Criminal Minds is going into its 12th season, with a group of serial killers on the loose, and why not have them go international to set up a crossover with the spinoff, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, entering its second season? Stars Kirsten Vangsness and Tyler James Williams talked about that and more at San Diego Comic-Con when BuddyTV got the scoop on what’s coming up on both shows.

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Watch the video interview with Kirsten Vangsness and Tyler James Williams:

Here are the highlights:

  • Vangsness thinks Mr. Scratch will be the most personal. From her own speculation, she thinks he’ll be around “messing some things up.” “In the first episode, it’s just a mess, thanks to him.”
  • Adam Rodriguez has joined the cast and Vangsness called him “so cool and different and perfect.” As she explained, there’s no replacing Shemar Moore, so the right move was to bring in someone in a way that’s “totally different.”
  • Vangsness compared Moore and Rodriguez to different flavors of ice cream, saying of the latter, “I haven’t fully tasted it yet, but I’m really looking forward to making a sundae out of it.”
  • Paget Brewster is back for multiple episodes, and Aisha Tyler will be returning as well.
  • Season 2 of Beyond Borders will address Monty dealing with being the one who talks to the victims’ family members. “Monty’s really young and he’s got a really adult job that he has to do by himself and eventually that takes a toll on him and we have to see how he learns how to deal with that,” Williams said.
  • Williams thinks that in the second season, they’ll get to explore the characters as individuals and how the dynamics shift depending on the case.
  • They just filmed a crossover. “It feels very organic and normal because it’s the same building,” Vangsness said, with Williams adding they’re only a floor away from each other.
  • “Why not?” Vangsness said when asked if the serial killers could lead to a crossover with an international angle.
  • In season 12, Criminal Minds is doing a “greatest hits” of the biggest bads they’ve had, Vangsness teased. You’ll see characters you loved to hate before and will “love to hate them more.”

Criminal Minds season 12 premieres Wednesday, September 28 at 9pm on CBS. Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders season 2 will premiere later in the season.

(Image courtesy of CBS)

Meredith Jacobs

Contributing Writer, BuddyTV

If it’s on TV — especially if it’s a procedural or superhero show — chances are Meredith watches it. She has a love for all things fiction, starting from a young age with ER and The X-Files on the small screen and the Nancy Drew books. Arrow kicked off the Arrowverse and her true passion for all things heroes. She’s enjoyed getting into the minds of serial killers since Criminal Minds, so it should be no surprise that her latest obsession is Prodigal Son.