Season Eleven

Season Eleven. On May 11th, 2015 CBS announced the renewal of Criminal Minds for the 2015-2016 TV season, with a standard initial order of 22 episodes. The season premiered on September 30, 2015.

Ratings
No ratings information is available at this time.

Cast

 * Joe Mantegna - David Rossi
 * Thomas Gibson - Aaron Hotchner
 * Shemar Moore - Derek Morgan
 * Matthew Gray Gubler - Doctor Spencer Reid
 * A.J. Cook - Jennifer Jareau
 * Kirsten Vangsness - Penelope Garcia

Highlights
A.J. Cook, who was pregnant by the end of Season Ten, was not present for the first few episodes of the season, as she gave birth to her second child Phoenix around the time filming started. Phoenix began portraying Michael LaMontagne, JJ's second son.

Actress and comedian Aisha Tyler joined Criminal Minds at the start of the season. She portrays a recurring character, Dr. Tara Lewis, a forensic psychologist with a passion for the criminal justice system. Her previous experience in the FBI has brought her face-to-face with monsters, as her job was to extensively interview psychopathic criminals to determine whether they were fit for trial. Her dream was always to study psychopaths up close and personal, to try to learn how they can be caught and if there is any conscience behind their brutal crimes. Needless to say, after being pressured by the shortened team as a result of the absences of Kate and, temporarily, JJ, Hotch selects Lewis to join the BAU in the premiere, in which they search for a serial killer who is out for revenge. Her function in the team will be to examine the psyche of unsubs once they are apprehended.

A story arc revolved around a darknet organization called Silk Road (based entirely on its real-life counterpart, which was recently shut down by the FBI) being brought down by the BAU and other FBI agencies. Afterwards, the team is forced to focus on capturing individual members who managed to get away. Meanwhile, a new organization begins to form in the original's place, later revealed to be a network of hitmen.

Joe Mantegna will direct two episodes for the season, including the show's 250th episode, and he has hinted the possibility of Rossi's third ex-wife making an appearance. Erica Messer also confirmed the possibility of Hayden Montgomery, Rossi's second ex-wife, making a present-day appearance in the season following her first appearance via flashbacks. It was also stated in an interview that Rossi's daughter Joy Struthers will reappear in several episodes this season, starting with the seventh episode. Mantegna, answering fans' questions, confirmed that Thomas Gibson will direct another two episodes, the fifth and the sixteenth.

According to Matthew Gray Gubler, one of the main characters will depart from the show in an episode that he will be directing.