Criminal Minds season 12 premiere date and plot: Show producer teases 'Mr Scratch' story arch

Criminal Minds season 11 ended on a cliffhanger leaving clues that will set the plot for season 12. Agent Hotch got arrested in the finale but later it was confirmed he was being framed for a crime he hasn't committed. In fact, the crime plot was set for a massive prison break, which allowed Peter Lewis aka "Mr Scratch" and 13 other serial killers to escape.

The upcoming season is expected to tackle the mayhem caused by the miscreants and how Agent Hotch, JJ, David and other team members of FBI BAU will handle it. Show producer Erica Messer has hinted that season 12 will have plenty of Peter Lewis moments. "We do know that we want Mr Scratch to be part of Season 12 in some capacity, or at least the idea of Mr Scratch being out there," she told TV Guide.

The show producer also hinted at a "serialised storytelling" and the challenges the team will face while dealing with the serial killers they have never caught before.

"You can get away with a little more serialized storytelling than when we started the series. We're excited to catch these bad guys all over again. Some we will have known, like Mr. Scratch, and others will be bad guys that maybe some of the team hasn't caught before. That allows us to have some creative license. And of course, there will be our case of the week that may or may not be running parallel with catching a guy who escaped. I feel like, going into Season 12, we've had more opportunities for stories than we've had in a really long time," she added.

The show has been renewed by CBS for season 12, which will have 22 episodes. According to Messer, the writers are currently on a break and will start writing the episodes after June. CBS is yet to declare the premiere date for its police procedural drama.