Only one season is left of Criminal Minds, and after 14 years, there are a lot of loose ends that will undoubtedly need to be tied off before the credits roll for the last time. Well, Season 14 hasn’t even ended yet, but one unforgettable guest star has already revealed that she’ll be back at least one more time in the fifteenth and final season. Jane Lynch will be back as Reid’s mom, Diana, and she shared the news herself via social media. Take a look:
Unfortunately, Jane Lynch didn’t reveal anything about what she’ll be doing during Criminal Minds Season 15 in her tweet, but we can bet that any episode she appears in will be an emotional ride for Reid. His mother’s health has deteriorated over the years of the show, and her dementia diagnosis had her realizing that she would likely forget her son. Lynch last appeared in the Season 12 finale, when she was held hostage by Reid’s nemesis.
We’ll probably have to wait until closer to Season 15’s premiere to learn what brings Diana back to the show, but showrunner Erica Messer stated to TVLine that her return is “related to a revelation” from the Season 14 finale, and the wait until that episode isn’t much longer. It hits the airwaves on Wednesday, February 6 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
Given that Season 15 will be the end of the show, we may want to brace ourselves for a tragedy. That said, the news that Diana will be back because of “a revelation” in the fourteenth season finale may indicate that she’s not going to die of natural causes, if she dies at all. If the revelation has something to do with a case, her health may not be her biggest problem. If the revelation is that she is dying, then… well, at least we’ll have hiatus to prepare for what would undoubtedly be a tragic twist.
Erica Messer went on to say this about the “unpredictable” Diana in Season 15:
In some moments of clarity, she’s able to be a really good Mom to Reid. It’s a really beautiful way to bring them back together.
No matter how happy or sad her return will be, Criminal Minds viewers can at the very least look forward to seeing Jane Lynch as Diana one more time, and her return provides something to speculate about over the hiatus. Now, what about Hotch? Could he be back, or will Thomas Gibson’s controversial exit mean that Hotch remains off-screen for the rest of the series?
The fifteen and final season will run for ten episodes. The cancellation of Criminal Minds didn’t come as a huge surprise to fans who keep tuned in to news about the show. The ratings haven’t been nearly as impressive as they once were, and the end seemed nigh for a while before the official cancellation news finally broke.
Tune in to CBS on February 6 at 10 p.m. ET for the Season 14 finale of Criminal Minds. If you need some shows to watch once Criminal Minds is done for the season, swing by our midseason TV premiere schedule.
