'Criminal Minds' season 10: First few episodes are already a "must-watch"

The latest details about the upcoming "Criminal Minds" season 10 on CBS have prompted the series' executive producer, Erica Messer, to tease fans that it will be "one of the largest disasters with mass causalities they've seen in their 10-year history."

The crime drama series will return for its tenth season this October, and Movienewsguide.com has already stirred up some buzz on the first few "must-watch" episodes of the upcoming season.

It has been known that Jennifer Love Hewitt will be joining the series to play the role of Kate Callahan, a competent FBI agent who signs up for the BAU in the season's pilot episode.

According to Air Herald, Messer stated that Hewitt's character will be presented while "doing something you don't see our team ever doing," which is putting on the impression "to like a criminal". As such, Callahan is likely to be involved in a sting operation to allow her to expand her possibilities in accomplishing what the FBI has asked for her to do.

Aside from Hewitt, another newbie to join "Criminal Minds" Season 10 is "Jericho" and "Black Widow" actress Alicia Coppola. The 46-year-old star will be stepping into the series as Lisa Randall, head of Morgellon's disease support group, and may appear in at least two episodes. Kerr Smith, who formerly starred in the drama series "Life Unexpected", has also been tapped to play the role of Frank Cowles, a body-part collector.

On the whole, the tenth season of "Criminal Minds" will continue on from where the previous season left off, including the final episode's shooting with Reid and Garcia. In the upcoming season's third episode, Messer claimed that the team will be facing a huge casualty that has never occurred in the past decade.

"Criminal Minds" Season 10 will be returning to the TV screen on Oct. 1, Wednesday, at 9 p.m. on CBS.