Emily Prentiss became one of the most beloved and long-term Criminal Minds cast members, despite her late start and rocky treatment by the studio.
Criminal Minds suffered from notorious cast turnover, beginning in Season 2 with the departure of the primary protagonist, Jason Gideon, brought to life by Mandy Patinkin, and the subsequent loss of Lola Glaudini’s Elle Greenaway. Despite a huge amount of fan support and a 15-season network run, main characters came and went at an alarming rate on the CBS procedural. However, one of the most interesting cases of character transition is Paget Brewster’s Emily Prentiss.
Prentiss wasn’t an original member of Criminal Minds’ Behavioral Analysis Unit, but instead, debuted in the ninth episode of Season 2. After a few years as a main character, Prentiss died, revived, left, visited, returned and eventually took over the team. The wild ride for Brewster and her character features personal choice, studio penny-pinching and a dose of misogyny.
Updated on May 19, 2024, by Florencia Aberastury: Emily Prentiss is one of the most popular characters in Criminal Minds, and her journey within the show has faced a few roadblocks along the way. Emily Prentiss left, returned, and left again before becoming one of the most important characters in Criminal Minds, something no other character has ever done. This article has been updated to include more information about the character and her development in the series and to bring the article up to current CBR standards.
Who Is Emily Prentiss on Criminal Minds?
Emily Prentiss Wasn’t Part of Criminal Minds From the Start
Fun Facts About Criminal Minds’ Emily Prentiss
Emily Prentiss debuted in the second season of Criminal Minds, in the episode “The Last Word.”
Prentiss joined the BAU after Elle Greenaway’s departure.
At first, Emily Prentiss was not welcomed to the BAU team with open arms, as Hotch believed she joined thanks to her mother’s connections and Erin Strauss was using Emily to spy on the team.
As explored in later seasons of Criminal Minds, Emily Prentiss was the child of diplomats who grew up in cities across Europe and the Middle East, following the assignments of her mother, a U.S. ambassador. Because of her upbringing, Prentiss is fluent in multiple languages, including Arabic, Spanish, French, Russian, and Greek, all of which play a role in various episodes as she translates for witnesses, suspects, and the BAU.
While Emily Prentiss’ backstory became a major plotline in later seasons, her personal life was left somewhat to speculation. The character was initially written as lesbian, which both Brewster and the writing team were enthusiastic about before CBS required a heteronormative re-write. She also famously has a cat named Sergio.
Emily Prentiss Slowly Earned Her Place Within the Team Before Her ‘Death’
Emily Had To Earn the Trust of Her Team, Who Believed She Got Into the BAU Thanks to Her Mother’s Connections
Prentiss joined the BAU in the middle of Season 2, with the resignation of Agent Elle Greenaway following her vigilantism. With Greenaway’s departure, the BAU had no women field agents and relied upon communications liaison Jennifer Jareau and technical analyst Penelope Garcia as the only female team members. Prentiss’ arrival was a step in the right direction for women’s representation in the show. But Prentiss wasn’t initially accepted by all team members. Although she received orders to join the BAU, then-director Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) didn’t accept Prentiss. As a result, she had to prove her profiling competence and join the team on a probationary basis while slowly earning the trust of other BAU agents.
Despite Prentiss quickly becoming a fan-favorite character, Brewster was asked to continue in a reduced capacity for Season 6. The in-story reason was Prentiss’ Interpol past catching up to her when escaped international arms dealer Ian Doyle tracked her down to find his son. During her subsequent kidnapping and torture, Doyle stabs Prentiss with a broken table leg, a wound that most of the BAU believes leads to her death.
Prentiss’ drama-heavy send-off masked a murkier, behind-the-seasons reason. A.J. Cook’s Jennifer Jareau had already been written off the show to save money, and the reduction of Prentiss’ role was a further cost-saving measure. The uncertainty about Prentiss’ future on Criminal Minds led Brewster to consider other acting possibilities, including filming a pilot for another show. The result was CBS working to eliminate two female cast members under the guise of reducing costs.
When Does Prentiss Come Back After Faking Her Death?
Emily Faked Her Own Death After Ian Doyle Attacked Her and Was Able To Return After Doyle’s Death
Despite Emily Prentiss’ death, her pursuit of other opportunities, and what she called the “scummy” behavior of the network in writing off the women characters on Criminal Minds, Brewster returned to Criminal Minds in the seventh season. Fans were livid at the loss of both JJ and Prentiss, leading the network to activate a clause in Brewster’s contract requiring her to return. While unhappy with how CBS handled the situation, Brewster still appreciated the fan support and her Criminal Minds community.
Brewster’s immediate return meant the show’s writers had to resurrect her character quickly. Audiences learned that Prentiss survived her stabbing and was on the run in Paris at the end of her final episode in Season 6, titled “Lauren.” Fans also learned that JJ helped Prentiss along the way, and the BAU team had to readjust to the news of her survival in the Season 7 premiere, “It Takes a Village,” causing some drama, particularly with long-term agent Spencer Reid.
Emily Prentiss Doesn’t Stay For Long After Her Resurrection
Prentiss Couldn’t Fully Commit to Her Return to the BAU
After her resurrection and return to the BAU, neither Prentiss nor Brewster felt the same about their work. After being refused the provision to audition for a pilot season, and with the final year up on her contract, Brewster decided to quit Criminal Minds with the Season 7 finale. Onscreen, Prentiss was offered a position with Interpol in London while the BAU investigated a bank robbery. Prentiss gets help from Clyde Easter, one of her former partners, who offers her the position of chief at the London office of Interpol.
While she struggles to make a decision at first, Emily’s hard time adjusting after her return is evident, and she eventually accepts the offer, making her departure from the BAU official. Emily Prentiss’ official departure from the FBI occurs simultaneously with JJ and Will’s wedding, making it a bittersweet season finale. This time, Emily’s and Brewster’s departure feels organic, unlike her sudden departure in Season 6. During Season 7, Emily Prentiss struggles with her trauma after Ian Doyle’s attack, as well as the resentment of her team after she faked her death. She also finds it hard to settle back in the US after spending time in Paris, and this is a discontent that gradually grows within multiple episodes.
Emily Prentiss’ Official Return to the BAU
Prentiss Was the Perfect Option To Replace Hotch As the BAU’s Unit Chief
Brewster made two guest appearances on Criminal Minds between Seasons 7 and 11. The milestone 200th episode in Season 9 brought the head of Interpol, Prentiss, back to help recover the kidnapped Agent Jareau. In contrast, longtime BAU member Derek Morgan’s final episode in Season 11 saw Prentiss return to say her goodbyes. Brewster stayed away from the show for five years apart from those two episodes.
But neither Brewster nor Prentiss could stay away forever. When star Thomas Gibson was fired from the show in Season 12, that left the BAU without a director. Once again, Brewster was brought back to reprise her character and act as the new unit chief. From the middle of Season 12, Prentiss remained as head of the BAU before her promotion to Section Chief on the revival, Criminal Minds: Evolution, the 16th season of the drama. Prentiss is set to continue her role in the 17th season of Criminal Minds when it returns on Paramount Plus at an unknown time in the future.
Paget Brewster’s tenure and arc on Criminal Minds were anything but consistent, with a mid-series start, a fake death, and multiple departures. But it’s a testament to her skills as an actor and the design of her character that makes her an acclaimed procedural character, with fans of Criminal Minds always eager for Emily Prentiss’s reappearance.
