Criminal Minds showrunner Erica Messer can sum up Season 9 in one word: backstories.
"That's our focus this year," she tells TVGuide.com. "We're telling backstories and origin stories. We want to give everybody some insight into our heroes because we give insight to the unsubs every week. We're going to hit 200 [episodes] and it feels like, 'Let's tell the audience things they never knew before.'"
That involves an old beau for Garcia (Kristen Vangsness), The Reaper (C. Thomas Howell) and Haley (Meredith Monroe) returning (but not from the dead), and filling in the blanks of JJ's (A.J. Cook) year in the State Department during Season 6 — with some help from new BAU section chief Matt Cruz (Esai Morales), with whom she worked there. What's the deal with those two? How does Garcia's ex come back into the picture? Get the scoop on the season below:
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Criminal Minds' ninth season, premiering Sept. 25, "is shaping up to be the season of J.J.," reports A.J. Cook of her character, who was written out of the CBS procedural during Season 6. (Fan backlash led to Cook's rehiring for Season 7.) "We're going to use the serendipitous gift of Season 6 to explain with flashbacks what happened when she was working for the Pentagon and why she came back as a much tougher character. I've never had a chance to flex my acting muscles like this on the show!"
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The BAU has a new boss.
NYPD Blue and Caprica star Esai Morales has joined Criminal Minds as the new BAU section chief, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively.
Morales will recur as ...
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Unsubs, beware! Criminal Minds' BAU team is back.
CBS has renewed the procedural drama for a ninth season, TVGuide.com has confirmed. It was a just a matter of time, since just last week, showrunner Erica Messer signed a new two-year deal with ABC Studios, which produces the series.
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Every week, editors Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com or tweet them to @adam_bryant or @NatalieAbrams.
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