criminalxminds | 9 things about the new season!

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9 things about the new season!

This very spoilery article talks about the changes that the teams faces in season 7. It's very informative and interesting.

MAJOR SPOILERS BEHIND THE CUT

"People everywhere were coming up [to me] and saying, 'Why did you die?'" Criminal Minds star Paget Brewster told the audience at Tuesday's Paley Center fall TV preview, which was moderated by TV Guide Magazine's Michael Schneider. "Fans did not want their show being messed with."

CBS' popular crime drama "messed with" Brewster's character Emily Prentiss last season when they wrote her off the show by faking her death within the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). After leaving the series, Brewster shot another pilot, which ultimately did not get picked up, leaving her free to return to Criminal Minds. She credits fans worldwide with getting Prentiss back on the show for Season 7, which premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 9/8c.

"I know 'muerte,'" said Brewster. "I now know 'death' in several languages. People in airports in Mexico would come up [to me to ask about Prentiss' death]. I'm like, 'I know. Lo siento!' The fan response was overwhelming for everyone I think."

Prentiss' BAU resurrection will be a pivotal part of the changes coming to Criminal Minds. Check out what else the cast and crew revealed about what to expect in Season 7:

1. Expect a different BAU. "It's a season where we get to explore our heroes a little bit more," showrunner Erica Messer said. "Every week we get to dive into what makes these bad guys tick, and this is the season where we want to explore all the layers that make up this team. We get started right away with Prentiss returning from the dead. ... This event has changed all of our characters' lives."

2. Things get hairy for Hotch. The Paley Center played a preview clip showing Unit Chief Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) sporting a full beard, at least temporarily, while he's out of the country. "Hotch, as you saw, was in Pakistan," confirmed Messer. "That was mainly because I saw this handsome devil with a beard and said, 'Can you keep that thing? We should write to it.'"

3. Morgan tracks down Prentiss' killer. "Morgan made it his life journey to get redemption for his friend," Shemar Moore said about his character, Special Supervisory Agent Derek Morgan. Messer added, "No matter what, he wasn't going to let Ian Doyle (Timothy V. Murphy) be out there in the world. ... Morgan's been looking for him. He did it in the traditional way that profilers do, by getting into the head of the bad guy. He realized that the whole thing that's keeping Ian Doyle going is that his son is still out there. Morgan and Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) begin digging around: Where would Doyle's son be? Where would Prentiss, our friend, have hidden him? So they're [also] profiling Prentiss."

4. Hotch + Morgan = Splitsville? Moore said, "There was a sense of betrayal from Hotch, even though that's his friend, that's his boss." Gibson added, "I think the theme of broken trust within a family will have a chance to play in various ways and various times in this season and maybe beyond."

5. JJ got a promotion. A.J. Cook's character Jennifer "JJ" Jareau was also written off the series, but was brought back after fan outcry. Not only was she part of the conspiracy hiding Prentiss' faked death, but she's also been busy with new duties. "JJ's been back for three-and-a-half months," said Messer. "She's been promoted to a profiler in that time. And we hear a little bit more about that in Episode 2."

6. Garcia will control the remote. Since JJ's now profiling, she won't introduce the cases. That duty falls to tech analyst Penelope Garcia, whom Vangsness said will be in the field, "at least in the round table room, at least holding that remote, explaining some stuff, which she does not enjoy doing. She likes being with them, but she does not enjoy the violence, so there's a lot of 'Here's the thing' [and] look away."

7. Dr. Reid will have family problems. "Reid had been dealing with his mom, which might have been something we lost in the premiere, but we touch on in Episode 2," Messer said. Matthew Gray Gubler, who wore two different socks (one pink, one blue-and-black striped) at the Paley Center event, couldn't reveal if his nerdy character's headaches would be addressed or if Reid would be getting a girlfriend. "I don't know, man," he said. "I'm always the last to know."

8. Rossi's first ex-wife could linger. As previously reported, Senior Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) will have to deal with his first ex-wife (Isabella Hoffman) when she comes to him for help. "It's kind of a two-part thing," said Mantegna. "We've established over the last few years that Rossi wasn't great at marriage. ... I thought if he were married three times to at least address a portion of that."

9. Ian Doyle will be back, briefly. "We see a wee bit of Ian Doyle [in Season 7]," Messer confirmed. "We're thinking that maybe [we should write that] he has an evil twin brother because [Murphy is] so great."

SOURCE

I think It's very interesting that JJ is now a profiler. I expected her to take over Strauss' job, actually, not profiling. I suppose she will split administrative duties with Hotch anyway. But if Garcia is manning the remote now, does it mean she's involved with picking the cases like JJ used to do?

I can't wait for the new season, that so many great storylines to look forward to! And I love that Erica Messer decided to write for Hotch's beard!

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Apologies for any formatting and spelling issues, but LJ's new posting interface is so completely borked that I'm afraid any editing will lead to more problems.

Hotch + Morgan = Splitsville?

This takes my brain to a very shippy place. :D

Me too, my friend. Me too.

SHOOOOOOWWWW.

You are back. I love you.

Ian Doyle wouldn't have an evil twin. He'd have an eviller twin.

1. Expected this.
2. They wrote. For the beard. How do I even process this?
3. Saw it coming.
4. Saw it coming.
5. Not sure how I feel about profiler!JJ, considering that in an early episode, she explicitly tells Hotch she doesn't want to become one.
6. Yay for more Garcia. More Garcia is always good.
7. Does this mean we get to see more of Diana? Because that's good. And there better not be a girlfriend. If there is, well, the fandom will probably erupt into foaming at the mouth rage on YouTube. I might erupt into foaming at the mouth rage.
8. OMG ROSSI BACKSTORY I AM SO EXCITE. I LOVE ROSSI. YAY!!!!
9. I should hope there'd be more Doyle. However, please no evil twins. Though I could see the Call Back to "Angel Maker" and that eviler twin quote.

she explicitly tells Hotch she doesn't want to become one

This, I wish people would realize this, instead of passing it off as if JJ has always been this profiler in the sense that Hotch, Prentiss, Reid, Rossi, and Morgan are.

8. OMG ROSSI BACKSTORY I AM SO EXCITE. I LOVE ROSSI. YAY!!!!

I am convinced Rossi doesn't get enough love in this fandom, so thank you for this! :D

Edited 2011-09-08 09:28 (UTC)

They've said that they're trying to get Jane Lynch to come back for an episode, so I'm PRAYING TO GOD that happens because I adore Diana Reid.

Also, I'm the only Reid fan who actually wants him to get a girlfriend? Yeah? Ok, cool.

I'm not opposed to Reid getting a girlfriend. But the wanksplosion that would cause would be headache inducing.

Ugh. Well I'd just ignore the wank because I'd be in my happy place. As long as they make her someone compatible to him, I'd be happy. Like, Lila Archer was a nice fling and it was hot to watch him make out in the pool with her, and I love that damn episode (haters to the left), but no Lila Archer-esque girlfriends, please. Someone smart, but also pretty and a nerd herself (though she may hide it more easily). He also needs a woman who's bold, since he's so reserved.

I haven't thought about this at all, btw....

ETA: Yes, I see where the wank would come from. She'd be picked to pieces, as I kind of just did lol.

Edited 2011-09-07 21:50 (UTC)

I have to say that I don't want to see Reid getting a girlfriend. I wouldn't consider that a storyline and I wouldn't be interested.
Also I'm pretty sure I would be disappointed by the writers choice, I never liked the whole Lila Archer or Austin (the bartender) story.
I really, really hope the writers will leave romance to fanfic and to our imagination.

I don't mind the idea of Reid already having someone in his life, but I would prefer it to remain off screen, I don't need to see it and I don't need to see his partner.

That way, the writers can use Reid's screen time in a much more productive way by highlighting his intellect (I loved 'The Uncanny Valley' and I wish the writers would use Reid's genius and scientific background more often) and his relationship with his team.

I'm personally very excited about the news concerning his mother too. I can't wait to see what will happen !

Uhm, JJ was promoted to profiler? So now you don't need any training or qualifications to become a profiler?

it could be in the year she was with the pentagon, she took classes and secretly trained with rossi and stuff.

This, I'm totally in agreement on. It just seems like a little much and a bit of a stretch for her to all of a sudden be "profiler material" just because she worked for a year with the pentagon. for me, it's just another way to give her more screen time over Prentiss or any of the "real" profiler's.

Erm, JJ's been profiling since season 1, it just wasn't in her official job description. That ep where Hotch asks her why doesn't become a profile? It's in season 2. Being the media/police/family liaison requires some profiling skills, otherwise they'd have to deal with uncooperative cops all the time and rate families.

Plus you've no evidence that this will give her more screentime above any of the "real" profilers. It's a way to develop her character.

Maybe it does entail some profiling skills, but in my opinion it still doesn't necessarily mean that she needs to be promoted. I feel like she worked perfectly fine in the current position that she was holding prior going to work for the pentagon. I also remember that episode where Hotch asks her why doesn't she become a profiler.

Thing is, you can possess some profiling skills and use them quite a bit and frequently, and still not exactly be a profiler in the sense that that is your job (you went to school for this and you had all the necessary training and experience) and it's the one thing that you do out and out on a daily basis.

When it's actually stated on the show that JJ is really a profiler and she's had all of the necessary training, certificates from schooling, etc. That's when I'll believe that she's a full blown true profiler.

And, I wasn't necessarily stating that I had any evidence that it will give her more screen time, so much as I was expressing an opinion the way other's here have done so. I was actually assuming that she would just naturally be given more screen time, now that they've made her a profiler of sorts.

I guess I just feel like her character has already been developed. From what I've seen of the show, I think I'm pretty well okay to in my assumptions to think that it's only going to bolster her screen time a great deal. I know that she's been given more screen time than character's like, Prentiss for example, in past seasons.

Edited 2011-09-08 09:25 (UTC)

I'm not coming after anyone. I just don't understand why people feel that JJ becoming a profiler is OOC and completely unexpetcted.

It's the only way it makes sense for her to come back to the team. As much as we'd all like to, we can't ignore season 6, and coming back to an inferior job that likely pays less doesn't make much sense, even if she hated being forced to leave in the first place. Moreover, Hotch stated that they needed another profiler on the team after Emily's "death" (boubly so after Ashley leaves). From what I've read the season premiere is a timejump away from the finale and I'm guessing JJ comes back during that time. It's probably what Rossi and her were plotting at the end of the finale.

Also, IMHO characters (and people) evolve constantly. Having the same characters do the same thing year after year, well that's just your generic CSI series.

And Emily is my favourite character, but I really don't think JJ has had more screentime than she has.

It's a bit OOC for me, because when asked why doesn't she become a profiler, her reply was because she didn't want to. I realize that people can and do change their minds often, but there had to be something big to make her all of a sudden decide that she wanted to be a profiler.

She worked perfectly find being the media liason and choosing the cases they took, as well as presenting them. She even got to be in the field doing it for the most part, dealing with the family members, and other people in authority, etc. I personally see absolutely nothing at all wrong with that role and I feel like she was really fantastic at it, so why change it up? For me, personally, it just doesn't make much sense.

I'm aware that people grow and change, but I'm not exactly too thrilled about that change. Plus, Emily will be coming back from the dead, so there's their profiler that Hotch was saying they needed. And I'm also not too sold on her being her previous job at the BAU being that inferior.

I disagree that it's just your basic generic CSI show. It's just a group of people doing what they actually know they're good at. There can still be room for personal growth in there somewhere, if they want to grow character's.

I tend to feel as if JJ has had more screen time than Prentiss.

Interesting news. I can't wait to see what will happen with Reid's mother.
I want the writers to show us more of Reid's genius and more of his relationship with his team.

I hope they don't have a romance storyline planed for Reid, that wouldn't interest me and that's the kind of things best left to fanfiction. They can find much better storylines for Reid than that.

The only thing I have a problem with is the whole JJ-profiler thing. Didn't she tell Hotch earlier in the series that "not everyone wanted to be a profiler"? It just seems kind of OOC for her.

Kay, so, I lied. The whole Morgan-tracking-down-Doyle think bites me as well. If they turn this into something romantic between Morgan and Prentiss, then... idek. I can't say anything, I ship people so hard I'm like the freaking Titanic, but I just guess that's what fanfiction is for, you know? The BAU works well how they are, no romantics inside the team, exc.

Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions... I don't know.

ETA: I am so excited for Rossi's back story and Reid's mother, asdfghjkl; Words. Cannot. Express.

Edited 2011-09-08 00:27 (UTC)

I don't see why it's OOC. She's changed and evolved since season 2.

Morgan probably feels personally responsible because Pretiss "died" in his arms. It doesn't have to be a romantic thing. And I doubt it will be. So far everyone (cast & writers) have said they're not interested in making any romantic connections between team members.

I don't agree with you about Morgan, but I do agree with you emphatically about JJ. Some people seem to think that being the media liason makes you a tried and true profiler and I just don't think that cuts it. I personally, feel like it takes years to develop those kinds of skills, and of course you go to school for that as well as learning on the job. Yes, some jobs may require you to have some type of profiling skills, but that doesn't necessarily make you a bonafide profiler. Though, I'm not surprised that JJ fans are campaigning this.

I'm honestly not looking forward to some of these storylines.

5. They barely have enough things for their current profilers to do. They don't need another one. And just when did JJ find the time to do the training?
6. Spare me. There was far too much of Garcia looking away from the icky things when presenting last season. I'm not looking forward to more of that.

These were the issues I had as well. Surely we can have Garcia and JJ plots without changing up their duties?

Pah.

This and more of this. It's like, ooh JJ's back let's give her more duties and write her OCC, so we can have her all over the screen.

So much word to #6. I thought it was quite juvenile of her, tbh. She's working for the frakking BAU, they're trying to track down killers and get justice for their victims, and her 'augh, so gross, omg, make it go away, I don't wanna see it' routine really set my teeth on edge. Why can't JJ still present cases? It's not like they have to be locked into their roles- if Garcia, the analyst, could take over JJ's role, why can't JJ, as profiler, take back her presenting role?

Why is it juvenile to be horrified by horrible things? Perhaps it's unprofessional, but what about Garcia screams "professional FBI agent" to you?

Although, yeah, I don't see why JJ can't still present cases, even if she is a profiler.

I don't get all the hate for JJ being a profiler. Yes, she did mention that she had no interest in it in previous seasons but isn't a woman allowed to change her mind? Maybe her year at the Pentagon made me realize that profiling is something that she *wants* to do.

I'm less happy with Garcia's new job but my main reason for that is 'cause it's mentioned that she doesn't enjoy it. IMO Garcia is best doing what she loves : being awesome with computers.

It's not necessarily hate for JJ being a profiler, it's more along the lines of seeming a bit OOC and also, it feels like since she's back there's going to be more screen time for her than there will be for the other character's. That's what chaps me. I honestly don't see any reason for her duties to have changed that much, at all.

I don't think it's OOC for her.

Like

a_blackpanther stated above, she expressed no desire to be a profiler in season 2. Now, we're in season 7. It's possible that JJ changed her mind since then and that being away from the BAU made her realize that. Or maybe it was the only way that the BAU would let her come back. Who knows.

I just hope that the writers give us some explanation on it.

That's perfectly understandable, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I just personally feel as if it is a bit OOC for her, as it was a little unexpected in some ways. I'm not too sold on the idea that it's the only way that the BAU would let her come back, but maybe she did change her mind.

I'm just worried about the screen time and how it's going to affect other character's and will it be just as fair to them as it seems to be for her at the moment.

As a huge AJ/JJ fan, I'm super happy to know JJ's going to have a more involved role this season as a profiler. I think it was smart of AJ to want there to be more to her character this time around, and I can't wait to see how JJ evolves. I don't think it's a matter of JJ having more screen time and the rest of the characters, less. I think it's more about them being equal. JJ hasn't been featured as much as the other characters through the seasons, and this is a good opportunity for her character to be more visible and more understood, as the rest have been.

Yes, but I just don't see this as being equal, because I've seen JJ get a bit more screen time (in past seasons) than a couple of the character's. So, that's what leads me to believe that this is a way of showing her more and more, and we're going to get to see more of her development but what about the other's? There are character's like Rossi and Prentiss, that I'd like to know more about.

I guess I don't see how her return will mean less screen time for the rest of them. She was on the show for the entire time (in a lesser capacity, yes) but we have gotten to see specific backstories on other characters, too. I think the writers understand (and Erica, being in charge now, understands) that this is an ensemble show. As much a fan of JJ as I am, I wouldn't want the show to become entirely about her. Part of CM's goodness is its well-roundedness and the talent of all the people in the cast.

My thing is, that by increasing her screen time, magically morphing her into a profiler when she was perfectly fine where she was at in the position that she was recently inhabiting and was actually good at, that the show is going to become "all about JJ" and other character's are going to get a little lesser screen time. I've always maintained that she's had more screen time than Rossi or Prentiss, even if they've both had a few episodes where they were centered around them. AJ/JJ has been with this show from all seven years, so therefore she has had actually more screen time. I just don't want it to become all about her and her home life and how it affects only her.

Given that this show has been on 7 years and so far it's been pretty balanced, what are the chances of that happening?

It's a pretty big leap you took from JJ get s a promotion to JJ takes over the show.

I didn't say that she ultimately take over the show, I was more or less saying that it was my fears, that it would soon become more about JJ than some of the other character's. Also, as I've said before, the promotion just doesn't necessarily make all that much sense to me. I function on the belief that the show was working just fine with all of them in their given positions before we found out AJ Cook and Paget Brewster were going to be cut from the show. So, I don't know why there would be a need to mess with that chemistry. It's not like I'm saying people don't deserve promotions, it's just this one for my personal belief, is a bit harder for me to take.

As far as the show being pretty balanced over the last 7 years, it may very well have been. However, given the amount of time that JJ has been around from the beginning (which is all 6 season's worth) compared to Prentiss and Rossi, you can clearly see that she has actually had a bit more screen time than those two, as they came into the show in later seasons.

I'm just tired of arguing this to death and people trying to prove me wrong, when all I'm doing is honestly sharing an opinion like the rest of everyone.

I agree with

a_blackpanther. I don't see how JJ has gotten more screentime, especially more than Prentiss, who had a totally amazing exit story (and I say this as a Prentiss fan. Love her.) as opposed to JJ's teeny tiny one. We found out so much about Prentiss in Season 6 that makes her so much more of an intriguing and amazing character. Seems like Prentiss and Rossi both will be quite involved this season, as will the rest of the characters. I wouldn't worry.

I'm really looking forward this season!

I have my doubts about JJ becoming a profiler, not because I think she can't do it or because I don't want her to do so, I'm just a little unsure how that will go, but we'll see. And I join to the people who don't understand why JJ can't retake the functions she had before leaving the BAU.

Also looking forward to Rossi's arc too.

I love JJ and Emily, I'm glad they are back. But it is only natural that if you get actors/characters back that fans wanted back, they will focus on them a little. I think the fans have earned to know more about the characters (especially those who haven't been explored much.)

Save for JJ being a mother, having lost a sister and coming from a small town, she hasn't really been put on the map as much as some of the others. I loved JJ for not wanting to be a profiler but it only makes sense to increase her role. AJ said it herself, if she was thought of as expandable in her earlier role, then they should make it a bit more.. meaty. And I guess all those who are crying 'OOC' just because JJ ONCE said she didn't want to be a profiler never heard of anybody changing their mind over the years?

God knows I have grown to love, or hate, things I thought of the exact opposite before. I have come to appreciate OR view things in a different light after some time. What's so hard to imagine about JJ deciding to become a profiler? I'm looking forward to it.

Edited 2011-09-13 08:15 (UTC)

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9 things about the new season!

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