Criminal Minds' Paget Brewster Landed Her Next Big Network TV Role

criminal minds emily prentiss paget brewster season 14 cbs
(Image credit: cbs press)

Though Paget Brewster wasn't a full member of the Criminal Minds cast for each and every season that it's aired on CBS, the actress is as synonymous with the show as any of its other widely known stars. That'll change soon, with Criminal Minds ending after Season 15, but Brewster has already lined up her next network TV role, and she'll be sticking with CBS for it.

As revealed by the actress herself, Paget Brewster will appear opposite Allison Janney and Anna Faris on CBS' hit comedy Mom for its upcoming Season 7, set to premiere in the fall. The comedically talented Brewster will take on the role of Veronica Stone, who joins the fray within the law firm as Christy's new boss. This might not be the most ideal situation for Christy's stress levels, though.

According to the character description, Veronica is quite importunate as a senior partner, and she demands her employees match up with her high expectations. Unfortunately, her energetic persona is often directly pointed at Christy, who takes the brunt of Veronica's yelling and complaining. That should make for some amusing exchanges.

While it's possible Paget Brewster's role could be expanded as time goes on, she is currently set for two episodes of Mom Season 7. The first one is reportedly set to air on Thursday, October 10, in Mom's usual 9:00 p.m. time slot, though it will now have the new comedies The Unicorn and Carol's Second Act airing before and after, with Young Sheldon taking over The Big Bang Theory's coveted lead-in position.

Check out Paget Brewster's Twitter reveal below.

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Interestingly, if Veronica Stone does indeed arrive in October, with more potential appearances to follow, Paget Brewster's role on Mom will technically start up prior to her concluding run as Emily Prentiss on Criminal Minds. With this final season set for ten episodes, as opposed to the usual 20+, CBS execs chose to push Criminal Minds' premiere to 2020 as an anchor for the network's midseason entries.

Since she has spent more years on Criminal Minds than any other project, fans might think of Paget Brewster as a fully dramatic actress, but her Mom casting is the latest in a long line of comedic roles that Brewster always excels in. For instance, her other big roles in recent years came on Community, Comedy Central's Another Period, Disney's DuckTales reboot, and the short-lived John Stamos comedy Grandfathered.

Plus, the other big post-Criminal Minds role that Paget Brewster signed up for is returning her to the world of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. She'll be reprising the role of Birdgirl, real name Judy Ken Sebben, for the spinoff series Birdgirl, centering on her promotion to head of the now-corporation Sebben & Sebben, and all of the problems that provides.

Fans shouldn't expect too many belly laughs for Criminal Minds' final season, which will continue the story of the final big bad Unsub introduced at the end of Season 14. There will likely be some lighter moments, hopefully involving Reid and J.J., as well as Rossi's life as a newly married man. But things will likely get very dark before that big series finale.

2019 Fall TV Premiere Schedule: Dates For New And Returning Shows

Without a specific date set yet for Season 15, which wrapped principal production earlier this year, Criminal Minds will return to CBS at some point in the new year, so stay tuned for more updates. Mom, meanwhile, will hit the network for Season 7 on Thursday, September 26, at 9:00 p.m.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.