‘Criminal Minds’ season 12 spoilers: Paget Brewster, Aisha Tyler both returning

It’s official: Paget Brewster will be returning to “Criminal Minds” for season 12.

We first speculated on this move earlier this summer thanks to some very-clever teases over on social media, but today Brewster herself helped to announced the news while showrunner Erica Messer did the same thing while at San Diego Comic-Con, where CBS is holding many panels on Thursday.

Bringing Brewster back at this time seems like a very smart move for the show to continue to draw devoted viewers after the exit of Shemar Moore. It further gives them incentive to tune in, and helps them to get accustomed to a new incarnation of the show with Adam Rodriguez as series regular.

If you missed it, earlier this week Aisha Tyler also signaled her own return to the show on Twitter, posting a photo alongside A.J. Cook. This move also excites us greatly, given that Dr. Tara Lewis may be one of the best new characters that the series has introduced in years. Getting these two ladies back ensures that the BAU has strength in numbers, which is great given that they’re going to need every ounce of it they can to stop some escaped UnSubs. While the identity of many of them is unclear, it’s certainly possible that some could be back from when Brewster’s Emily Prentiss was a significant part of the show. While Brewster’s long-term status this time is not clear, we do at least know that this is more than just a one-episode gig.

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