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"Criminal Minds" welcomes back Paget Brewster. After leaving the show last season, the Emily Prentiss depicter will rejoin the cast ensemble in season 7, reuniting with A.J. Cook who has previously signed up to return as a regular.

"It feels rewarding," executive producer Erica Messer says of Brewster and Cook's return. "This team works well together and now we can get on with telling the stories that have kept us going for six seasons."

On how Prentiss will be seen when she comes back, Messer explains, "No one goes into hiding and comes out unscathed. She has been in defensive mode for months now. She'll be exhausted and will have to face the family to explain a few things."

Her return will also cause "a lot of tension" among the team. "Hotch [Thomas Gibson] and JJ [Cook] kept a big secret from the team. Ultimately. Those kept in the dark will forgive the others when they find out Prentiss is alive," Messer elaborates.

Now with Brewster and Cook on board alongside Kirsten Vangsness, there is no place left for new series regular Rachel Nichols. The 31-year-old beauty, whose character Ashley Seaver was introduced last season to fill the place due to the departure of Cook's JJ, will not return next season.

Messer, who will handle showrunner duties this coming season, claims "it wasn't an easy decision and it took a village" to let Nichols go, before adding "She will be missed by all of us who worked with her everyday." Asked by TV Guide if Nichols may appear to wrap up her story, Messer says, "Creatively, there's more to explore there. I won't know for a bit if that's a possibility."

Another "Criminal Minds" regular Shemar Moore has signed a new deal to stay on the show. Meanwhile, his co-star Thomas Gibson is still negotiating his contract.