Exciting Casting News For Next Season

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

EXCLUSIVE: JJ fans can rejoice. After a week of negotiations, A.J. Cook just closed a two-year deal to return to CBS' drama Criminal Minds as a regular. She will guest star in the series' sixth season finale on May 18 before re-joining the show full-time in the fall.

Cook departed Criminal Minds after the end of last season when her option was not picked up, stirring outcry among fans of the show. She appeared in the first two episodes of this season to wrap the storyline of her character JJ, who was transferred from the BAU to a job at the Pentagon. Cook then returned for the last episode of the season for co-star Paget Brewster, which aired last month. If Brewster's NBC comedy pilot My Life As An Experiment does not go to series, she will also likely return to Criminal Minds in the fall since series' producer ABC Studios has an option on her. Cook's return to Criminal Minds does not bode well for newly minted regular Rachel Nichols, who was brought in to fill the void left by Cook's departure. Meanwhile, ABC Studios is yet to close new deals with original cast members Thomas Gibson and Shemar Moore for next season, with negotiations continuing.

Cook was offered to return to Criminal Minds late last week after the series' producers recently came up with ideas for JJ for next season. Despite her exit from the show, Cook and her character continued to be extremely popular among Criminal Minds fans. Heading into Season 7, Criminal Minds will be run solely by executive producer Erica Masser following the recent departures of executive producers Ed Bernero and Simon Mirren, who have served as co-showrunners with her this season.

Source

ETA: AJ Cook tweeted and confirmed it!

Comments

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

I'm really hoping they keep Rachel! They're finally starting to tap into Seaver's potential, and I don't want to lose her this fast.

But yes oh my god I had a near melt-down after "Lauren" in part because I was so frustrated at the amazing JJ story-lines it opened up that couldn't be pursued. AND NOW THEY CAN BE!

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

I like all of the female characters, which I realize makes me as rare and magical as a unicorn, but Elle is my girl <3.

[lawless523.livejournal.com]

They look too similar to me, too. I don't think keeping them both is practical unless they do something drastic with Rachel Nichols' hair and looks.

The spinoff would be a better place for her character anyway, but it looks like that's about to be cancelled.

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

I like all of them too! We can be rare, magical unicorns together.

[lawless523.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank fuck. Now I'm rooting for Paget's pilot not to get picked up so the show can go back to what it was. Before, I was rooting for her to leave because of the way she and AJ had been treated.

I don't really care one way or the other whether Seaver continues. I know that's harsh, but it's the truth; I have nothing against Rachel Nichols, but if the showrunners hadn't screwed up and canned AJ and cut Emily's episodes, Rachel Nichols wouldn't have been on the show in the first place. If they do keep her, though, cut her hair, dye it, or do something so she doesn't look like AJ's twin. It was hard not to think of her as AJ's replacement (which she was as a cast member if not as a character) when they look so much alike.

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

Things that are different: Eyes, facial structure, mouth, nose, actual shade of eyes/hair

Things that are the same: Being pretty white women with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Really not trying to pick a fight here, but they really don't look like twins, and I really don't think it's fair to say Rachel has to change her appearance to stay on the show.

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

Alright, fair enough. I still personally don't think she should have to change her appearance, especially when the personalities/roles of the characters are different enough to distinguish them from each other.

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh sorry, I'm a little aggressive about this because I'm a Rachel Nichols fan and she gets a lot of hate. It gets a little hard to distinguish jokes from people who are being serious after a while.

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

I love them all, oh man. Even the recurring characters like Haley and (especially) Jordan. Prentiss is my favorite, but I seriously adore them all.

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

It's cool, it's cool. :) Sorry for jumping you!

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

I have a lot of Prentiss love too. I have lots of love to go around :).

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

I really thought Haley was an interesting character and am still mad about the fridging. *shakes fist*

The thing I like about the female characters on CM is they're never all one thing. Prentiss isn't defined by her love of the team connection, any more than Elle is defined by her anger or Haley is defined by her family. They've all got so much more beneath the surface.

(So off-topic now, lol.)

[jeweledvixen.livejournal.com]

HALLELUJAH! Finally CBS and ABC realized what a huge mistake they had made getting rid of JJ and Emily. Hopefully they can bring Emily back as well as JJ, but I'm ~thrilled~ that JJ will be coming back! :D

[x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com]

I am, too! I always liked her, and honestly I always kind of took her side. She didn't sign up for an absent husband or for essentially being a single mother 90% of the time. She married a lawyer who would always be home for dinner, and wouldn't be getting shot at or stabbed or leaving her for extended periods of time. She had every right to walk away, imo.

They really do. Which was also why Strauss was one of the highlights of this past week's episode (one of two, the other being Seaver's badassery). They finally characterized her as something other than the Stone Cold Female Boss trope.

(Pfffft off-topic away; we're still talking about female characters on the show who got shafted.)

[sugakane-01.livejournal.com]

*flails and does happy dance*

Oh thank goodness!

I am totally team AJ/Paget...if AJ had given CBS a one finger salute and told them to kiss her grits the AJ fan in me would have totally supported her, even though the Criminal Minds fan in me would have been disappointed. The Paget fan in me is rooting for her pilot to be all kinds of successful, but the Criminal Minds fan in me is hoping she comes back.

Seaver...can kick hot rocks for all I care. I tried, because I actually really like Rachel Nichols, to like Seaver, but she's just not my cup of tea. And its disappointing b/c I've NEVER not liked one of the characters (I even have an appreciation for Strauss lol). There were some I liked more than others (Reid is my personal fave) but I've never hated a character before (ok, I developed Haley hate towards the end but it was mostly a reaction to the passive/aggressive way they had begun to write her) but Seaver...yeah not a fan. She actually makes me dislike Rossi...I can't explain it but their dynamic irks the beejeesus out of me.

But whether Seaver stays or goes, I'm just happy to have JJ back. :)

[ravenboo.livejournal.com]

WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!. Now if we can get Paget back and lose NotJJ !!! :D

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

ITA.

I like Hotch, hell, everyone likes Hotch, but every time Haley was trying to address what was upsetting her about their relationship (and I further note she rarely (ever?) complained about him not spending time with *her*, but was concerned about him seeing Jack. Which is pretty understandable imo) he blew her off, because he was busy doing Manly Things at his Manly Job, and had no time for her.

It must have been incredibly frustrating for her to keep trying to tell him she was unhappy and have her concerns ignored. I actually thought she was very reasonable about the breakup. He walked away long before she did.

They never seen to quite know what to do with Strauss, she seems to sometimes be a plot point first and a character second, so I did think this week was interesting. I like the (tiny) little glimpses we've had into her life in the past.

I liked how they were building Jordan as a character, too, I thought the lying thing was fascinating.

[philstar22.livejournal.com]

Me too. I feel so bad because it would probably be a better opportunity for her. But I want Prentiss back. Not sure I'd watch a CM without Prentiss.

[philstar22.livejournal.com]

I'm the same way. Elle was good, JJ was okay, but Prentiss is just awesome.

[lawless523.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd miss her even more than JJ. They really screwed AJ and Paget over this season.

[akin16sk.livejournal.com]

ok girls are back in town, now to bring boys back and my fandom life is complete and utter bliss :)

[keeconk.livejournal.com]

OMG I'M EXCITED ♥

[elliptic-eye.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, as someone who likes both of them, I have some trouble physically distinguishing them, too, just because I have poor facial recognition in general. I largely have to rely on cues like clothing, posture, roles, etc.

Of course, since those cues are present in abundance any time one of them is playing a central role in a scene, it ends up not being much of an issue, but I get it when people have that problem.

[elliptic-eye.livejournal.com]

I would like to marry this thread now, please. ♥

[elliptic-eye.livejournal.com]

The Strauss development was awesome, but it's not the first time they've given her a little wiggle room in her Stone Cold Female Boss mold. I actually think it started at the beginning of "100," because her interrogation of the team members smacked of playing bad cop to get the testimony she needed to do the right thing. That she had no transitional period of reaction and adjustment when she finally deals with Hotch, but just goes instantly to "cleared," says to me that she was never planning to do anything else.

Um. Pardon the TL;DR; I'm just way too fond of Strauss.