‘Criminal Minds’ season 12: Could Jane Lynch (finally) return?

For those of you who are Spencer Reid – “Criminal Minds” fans, you clearly know just how important Jane Lynch’s character of Diana is to that story. Unfortunately, there is a good part of it that has been told off-camera … and understandably so, to a certain extent. In between “Glee,” “Hollywood Game Night,” and “Angel From Hell,” Lynch has been an extremely busy woman, and there hasn’t really been a whole lot of time to fit her into the story.

However, with no pilot booked for the upcoming fall season, it’s starting to look as though the show may be that chance to bring her back in some capacity. Based on what showrunner Erica Messer said to TV Guide in a new interview, she’s definitely interested in bringing the character back in some capacity:

“We might actually be able to get her. Fingers crossed! [Reid and Diana] are going on vacation together, so she’s clearly doing better, so it’d be great to actually see her. Thomas [Gibson] saw her on a flight a couple weeks ago and texted me, ‘She’s on my flight right now!’ I was like, ‘Tell her we need her for next year!’ [Laughs] He said he did. Hopefully we can make it happen. I would love, really more than anything, if we could get her this year. There are so many stories we could tell with Jane. I really am hopeful.”

Messer also made it clear that she is already thinking about the other UnSubs to bring back after the prison escape in the finale, but no decisions have been made just yet. She also feels confident that a season 12 will be ordered, hence the reason for everyone starting to look ahead. It may just be a couple of weeks before the truth comes out.

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