page_title: Criminal Minds (season 12)
section_title: Casting
hierarchical_section_title: Criminal Minds (season 12) / Production / Casting
caption_attribution_description: English: Jane Lynch on December 4, 2008.
context_page_description: The twelfth season of Criminal Minds was ordered on May 6, 2016, by CBS with an order of 22 episodes. The season premiered on September 28, 2016 and ended on May 10, 2017.
context_section_description: After Shemar Moore's departure in the previous season, former CSI: Miami star Adam Rodriguez was cast to fill his void in the twelfth season. He will play Luke Alvez, a new recruit to the BAU from the FBI's Fugitive Task Force, tasked with helping to capture an escaped killer from last season. On July 21, Kirsten Vangsness confirmed that Paget Brewster would reprise her role as SSA Emily Prentiss for multiple episodes. On August 10, 2016, Aisha Tyler, who joined the show in the previous season as Dr. Tara Lewis, had been promoted to a series regular.
  On August 30, 2016, Brewster was promoted to series regular, following Thomas Gibson's firing. Jane Lynch reprised her role as Dr. Diana Reid, Spencer Reid's schizophrenic mother after eight years. She appeared in the second half of the season in a multi-episode arc.
  To fill the void after Gibson's firing, Damon Gupton was cast in the series regular role of Special Agent Stephen Walker, a profiler from the Behavioral Analysis Program in the FBI. He will make his first appearance in the eighth episode.
  Shemar Moore reprised his role as Derek Morgan in the season finale as his character tried to help catch Mr. Scratch after bringing the BAU a lead in the case against him. 
  During April 2017, it was revealed that Gia Mantegna would reprise her role as Lindsay Vaughn in the final 3 episodes of the season. It was also revealed that Beth Riesgraf would reprise her role as Maeve Donovan in the season finale.
caption: Jane Lynch returned in Season 12 as Diana Reid.
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