubler
A.J. Cook
Kirsten Vangsness
Damon Gupton
Aisha Tyler
Adam Rodriguez
Thomas Gibson
Paget Brewster Original release September 28, 2016 (2016-09-28) – present | ||
The twelfth season of Criminal Minds was ordered on May 6, 2016, by CBS with an order of 22 episodes. The season premiered on September 28, 2016.
Contents
Cast
The entire main cast from the previous season will return for the season, except Shemar Moore (Derek Morgan), who left the show during the eleventh season.
This season also marks the final appearance of Thomas Gibson (Aaron Hotchner).
Main cast
Special guest stars
Recurring cast
Guest stars
Development
Criminal Minds was renewed for a twelfth season with an episode order of 22 episodes on May 6, 2016. It was announced that the season would began to air on September 28, 2016. The entire main cast will return for the season, except Shemar Moore (Derek Morgan), who left the show during the eleventh season.
Casting
After Shemar Moore's departure in the previous season, it was announced that former CSI: Miami star Adam Rodriguez had been cast to fill his void in the twelfth season. He will play Luke Alvez, a new recruit to the BAU from the FBI's Fugitive Task Force, tasked with helping to capture an escaped killer from last season. On July 21, Kirsten Vangsness confirmed that Paget Brewster would reprise her role as SSA Emily Prentiss for multiple episodes. It was announced on August 10, 2016, that Aisha Tyler, who joined the show in the previous season as Dr. Tara Lewis, had been promoted to a series regular.
On August 30, 2016, it was announced that Brewster had been promoted back to series regular, following Thomas Gibson's firing. CBS announced on September 21, 2016, that Jane Lynch would reprise her role as Dr. Diana Reid, Spencer Reid's schizophrenic mother after eight years. It was reported that she would be appearing in the second half of the season in a multi-episode arc.
To fill the void after Gibson's firing, Damon Gupton was cast in the series regular role of Special Agent Stephen Walker, a profiler from the Behaviorial Analysis Program in the FBI. He will make his first appearance in the eighth episode.
Gibson's suspension and exit
On August 11, 2016, Deadline reported that Thomas Gibson had been suspended and therefore written out from two episodes due to an on-set altercation with one of the producers. He was also cut from directing one of the episodes in the twelfth season. The following day, it was announced that Gibson had been fired following the on-set altercation. A joint statement from ABC Studios and CBS Television Studios read, "Thomas Gibson has been dismissed from Criminal Minds. Creative details for how the character's exit will be addressed in the show will be announced at a later date." After the announcement, Gibson hired a lawyer to file a lawsuit regarding his termination from the show.