In season finale of CBS' police procedural series "Criminal Minds" Season 2, the BAU team lost one of its prominent members. However, it seems Season 12 will bring a new member to replace Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore).
In an interview with TV Guide, executive producer of the show, Erica Messer, said they are looking for a new person to join the team.
"We don't want a shrinking cast. We want to have people in the field. Given that we have to go out and catch criminals of the week and these serial killers out there, it feels like we can't be an agent down this year. We have to be full-steam ahead. I just don't know who that is or what it might be yet," Messer said.
Season 11 of the series ended with a major cliffhanger as the dinner at Rossi's (Joe Mategna) was disrupted and the team learnt of three more prisonbreaks. Among the 12 prisoners who escaped was Peter Lewis, and now it is the team's responsibility to capture them before they cause any trouble.
Talking about the casting of 12 other prisoners who escaped, Messer said it was a very nostalgic experience for her to pick a cast members. However, the casting is still in progress.
"We have so many to choose from. A lot of it is availability. Right now, no actor's agent is going to commit to them being available for us. We do know that we want Mr Scratch to be part of Season 12 in some capacity, or at least the idea of Mr Scratch being out there. Everything else will be the fun of getting the writers together and to say, 'If we could bring back anyone in the last 11 years, who would you want it to be?'"
According to Christian Times, the network is yet to announce the official air date of Season 12 of "Criminal Minds."