Criminal Minds season 11

Cast

The entire main cast returned except Jennifer Love Hewitt, whose character Kate Callahan resigned in the season ten finale. Aisha Tyler replaced Hewitt in a recurring role as Dr. Tara Lewis, a psychologist focused on forensic psychology and its application to the criminal justice system. The main cast included Joe Mantegna as David Rossi, Shemar Moore as Derek Morgan (episodes 1–18), Matthew Gray Gubler as Spencer Reid, A. J. Cook as Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia, and Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner.

Paget Brewster appeared as Emily Prentiss in episode 19. Other recurring cast members included Rochelle Aytes as Savannah Hayes, Amber Stevens as Joy Struthers, Cade Owens as Jack Hotchner, Josh Stewart as William "Will" LaMontagne Jr., Mekhai Andersen as Henry LaMontagne, Phoenix Andersen as Michael LaMontagne, Marisol Nichols as Agent Natalie Colfax, Frances Fisher as Antonia Slade, Sheryl Lee Ralph as Hayden Montgomery, Bodhi Elfman as Peter Lewis / Mr. Scratch, and Aubrey Plaza as Cat Adams.

Production

Season 11 of Criminal Minds saw several cast changes tied to real-life pregnancies. Jennifer Love Hewitt departed, and her character Kate Callahan resigned at the end of the previous season because she was expecting a child and wanted to focus on her baby. Aisha Tyler joined the show in a recurring capacity as Dr. Tara Lewis to fill the gap. A.J. Cook was also pregnant in real life, and this was written into the show for her character JJ.

Cook missed the first six episodes except for the premiere, where she appeared holding her real-life son Phoenix Andersen, who played baby Michael. Showrunner Erica Messer mentioned hoping to bring back familiar faces from earlier seasons, like Jane Lynch as Spencer Reid's mother. Matthew Gray Gubler directed the eighteenth episode, "A Beautiful Disaster," which marked Shemar Moore's exit from the main cast; Moore later starred in the CBS SWAT reboot.

Paget Brewster returned as Emily Prentiss for one episode, "Tribute," which aired later in the season. The season concluded on May 4, 2016, with the show's first cliffhanger finale since season five. Messer explained that she felt it was time for another cliffhanger and saw it as a fun way to launch into the twelfth season, which was officially picked up two days later. During Cook's maternity leave, Messer noted that JJ would be absent for the first five episodes and expressed a desire to bring in a guest star to keep things interesting, acknowledging that no one could truly replace her.