‘Criminal Minds’ season 10 spoilers: Jennifer Love Hewitt joins as series regular

While we imagined that “Criminal Minds” would be bringing in a new cast member after Jeanne Tripplehorn exited in the season 9 finale, we had no clue that this would be who the show would bring in as a replacement. However, we never imagined that Jennifer Love Hewitt would ultimately be one of the names on the list.

It was formally announced this week that the former star of “The Client List,” who saw that show canceled under somewhat-controversial circumstances, will be a regular for the tenth season as a special agent in the BAU who has a great background with the FBI. In a statement, executive producer / showrunner Erica Messer said the following:

“We’re thrilled to introduce a new special agent by adding the very talented Jennifer Love Hewitt to our amazing cast. Many of us on the show have enjoyed working with her over the years and look forward to again. We have exciting storylines planned for her character and the entire BAU team as we head into our 10th season.”

There is a pretty particular reason to us why this announcement came as a surprise to us: This is a show entering its tenth season! This is the time when you tend to cut costs, and while salary numbers for Hewitt were not revealed, we would imagine that she is worth much more than a TV veteran known more for supporting roles.

Then again, the benefit that comes with hiring her is that you are getting an actress who is already extremely accomplished when it comes to TV, and also someone with a following that will only help ratings. Not that the show needs the help, but it definitely does not hurt.

For now, what is your take on Hewitt becoming the latest cast member? Let us know your thoughts even further with a comment.