Last season on Criminal Minds, the BAU team worked with agents from the Domestic Trafficking Task Force to bring down a human trafficking ring. Meanwhile, Hotch (Thomas Gibson) informed his team that due to budget cuts, there could be staff changes in the coming weeks and the show hinted that Hotch himself could be among them. The episode concluded with the return of AJ Cook as JJ, who cryptically told Rossi (Joe Mantegna) she was coming back.

Check out our Criminal Minds Holiday Trivia Contest to test your Criminal Minds knowledge and get a chance to win some great prizes!

Criminal Minds Season 7 Recaps

Best of Season 7 Premiere “It Takes A Village” 
Best of Episode 7.02 “Proof”

Best of Episode 7.03 “Dorado Falls”

Episode 7.04 “Painless” Recap: High School Hell

Episode 7.05 “From Childhood’s Hour” Recap: How To “Save” A Life

Episode 7.06 “Epilogue” Recap: Life After Death

Episode 7.07 “There’s No Place Like Home” Recap: No Sun Up In The Sky

Episode 7.08 “Hope” Recap: A Mother’s Loss Hits Close To Home

Cast Shake-up on Criminal Minds Season 7

As was revealed back in May, original cast member Paget Brewster will follow in AJ Cook’s footsteps and return as a series regular for Criminal Minds season 7. And when word got out in June that Thomas Gibson had closed a deal to continue on with the series, fans everywhere rejoiced that the original team would be back together for the new season.

Which Criminal Minds Character Are You? >>

Unfortunately, with all of the good news also came the bad: Rachel Nichols, who was introduced last season in part to replace Cook and Brewster, will not be returning to the show in the upcoming season. And this is one fan who is disappointed about that, as I thought Nichols brought an interesting energy to the aging series. 

CBS Cancels Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior >>

Aside from the cast changes, what can viewers expect from Criminal Minds season 7? For starters, the series will pick up four months after the events of the finale and the season opener is said to feature the return of a not-so-deceased Prentiss. While fans are eagerly awaiting the character’s return, some of her colleagues may be less than happy to learn that Prentiss faked her death.

Test Your Knowledge with Our Criminal Minds Trivia Challenge >>

The new season will also see JJ get a promotion and introduce Mark Moses as one member of the committee assigned to look into a case the BAU apparently mishandled. 

But as Criminal Minds season 7 is still two months away, there is plenty to speculate over. How will Prentiss return to the BAU? Is Hotch still the unit chief, or has someone else taken charge of our team? And what about those strange headaches Reid experienced last year? Will the new season explore the cause of that affliction? 

Megan Cole
Contributing Writer

(Image courtesy of CBS)


Megan Cole

Contributing Writer, BuddyTV