Summary

• Jennifer Love Hewitt joined the cast of Criminal Minds as Kate Callahan in its 10th season.
• However, Hewitt departed from the series not long after.
• Her short-lived tenure on Criminal Minds raised many question on why she left in the first place.

Jennifer Love Hewitt made headlines when she joined Criminal Minds for the CBS drama's 10th season. The actress had been a familiar face on television since her breakout role as Sarah on Fox's Party of Five in the 1990s and the supernatural series Ghost Whisperer. Now she was becoming part of one of the most popular TV series. Unfortunately, however, the arrangement didn't last very long.

Criminal Minds fans were surprised when Hewitt's character Kate Callahan got written out in the Season 10 finale. Hewitt initially appeared to be excited about the role and working with CBS again when speaking to Entertainment Weekly before the Season 10 premiere, beaming how different Kate was from her past roles on Ghost Whisperer and The Client List. Was her departure just one more example of the show's well-established cast turnover? Or was it Hewitt deciding the show wasn't quite what she was looking for after all? Here are the reasons Jennifer Love Hewitt only lasted one season before disappearing from the Criminal Minds universe, and what happened to her character.

Updated on January 4, 2024, by Jordan Iacobucci: Ahead of the seventeenth season of Criminal Minds, this article has been updated to include more information and to conform to CBR's current guidelines.

Who Was Kate Callahan on Criminal Minds?

Special Agent Kate Callahan was introduced to the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) in the Criminal Minds Season 10 premiere. She was the replacement for Alex Blake after her resignation in the Season 9 finale, but Kate would resign herself just a season later. The Season 10 finale, "The Hunt," centered on her character and involved her niece Meg being abducted by human traffickers. Although the BAU was able to recover Meg unharmed, Kate and her husband Chris also discovered that Kate was pregnant, and so she left her position in order to spend time with her family.

Due to her relatively short run on the show, little was explored about Kate's backstory. Like most characters on Criminal Minds, Kate did have a tragic and traumatic past. She had previously worked for the recurring character of Andi Swann on the Domestic Trafficking Task Force before transferring to the BAU, and had significant undercover experience. Both her sister and brother-in-law were killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks when Meg was just an infant, leaving Kate and Chris to raise her as their adopted daughter. With Season 10 considered one of the show's weakest, Kate didn't make a huge impact other than the shock of her leaving so soon.

Why Did Jennifer Love Hewitt Exit Criminal Minds?

Fans were thrown by Hewitt leaving Criminal Minds just as they had gotten used to her character, and they weren't the only ones. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly after the actress' last episode aired, showrunner Erica Messer mentioned that the Season 10 finale had already been planned when the decision was made, and the writers had to change the episode to accommodate Hewitt's departure. "What wasn't in play was writing her out by any means," Messer said. But Kate's ending reflected why the character had to leave.

Hewitt chose to depart the series after she found out she was expecting her second child. Messer further explained that since the actress was "taking time off to be a full-time mom. Because she's due in July [2016], when we would start shooting Season 11, timing-wise there was no way for her to do both." Hewitt never returned before Criminal Minds ended with Season 15.

Who Replaced Kate Callahan on Criminal Minds' 11th Season?

Criminal Minds had to make up for Hewitt's absence in the following season. Thus, she was replaced by Aisha Tyler, who also happened to be Hewitt's co-star during Season 1 of Ghost Whisperer. Tyler portrayed Dr. Tara Lewis, a psychologist who applies forensic psychology to the criminal justice system. She acted as both Callahan and JJ's temporary replacement when they were on maternity leave.

• Kate Callahan made her first appearance in the season ten premiere of Criminal Minds, "X."
• Kate Callahan made her final appearance in the season ten finale of Criminal Minds, "The Hunt."
• In total, Jennifer Love Hewitt only appears in 23 episodes of Criminal Minds.

The decision ended up working out in Criminal Minds' favor. Tyler reprised her role in the revival Criminal Minds: Evolution, beating the rotating door of replacements on the procedural. Although she didn't fit the same way Kate did on the series, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. They were completely different characters who brought something fresh to the table, and fans had strong opinions about both of them. Ultimately, Lewis became more integral to the series and the success of the unit.

Jennifer Love Hewitt's Career Post-Criminal Minds

Being an accomplished actor before Criminal Minds, it's no surprise Hewitt easily found work after leaving the series. Three years after Criminal Minds, Hewitt began a starring role in the second season of the Fox-turned-ABC procedural 9-1-1, which follows the lives of Los Angeles first responders. Hewitt replaced Connie Britton as the primary dispatcher that the series focuses on, since Britton's character left for a self-discovery trip in Europe at the end of the first season. Hewitt portrayed Maddie Buckley (introduced as Maddie Kendall), firefighter Buck's older sister who escaped to Los Angeles to hide from her abusive husband.

• According to the International Movie Database, Jennifer Love Hewitt has 64 acting credits for her work in movies and television.
• Jennifer Love Hewitt's highest-rated project on Rotten Tomatoes is 2010's The Client List, with a Freshness Rating of 83%. She portrays Samantha Horton in the film.
• Jennifer Love Hewitt's lowest-rated project on Rotten Tomatoes is 1999's The Suburbans, with a Freshness Rating of 0%. She portrays Cate in the film.

Because of her commitment to 9-1-1, Hewitt wasn't one of the cast members announced when Paramount+ ordered the revival of Criminal Minds: Evolution. It appears Hewitt might be in 9-1-1 for the long run, if it finds success on ABC, since she only took a brief hiatus in Season 5 when she had her third child. That means TV viewers have officially seen the last of Kate Callahan on Criminal Minds.

Criminal Minds is available to stream on Hulu and Paramount+.