The upcoming Season 12 of the American police procedural drama TV series “Criminal Minds” on CBS will pick up from the huge Season 11 cliffhanger.
With a number of previously apprehended criminals breaking out of jail, the hands of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) of the FBI will be full right on the get-go of Season 12. So it is expected that “Criminal Minds” would have another slam-bang premiere episode later this year.
The Season 11 finale saw a calm dinner that turned into a violent one when the place of Rossi, played by Joe Mantegna, had been cut while three inmates bolted from the cell. As a result, Peter Lewis was able to escape along with a dozen of certified killers, details The Bitbag.
In addition to serial killers on the loose plotline, reports are getting loud that a new cast member will come into “Criminal Minds” Season 12 to replace Agent Derek Morgan, played by Shemar Moore.
Moore has decided to leave the TV series after the 16th episode of Season 11 because of personal reasons so his character was written off in the show.
Showrunner Erica Messer confirmed that she and the production team are indeed looking for a new actor who will take on the position in BAU vacated by Derek Morgan. She said that they already have a shortlist of possible actors which they would be sifting through this month.
Messer also said that they want an intact list of cast members when “Criminal Minds” Season 12 is aired on the small screen. She said that the BAU team cannot be fully operational when there is someone lacking in the group.
Likely crossover
“Criminal Minds” already has a spin-off TV series in “Beyond Borders” which also airs on CBS. While fans were not expecting it, the showrunners and writers of both series pulled a crossover episode between “Criminal Minds” and “Beyond Borders” that turned out to be a monstrous hit.
Thus, fans are now lobbying that a crossover episode or episodes should happen again between the two police procedural drama TV series in their respective upcoming season.
According to reports from sources close to the production teams, the possibility of crossover between “Criminal Minds” and “Beyond Borders” is very high so fans should expect to see Thomas Gibson, who plays Hotch in “Criminal Minds,” and Gary Sinise, who plays Jack Garett in “Beyond Borders,” in one episode and in one scene at that, reports Game & Guide.
Reports also have it that the crossover is one of the possible solutions to compensate for the loss of a major character in the show.
Both TV series have yet to reveal their release dates but those are likely to happen in the fall of this year.
No-brainer of a renewal
For about two days after the Season 11 finale of “Criminal Minds” was aired on CBS on May 4, fans and viewers were worried that their favorite TV show would not be renewed by the network for another season.
It turns out that their worry was short-lived as CBS officially announced the renewal of “Criminal Minds” for Season 12 on May 6.
The renewal was almost a no-brainer since “Criminal Minds” had a solid Season 11 ratings finish. The show delivered an impressive viewership by averaging more than 9 million household viewership per episode.
After the departure of series regular Shemar Moore following the 16th episode of Season 11, there were no more cast members who got killed or decided to go which ultimately set the stage for the next installment of “Criminal Minds.”
One of the showrunners of “Criminal Minds” has confirmed that the upcoming season will have a more serialized storytelling and that many of the show’s past villains might come back in Season 12 including the popular Mr. Scratch.