JJ left Criminal Minds in season 6 because the writers transferred Jennifer “JJ” Jareau to a Pentagon job, a story device that removed her from the BAU. Behind that on-screen exit was a real-world production decision: actor A.J. Cook’s contract was not renewed before the sixth season. CBS presented the change as a creative decision. Budget cuts were also reported as a reason at the time, and CBS leadership denied that. The exact internal motive has never been fully documented, so the reasons below separate what is established from what remains disputed.
Two departures, one character
It helps to treat the character’s exit and the actor’s exit as separate events. The first is the story the audience saw. The second is the production decision that made the story necessary.
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JJ’s exit on screen
In the season 6 storyline, JJ is reassigned to a Pentagon role and leaves the team. Episode 2, “JJ,” centers on the BAU bracing for the loss of one of its own and on how the team adjusts without her. Paramount+ lists the episode under that title in its official season 6 guide.
Cook’s contract
Cook’s contract was not renewed before season 6. That means the production had to remove the character from the series, and it did so through the Pentagon transfer. Cook later said she was not given a clear reason, so the transfer is best understood as the mechanism for the decision, not the decision itself.
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What the people involved said
Three accounts of the reason appeared in contemporaneous reporting. They come from different sources and carry different weight.
| Source | Type of evidence | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| A.J. Cook, quoted by the Los Angeles Times (2011) | First-hand account of what she was told | She was told the network had made a “creative decision to try something different with our show; it was nothing personal.” |
| Cook, in a TV Guide interview | First-hand account of her own uncertainty | She described the experience as “a rollercoaster ride, just from the shock of not getting picked up to trying to figure out why to never really knowing why.” |
| Nina Tassler, then CBS Entertainment President, reported by the Los Angeles Times (2011) | Network executive’s statement | The decision “wasn’t a money-saving measure to cut the two actresses.” |
| TV Guide, season 6 finale coverage | Reporter’s framing | Budget cuts forced the show to write Cook’s character out. |
| TV Guide, June 15, 2010 report | Reporter citing an unnamed source | Cook had been dropped and would be replaced by a new female cast member; the source gave creative rather than financial reasons. |
The budget explanation and the creative explanation therefore both appear in print, from different reporters and at different points. Neither has been confirmed by an internal document. Erica Messer, an executive producer, commented on the season’s story about “the financial cost of crime-fighting,” but that line refers to the fictional BAU team and is not evidence of CBS’s reason for Cook’s departure.
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How Cook came back
Cook’s return followed a sequence of reports and a fan campaign.
- June 2010: TV Guide reported that Cook had been dropped from the series.
- During season 6: Cook said she was invited back for two episodes. Reporting of the period links her exit to the departure of Paget Brewster, whose character Emily Prentiss also left the show that season.
- 2011, the “Save the Actresses” petition: The Los Angeles Times reported that the petition gathered nearly 60,000 signatures after the decisions affecting Cook and Brewster. The petition is evidence of visible fan response. The reporting does not establish that the petition alone caused the change.
- April 2011: The Los Angeles Times reported that Cook had been rehired for the season finale and would return as a full-time cast member in the fall.
- Season 6 finale: Cook was reintroduced in the finale, and she returned full time for season 7.
The Los Angeles Times also reported that the show drew about 13.5 million viewers that season. That figure gives audience context for the period. It does not show that the cast change caused any change in ratings.
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What is established and what is not
- Established: Cook’s contract was not renewed before season 6, JJ’s exit was written as a Pentagon transfer, and Cook returned for the season 6 finale and then full time for season 7.
- Reported but disputed: Whether the change was driven by budget or creative reasons. CBS leadership denied a cost motive, while TV Guide reported that budget cuts forced the write-out.
- Not established: The full internal decision process at CBS, and whether the fan petition changed the outcome.
Readers who want to check the original reporting should look at Los Angeles Times coverage from 2011 and TV Guide coverage from June 2010 and the season 6 finale. The quotations above are taken from those outlets as reported at the time.
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