Criminal Minds Season 11 is set to hit the small screen on September 30, but fans and followers of the behavioral psych drama could not get enough of the spoilers and cast news that have been floating around online.
With roughly a week before the Criminal Minds team once again graces the TV sets of its legions of viewers, snippets of what to expect as well as the changes to be anticipated in the upcoming season have been surfacing every now and then. Although the first episode of Criminal Minds Season 11 is yet to air, rumors surrounding the second installment have already hit the Internet.
Information from sources close to the matter disclosed that the second episode of Criminal Minds Season 11, titled "The Witness," will see the BAU working alongside Marisol Nichols from the hit TV shows NCIS and 24. Nichols will reportedly play the role of an FBI agent named Natalie Colfax, who will be working closely with Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner (Thomas Gibson), David Rossi (Joe Manganello), Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore) and Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness).
Apart from Nichols, the Criminal Minds cast will also work with Tim Kang from the widely popular crime drama The Mentalist. Kang will be playing the role of Charlie Senerak, who is identified as a medical supply worker the BAU believe to have played a crucial role in the pending investigation. It remains to be seen if the character of Aisha Tyler, named Dr. Tara Lewis, will also be cooperating with the BAU in The Witness. The second episode of Criminal Minds Season 11 will air on October 7, 2015.
Meanwhile, the first episode of Criminal Minds Season 11 will see the BAU search for a replacement for Kate Callahan (Jennifer Love-Hewitt). In the finale episode of Criminal Minds Season 10, Hotch received the resignation letter of Callahan. In real life, Hewitt intended to leave the Criminal Minds project to focus on her pregnancy and newborn baby. Hence, the first episode of Criminal Minds Season 11 will see the rest of the team tackle the departure of yet another team member. Reid, Garcia, Rossi and Morgan are expected to try to acclimatize to the addition of Lewis in the group.
According to sources, the character of Tyler is a forensic psychologist who used to work as an interviewer assigned to serial killers to determine whether or not the suspects are fit to stand in trial. As for the case Hotch and the team will handle, Criminal Minds Season 11 will open with a serial killer on the loose. The press release for the first episode, titled The Job, revealed that the BAU will be "searching for a serial killer who leaves distinctive marks on victims' faces."
