We don’t know a ton about Criminal Minds’ upcoming 11th season, but we do know that the BAU is going to add a new team member to pop up during the first part of the season while veteran character JJ goes on pregnancy leave. We haven’t seen much footage from the new episodes, but recently CBS put out some images that are totally Aisha Tyler-centric. If you’d like to see what she will look like on the show, there’s a big close up, below.
I personally love how Aisha Tyler can jump from voicing an animated spy on Archer and then flex her funnybone over at Whose Line is it Anyway? before heading over to CBS to play a very serious character on Criminal Minds. The range of characters she portrays is impressive, and it makes me wonder what Tyler will bring to the table when Criminal Minds returns to the schedule at the end of the month.
We do know a little bit about the character Tyler will be playing. Her name is Dr. Tara Lewis and she’s a psychologist who will be interviewed by Aaron Hotchner and then added to the BAU team. Her background is doing psychology work for the FBI, and she has interviewed a ton of major criminals in the past, determining whether or not they are fit to stand trial. She’s one of a few candidates Aaron Hotchner will be interviewing early in Season 11, and if I had to guess, this hallway picture featuring the character is alluding to the interview process.
All’s well that ends well, however. We already know that Tyler will sign on with the BAU and will appear as a recurring character during Season 11, so she obviously beats the other woman in the picture to the gig. Her presence will add another lady to the cast during JJ's previously announced pregnancy leave. Interestingly, Criminal Minds does not currently have plans to add another new member to the cast (although Paget Brewster was initially considered), despite the fact that another familiar face left Criminal Minds at the end of Season 10.
If you’ve been keeping up with the CBS drama, Jennifer Love Hewitt was written out at the end of the finale. She’s pregnant in real life and decided to take more time to be with her family, rather than shoot a grueling TV schedule this season. Her decision was respected by showrunner Erica Messer, and she was ultimately written out of the series in the finale. Similar to real life, Hewitt’s character, Kate Callahan, found out she was pregnant and wanted to quit her dangerous day job to spend time at home.
While Tyler has been the only character added so far, her presence should fit in well with the series. Here’s her getting introduced to Penelope (and presumably the rest of the gang).
Criminal Minds will begin airing its eleventh season on Wednesday, September 30 at 9 p.m. ET. To find out when your other favorite fall shows will be premiering, check out our fall TV premiere schedule.
All photos courtesy of CBS.
