Aside from Jennifer Love Hewitt's departure from the show after one season, more changes will happen to the cast roster of "Criminal Minds" when the series returns for season 11.
Hewitt will not return to portray the role of Undercover Agent Kate Callahan. She will take a break from acting as she prepares to welcome her second child with husband Brian Hallisay. Kate was last seen during the final episode of "Criminal Minds" season 10.
But aside from the singer-songwriter, another main cast member will also take a break from the show for a while because of her pregnancy. Series executive producer Erica Messer confirmed the news that AJ Cook, who plays the role of Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, will be absent for at least the first four episodes of the new season. Cook will return after she gives birth to her second child with Nathan Andersen.
To fill in the vacant posts in the BAU, Messer said several old cast members will return and a few guest stars will be featured in the upcoming season of the long-running police procedural crime drama. However, there is no word yet about the identities of the returning characters and who the new guest artists will be.
On the other hand, CBS announced that they will be offering a new "Criminal Minds" spin-off to fill in the gap left by the station's cancelled series "Battle Creek." Messer will once again lead the production of the new series titled "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders" with the help of co-executive producers Nick Pepper and Mark Gordon.
"Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders" will delve into cases that are handled by an FBI division that specializes in helping troubled Americans in different parts of the world. Some of the cast members of the new spin-off series include police procedural show veteran Gary Sinise, Tyler James Williams, as well as Daniel Henney.
There are no reports yet about the official air date of both series, but they are scheduled to come out this fall.
