The eighth season of ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...

'' premiered on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

on September 26, 2012. The series was renewed on March 14, 2012. In Canada, season eight aired one day earlier on CTV than on CBS in the United States.

Cast

On February 15, 2012, ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wit ...

'' reported that

Paget Brewster Paget Valerie Brewster (, ; born March 10, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She was first recognized for her recurring role as Kathy on the fourth season of the NBC sitcom ''Friends''. Her breakthrough role came as FBI Supervisory Speci ...

(Emily Prentiss) would leave the show once season seven was over. All other main cast members had secured deals for the season. On June 13, 2012, CBS announced that

Jeanne Tripplehorn Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn (born June 10, 1963) is an American actress. She began her career on stage, acting in several plays throughout the early 1990s, including Anton Chekhov's '' Three Sisters'' on Broadway. Her film career began with the ro ...

would join the cast of the show.

Main

Joe Mantegna Joseph Anthony Mantegna (, ; born November 13, 1947) is an American actor. Mantegna began his career on stage in 1969 in the Chicago production of the musical ''Hair''. He earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Joseph Jeff ...

as Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi (BAU Senior Agent) *

Shemar Moore Shemar Franklin Moore (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor. His notable roles include Malcolm Winters on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1994–2005), Derek Morgan on ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–2016), and the lead role of Sergeant II Dani ...

as Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan (BAU Agent) *

Matthew Gray Gubler Matthew Gray Gubler (, ; born March 9, 1980) is an American actor, filmmaker, fashion model, painter, illustrator, director, and author. He is best known for his role as criminal profiler Dr. Spencer Reid in the CBS television show ''Criminal M ...

as Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid (BAU Agent) * A. J. Cook as Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau (BAU Agent) *

Kirsten Vangsness Kirsten Simone Vangsness (born July 7, 1972) is an American actress and writer. She is best known for her portrayal of FBI Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia on the CBS drama series ''Criminal Minds''. She portrayed the same character on the sp ...

as Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia (BAU Technical Analyst & Co-Communications Liaison) *

as Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Alex Blake (BAU Agent) *

Thomas Gibson Thomas Ellis Gibson (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his television roles as Daniel Nyland on ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–1997), Greg Montgomery on ''Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002) and Aaron Hotchner on ''C ...

as Supervisory Special Agent Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner (BAU Unit Chief & Co-Communications Liaison)

Recurring

Jayne Atkinson Jayne Atkinson (born 18 February 1959) is a British-American actress. She is best known for the role of Karen Hayes on '' 24'', as well as her Tony Award–nominated roles in '' The Rainmaker'' and '' Enchanted April''. She has also appeared in ...

as Supervisory Special Agent Erin Strauss (BAU Section Chief) *

Beth Riesgraf Beth Jean Riesgraf (born August 24, 1978) is an American actress and television director. She is known for her portrayal of Parker on the TNT television series '' Leverage'' (2008–2012) and the revival '' Leverage: Redemption'' which streams ...

as Maeve Donovan * Mekhai Andersen as Henry LaMontagne *

Nicholas Brendon Nicholas Brendon Schultz (born April 12, 1971), known professionally as Nicholas Brendon, is an American actor and writer. He is best known for playing Xander Harris in the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003) and Kevin L ...

as Kevin Lynch * Cade Owens as Jack Hotchner *

Bellamy Young Bellamy Young (born Amy Maria Young; February 19, 1970) is an American actress, producer and singer, best known for her role as Melody "Mellie" Grant in the ABC drama series'' Scandal'' (2012–2018). In 2014 for her portrayal of Mellie, she won ...

as Beth Clemmons *

Josh Stewart Joshua Regnall Stewart (born February 6, 1977) is an American actor who is best known for his role as Holt McLaren in the FX TV series ''Dirt'' and as Detective William LaMontagne, Jr., on the CBS series ''Criminal Minds''. He was also cast as ...

as William "Will" LaMontagne Jr. * Skipp Sudduth as Stan Gordinski * Mark Hamill as John Curtis / The Replicator

Episodes

Ratings

Home media

References

;General references *

External links

* {{Criminal Minds Criminal Minds 2012 American television seasons 2013 American television seasons