‘Criminal Minds’ season 12: Paget Brewster promoted to series regular following Thomas Gibson exit

In the wake of the shocking dismissal of Thomas Gibson, “Criminal Minds” has done at least one thing to satisfy many of their longtime fans: Handing down a promotion to former cast member Paget Brewster.

This news was confirmed today in a statement, one where showrunner Erica Messer had the following to say:

“We’re all so excited to have Paget with us full time … The BAU family has definitely missed her, on screen and off. Having her back on set has been great, it’s like she never left.”

While Gibson and Shemar Moore have departed the series in the past year, the show has officially added now three new regulars: Brewster, Adam Rodriguez, and Aisha Tyler following her guest stint as Dr. Tara Lewis. More could be coming over the coming weeks, at least based on some reports out there. Personally, we’d be more than fine if the series did eventually make Brewster’s Emily Prentiss the leader of the BAU, but that’s just our own opinion on the matter.

While Paget was originally just going to be a part of the show for a stint of episodes, obviously something has changed over the past week or so — and it’s something that has us thoroughly excited about the future of the series in a way that we were cagey and nervous previously. We understood the reasoning behind Gibson’s exit, but you do worry sometimes that flux can lead to some viewers feeling as though it’s not the same show anymore.

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