Criminal Minds Cast Shakeup: Paget Brewster In, Rachel Nichols Out

CBS procedural entering its seventh season with casting changes

By Jenna Mullins May 29, 2011 7:43 PMTags
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Anyone hoping for more Ashley Seaver on Criminal Minds next season is out of luck.

According to Deadline.com, CBS has dropped Rachel Nichols from the show. But Paget Brewster will be returning as part of a new deal that includes fewer episodes (after the pilot she filmed last year, My Life as an Experiment, didn't get picked up).

Meanwhile, Thomas Gibson has also not yet made a deal for next season, but negotiations are ongoing. In other Criminal Minds news, original cast member A.J. Cook is coming back to the show as are Kirsten Vangsness and Shemar Moore.

Criminal Minds returns for its seventh season in the fall.