After the nerve-wracking ending of season 11, fans of "Criminal Minds" still have a lot to look forward to when the police procedural series returns for season 12.

The team lost one of their beloved members when Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore) decided to quit the job in order to live a peaceful life. This led to speculations that a new BAU member will be introduced next season, since showrunner Erica Messer told TVLine in March that Derek's replacement could possibly debut in the upcoming season.

"It feels like something that would be natural to do in a premiere just as we did for most everybody else who has ever come in," Messer told the publication in March 2016. However, the network has yet to announce who will step up to fill the vacant role left by Derek in the team.

Meanwhile, speculations about the theme for "Criminal Minds" season 12 was hinted at by Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) in the season 11 finale when he said, "We have to catch him again along with 12 other murderers." This could mean that the show is gearing up for a serialized approach for the upcoming season.

The 11^th season of "Criminal Minds" ended as the second-highest-rated drama for CBS in total viewers composed of adults under 50 and adults under the ages of 25-54 demography. It also ranked as one of the top 10 dramas after garnering 12 million total viewers and 2.8 million adult viewers under the age of 18 to 49.

The other stars are set to return in "Criminal Minds" season 12, including Joe Mantegna as Senior Supervisory Agent David Rossi, Matthew Gray Gubler as Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid, A.J. Cook as Special Agent JJ Jareau, and Kirsten Vangsness as technical analyst Penelope Garcia.

The network is expected to announce the premiere date of "Criminal Minds" season 12 soon.