'Criminal Minds' Season 8 Spoilers, Promo: Executive Producer Messer Shares Upcoming Season Secrets

Season eight of ‘Criminal Minds’ is back September 26 filled with exciting and intriguing new cases, relationship woes and, of course, lots of drama. Executive producer Erica Messer shared some tidbits of the upcoming season

New Cast:
Messer revealed to TV Guide that actress Jeanne Tripplehorn will be joining the BAU as Alex Blake, Emily Prentiss’ (Paget Brewster) replacement. The team will be a bit wary of her at first but they will eventually warm up to her, said Messer.

“Anytime there’s a very close coworker environment, as we have here, it’s hard,” the executive producer said. “There’s just a natural hesitation to accept, but in that friendly way. She certainly doesn’t have an ulterior motive or anything.”

Fans will find out that Alex not only has a past with Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) but Erin Strauss (Jayne Atkinson) as well. “There are some professional backstabbing issues with Strauss,” Messer told TV Guide.

Long-Distance Relationships:
Two characters will be forced to have long-term relationships this season. Messer shared that both Alex and Hotch (Thomas Gibson) will find themselves dealing with partners who are far away. According to TV Guide, Alex is dating someone working with Doctors Without Borders and he may eventually show up on the show.

Hotch and Beth (Bellamy Young) will also be forced to move on to a long-distance relationship. “They’re not breaking up,” Messer explained. “He’s not a serial dater, so we didn’t want to introduce some new love and have them break up so soon. …It’s gonna be long-distance, so he and Alex have something in common.”

Love Is In The Air:
Reid fans will finally get to see him get a girlfriend. “It’s gonna be a very interesting relationship,” Messer told TV Guide. “It’ll be very dramatic and I think fans will be caught off-guard with what we do.”

Garcia (Kristen Vangsness) and Kevin (Nicholas Brendon) will have a rocky season, Messer said, but will eventually reunite in the end. JJ (A.J. Cook) and Will (Josh Stewart) will also find stability this upcoming season.

Guest Stars:
TV Line reported that Ray Wise will be joining ‘Criminal Minds’ for the season’s fourth episode entitled “God Complex.” According to the report, the actor will play a doctor who operates on patients against their will. The show will also guest a season-long unsub, Messer told TV Guide.

‘Criminal Minds’ season 8 premieres on September 26 at 9 p.m. EST on CBS.

WATCH THE SEASON 8 PROMO FOR ‘CRIMINAL MINDS’