Wednesday night's season 11 premiere of "Criminal Minds" saw Aisha Tyler's debut as Dr. Tara Lewis as she went to the BAU to interview for the spot vacated by Kate Callahan (Jennifer Love Hewitt). But her interview was cut short after new information came up about the episode's UnSub. Lewis showed the BAU what she's capable of after volunteering to help them capture the murderer.
In the episode, A.J. Cook, who's still on maternity leave and made a cameo as her character JJ, phoned in to tell Hotch (Thomas Gibson) that she's not coming back yet to spend more time with her baby. Cook's real life maternity leave was written into season 11, and TVGuide reports that the actress even had her own child play JJ's child. Hotch told JJ to take as much time as she wants and assured her that her job will be waiting for her once she's ready.
Hotch went on to interview candidates for the position but only got to talk to Lewis briefly. New developments on the case involving a new UnSub came to light, so Hotch had to cut short the interview. But Lewis, having had 12 years of experience interviewing serial killers, volunteered to help them catch the bad guy.
With her help, the BAU was able to find the UnSub. Lewis impersonated the wife of a SWAT leader in a phone call to the UnSub. At the end of the episode, the UnSub was captured, Hotch and Lewis got to finish the interview, and the doctor got the job.
In an interview with TVGuide, executive producer Erica Messer said that having Lewis on the team will be an advantage to the BAU because the doctor is "a very skilled analyst and has this incredible depth of knowledge of how the mind of a sociopath operates," which she effectively demonstrated in the premiere.
In the next episode, titled "The Witness," more challenges are up ahead for the team as a Los Angeles bus is attacked with sarin gas, and the BAU must find the culprit before a larger-scale incident occurs.
"Criminal Minds" airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBS.
