Matthew Gray Gubler renews contract for 'Criminal Minds'

"Criminal Minds" regular Matthew Gray Gubler has signed a new two-year contract to continue on the show.

Matthew Gray Gubler

Deadline is reporting Gubler, who has played Dr. Spencer Reid for the series' entire seven season run, will earn more than $100,000 per episode under the new deal.

The actor was the only member of the main cast whose contract was up this year other than Padget Brewster, who announced in February that she would not be returning next season.

Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn ("Big Love") will join the show this coming year, although there are no details available yet about her character. She signed a one-year contract with an option for a second to star in the procedural.

The cast also includes Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner, Shemar Moore as Derek Morgan, Joe Mantegna as David Rossi, A.J. Cook as Jennifer "JJ" Jareau and Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia.

Jeanne Tripplehorn joining 'Criminal Minds'

With Paget Brewster leaving CBS' "Criminal Minds" for the second time in two seasons--this time by her own choice--actress Jeanne Tripplehorn has been tapped to join the procedural this fall.

Jeanne Tripplehorn

According to Deadline, Tripplehorn's contract is for one season with an option for a second.

The report quotes showrunner Erica Messer as saying, "“We’re thrilled to have Jeanne Tripplehorn join our team as a profiler. It’s an exciting way to start season eight.”

The show's seventh season marked the return of series regular Brewster as Emily Prentiss and A.J. Cook as J.J. Jareau. Their departure the previous season brought a clamor from fans who were upset at the decision to axe the stars, especially considering it appeared to have been a financial rather than creative one.

In February, however, it was announced Brewster would once again leave the show at the end of the season.

"After six wonderful years playing Emily Prentiss, I have decided it’s time for me to move on," she told Deadline. "As much as I will miss my 'Criminal Minds' family, I am excited about the future and other opportunities."

Last year, Brewster filmed a pilot for NBC's "My Life as an Experiment," but the show wasn't picked up. ABC Studios, which produces "Criminal Minds," then exercised an option in the actress' contract to bring her back for another year. Brewster declined to sign a new contract.

Last year, Tripplehorn finished her five-season run on "Big Love" and appeared this past season on two episodes of the freshman comedy "New Girl." She received an Emmy nomination in 2009 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her work in HBO's "Grey Gardens."

The details of her character on "Criminal Minds" are not yet known.

Paget Brewster leaving 'Criminal Minds' ... again

Paget Brewster, second from left, will be leaving "Criminal Minds" again.

Well, the gang at CBS's "Criminal Minds" were whole again this year, but it appears that will be a short-lived event.

This season marked the return of series regulars Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss and A.J. Cook as J.J. Jareau. Their departure last season brought a clamor from fans who were upset at the decision to axe the stars, especially considering it appeared to have been a financial rather than creative one.

According to Deadline, however, Brewster will once again leave the show at the end of the season, but this time the decision is hers.

"After six wonderful years playing Emily Prentiss, I have decided it’s time for me to move on," she told Deadline. "As much as I will miss my 'Criminal Minds' family, I am excited about the future and other opportunities."

Thomas Gibson renews contract to continue run on 'Criminal Minds'

With Thomas Gibson, "Criminal Minds" will have its entire main cast back.

After a rocky season filled with cast shakeups and surprise returns, "Criminal Minds" will officially be bringing back the entire gang next season with the news that Thomas Gibson has renewed his contract.

Deadline is reporting Gibson, who plays Supvisory Special Agent Aaron Hotcher, signed a two-year contract extension just two weeks before filming was set to begin on the series' seventh season.

Gibson was the final regular cast member to sign an extension and will join returning actresses A.J. Cook and Paget Brewster, whose characters were written out of the show last season.

Cook's Special Agent JJ Jareau left the show in the first several episodes when she was transferred to a different agency. She returned in the last scene of the season finale.  Emily Prentiss (Brewster) left following a multi-episode arc in which a killer from her past returns, almost kills her and then escapes. At the end of the season, the rest of the team, minus JJ, believes she is dead.

In April, Cook signed a new two-year contract to return. Then last month, after her pilot "My Life as an Experiment" wasn't picked up, ABC exercised its option on Brewster to bring her back as well. Meanwhile, the studio did not pick up an option for Rachel Nichols, whose Ashley Seaver was introduced this year.

The "Criminal Minds" spin-off "Suspect Behavior" was canceled last month after a lackluster first season in the ratings. Hopefully with the return of the main cast and without the ill-conceived spin-off as a distraction, the series can return to form after a lackluster season six.

Paget Brewster in, Rachel Nichols out for 'Criminal Minds'

Paget Brewster (second from left) will be returning to "Criminal Minds."

The old gang should be getting back together for the next season of "Criminal Minds," with Paget Brewster officially on board to return as Emily Prentiss.

Brewster's character left the show late this season after the actress' contract was modified to reduce the number of episodes she would appear in. Brewster filmed a pilot for NBC's "My Life as an Experiment," but the show wasn't picked up, leaving ABC Studios, which produces "Criminal Minds," the option to bring her back.

Deadline broke the story yesterday that the studio had in fact done so, while also deciding not to pick up an option for Rachel Nichols, whose Ashley Seaver was introduced this year, for next season.

A.J. Cook returning to 'Criminal Minds'

If you went by the amount of turnover and angst surrounding the television series "Criminal Minds," you'd have a hard time believing it was a top 10 show.

Before the current sixth season had begun, however, it was revealed regulars A.J. Cook (Special Agent JJ Jareau) had been cut and Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) would be leaving midway through. The news sparked outrage among fans, but to no avail, as JJ was whisked away to the Pentagon in the season's second episode and Prentiss, at the end of a recent arc of episodes, was left in hiding and presumed dead after a killer from her past returned.

Now, as Deadline revealed Friday, Cook has signed a new two-season deal to return to the crime procedural. According to the report, she will appear in this season's final episode on May 18.

Deadline also reported that ABC Studios, which produces "Criminal Minds," still has an option on Brewster, who is filming a comedy pilot for NBC, to return next season should her new project tank.

In addition to the cast shakeup, the series is also losing two of his executive producers in Ed Bernero and Simon Mirren, leaving Erica Messer running solo next season.

This has not been a stellar season for the show creatively, with rather stale writing raising questions about its premise's longevity even as it maintains its high ratings. It's ill-conceived spin-off--"Suspect Behavior"--can't be helping matters in that department.

I've been a fan of the series after picking up at the start of the second season, and it remains one of the better procedurals with "Law & Order" off the air and "CSI" showing its age. It just needs a bit of a creative jump start. Here's hoping the show can find it.