Season Eight

Season Eight. On March 14th, 2012 CBS announced the renewal of Criminal Minds for the 2012-2013 TV season, with a full order of 24 episodes. The season premiered on September 26, 2012.

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 - Dr. Spencer Reid
 * A.J. Cook - Jennifer Jareau
 * Jeanne Tripplehorn - Dr. Alex Blake
 * Kirsten Vangsness - Penelope Garcia

Highlights
Jeanne Tripplehorn joined the series as a regular, portraying Alex Blake, filling Prentiss' spot in the team.

In the fourth episode, Reid got a girlfriend named Maeve Donovan. Unfortunately, she was killed by her stalker in the early half of the season.

Thomas Gibson and A.J. Cook hinted that "a strange criminal" would be stalking the BAU throughout the entire season. Later on, Erica Messer confirmed that fact, explaining that for the first time, they will be able to feature a season-long unsub, something producers have wanted to do for a while but had never gotten approval on until now. She has also added that "...this guy is replicating crimes we've solved. [...] We'll probably see him five or six times [throughout the season]." The stalker first appeared in the end of The Silencer and was prominent for a total of eight episodes.

The airdate of the episode Brothers Hotchner was changed, and it aired just before the season finale as a two-hour episode, just like last season's Hit and Run. In the episode, the stalker's identity was revealed, and they lost one of their own.