Criminal Minds - Season 11 - ****** Not Returning

Thanks to Tyler for the heads up.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What can you tell us about Jennifer’s decision not to return?
ERICA MESSER: I didn’t know she was pregnant until really the end of the calendar year, which was still early, although we had already broken the finale at that point. There was definitely some going back and having more finality to her character. We had already set up that the episode would be about Kate and her family and the horrific thing that happens with her daughter Meg being abducted. That was already in play, but what wasn’t in play was writing her out by any means. We went back into the writers’ room and discussed options of how to do that.

It felt like we had every opportunity to write to the truth of it: She’s having another baby. Although on the show she hasn’t had, physically, two babies, she does have two kids: She has Meg, who she’s been raising since she was an infant, and we wrote in that the character is going to have another baby. There was an opportunity there to write towards the truth. Jennifer wanted to be able to give this second baby everything she gave her first, and that’s taking time off to be a full-time mom. Because she’s due in July, when we would start shooting season 11, timing-wise there was no way for her to do both, to be able to give that baby everything she wanted to give that baby and still be on our show. We wrote to that, and that’s how season 10 ends. It’s a bittersweet idea of “life is full of choices and they define who you are.” She makes the decision to leave the team for a while. It’s really lovely and real, not only because it was happening off-screen, but because I know those things happen in real life too.

Are you leaving the door open for her to return for a potential 12th season?
Yeah, we left it open creatively. Hotch says, “You always have a place here,” and we believe that wholeheartedly off-screen as well. It was a great season and we had a lot of fun with her. One of the great things about our show is you can leave those doors open. We rarely kill anyone. That opportunity for paths to cross again is definitely open. Everybody is on board with that. Of course, no one has a crystal ball, so it’s hard to predict two years from now what’s going on—or a year from now. But it’s something we’d definitely creatively keep open.

Have you spoken with Jennifer about making a cameo next season, or are you moving on and thinking about what new characters you can introduce?
We’re moving on, and thinking about new ideas and characters and what we can play on with our mythology after 10 years. I really want to honor her wishes of being able to go home and concentrate on being a mama to two babies. I’ve been there; it’s a lot of work. I haven’t even approached that with her yet. But because we’ve left the door open, if there’s a massive case and we need to call Kate back, that’s something I’d love to be able to do.

What are you looking for in a new character for next season?
It’s such a big discussion with so many cooks in the kitchen. We haven’t really concentrated on that yet. Our season in the writers’ room will begin June 1, so that’s our work for the beginning of season 11. We have had a revolving door, and sometimes there might be fun in [bringing back someone] who’s come in that door and say, “Hey, do you want to come back and play for a little bit?” Which would be amazing because it’s always a fun thing when shows get to bring people back. It takes a lot of us getting together and talking about what we’ve seen and what we need. It feels like there’s nothing missing on our team. We’ve got such a great group. Our core group that everyone’s known and loved for so many years cover all of our bases, so anything on top of it is like a bonus. This might be a good opportunity to bring in a fun guest star for a while and maybe shake it up a little bit.

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