Criminal Minds season 11 premiere
Aisha Tyler joins the cast in a recurring role as forensic psychologist Dr Tara Lewis CBS

Criminal Minds returns with its eleventh season on Wednesday, 30 September at 9pm EST on CBS Television, where Aisha Tyler joins the BAU team as forensic psychologist Dr Tara Lewis. Episode 1 is titled, The Job, and the official synopsis reads as follows:

The BAU searches for a serial killer who leaves distinctive marks on victims' faces with the help of an impressive potential new team member, forensic psychologist Dr. Tara Lewis, on the 11th season premiere of Criminal Minds.

Click here to watch it online and you can watch the episode via live stream by clicking here.

Previously, executive producer Erica Messer confirmed that Jennifer Love Hewitt will not reprise her role as FBI undercover agent Kate Callahan in season 11. The show will open with the BAU interviewing candidates to join their team after Kate's departure in the season 10 finale.

Aisha Tyler previewed her character's debut in the CBS series in an interview with TV Guide. Tyler said, "She is definitely not one of those people who gets up in the morning and gets dressed up. She just goes. She's fun and she's funny and engaged and passionate, so I think she connects with the team in that way.

"She means business for sure. She has a really, really specific set of goals. It definitely fits her and you definitely understand who she is when you see that haircut," Tyler added.

Erica Messer teased different changes and Aisha Tyler's role in Criminal Minds season 11. "There has been a lot of changes recently, but that's what happens in life. People come and go at work, but people also stay and we've been lucky to have our core heroes for as long as we've had."

Messer added, "Aisha is filling both right now, so it feels like if it we're lucky to keep her around, it'll be an extension of that. Hotch in the premiere mentions we need to find someone else, not just with JJ gone, but with Kate. We're down two agents right now, but we'll still be down one when A.J. comes back. Can we survive as a team of six instead of seven? I think we can, but we'll see. We love Aisha so much and we want everyone to get to know Tara."

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