‘Criminal Minds’ season 11 spoilers: Jennifer Love Hewitt not returning

Well, you definitely have to color us surprised when it comes to hearing this news: Jennifer Love Hewitt is not going to be doing another round of episodes on “Criminal Minds.” She just joined this season, and we very much thought that this was meant to be some sort of long-term thing. When the finale was written with her departing, we just assumed it was a way to write out her maternity leave.

However, it turns out that this is something that could last a little bit longer. As showrunner Erica Messer tells Entertainment Weekly, much of the reason behind Jennifer’s decision to leave the show comes down to family, and her desire to be at home with her two children rather than trying to work long hours on the show:

“She’s having another baby. Although on the show she hasn’t had, physically, two babies, she does have two kids: She has Meg, who she’s been raising since she was an infant, and we wrote in that the character is going to have another baby. There was an opportunity there to write towards the truth. Jennifer wanted to be able to give this second baby everything she gave her first, and that’s taking time off to be a full-time mom. Because she’s due in July, when we would start shooting season 11, timing-wise there was no way for her to do both, to be able to give that baby everything she wanted to give that baby and still be on our show. We wrote to that, and that’s how season 10 ends. It’s a bittersweet idea of ‘life is full of choices and they define who you are.’ She makes the decision to leave the team for a while. It’s really lovely and real, not only because it was happening off-screen, but because I know those things happen in real life too.”

There is no indication that AJ Cook (who is also pregnant) is leaving, so that may be a good sign for fans of JJ. As for whether or not Hewitt could return at some point in the future, Messer made it clear that the door is always open for her to come back if she so chooses.

If you do want to get some other news related to “Criminal Minds,” then head over to the link here right now for our review of Wednesday’s episode. Also, sign up here if you are interested in snagging some other TV news on everything we cover, courtesy of our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)