Paget Brewster has not been shy when talking about the problems that led to her eventual exit from Criminal Minds several years ago. Still, the actress is making a big return to Criminal Minds this week. Now, Paget Brewster has spoken out to explain why she is pumped to return to the show that allowed her to play one of TV's most popular characters. Here's why she's happy to be back playing Emily Prentiss:
The fact of the matter of is, there really aren't that many shows that I love as much as Criminal Minds. I left at the right time for the right reason, but I love those guys. We've never stopped being friends. It's such a great group there.
This shouldn't come as a huge shock to fans. While Paget Brewster had a big problem with CBS when they reduced her role and temporarily cut out A.J. Cook, who plays JJ on the series, she's always been careful to explain that she loves the Criminal Minds cast and creative team. In fact, she's appeared on Criminal Minds since the initial brouhaha went down and the network wanted to go in a different direction. She's been back, probably because she loves the cast, as she recently told TV Guide.
While the actress has been back to reprise her role on the long-running procedural since the time her character Emily Prentiss first exited, this return should make fans more excited than usual. That's because this time Emily Prentiss' return is an even bigger deal, because she's coming back as a series regular rather than a guest star. There's been a lot of changes on the set of the veteran procedural over the past few months. First, Shemar Moore decided to leave the series, and then Thomas Gibson was unceremoniously fired after an altercation with a writer on the show. With so many familiar faces leaving, it made sense for Criminal Minds to bring Paget Brewster back. It probably helped that her series Grandfathered was cancelled by Fox after Season 1, leaving some time in her schedule open.
Paget Brewster isn't the only person joining the cast of Criminal Minds. Adam Rodriguez took on a new role on the show at the beginning of the season, replacing Shemar Moore. Recently, we learned Bates Motel's Damon Gupton has also joined the cast, replacing Thomas Gibson. It'll still probably be a while before the newer cast gels and we really see how this new team pans out, but it could be really nice to have some new blood and thus some new storylines to engage with. You can catch new episodes of Criminal Minds on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET. To find out which shows have yet to premiere, take a look at our fall TV premiere schedule.
