Here's why Jennifer Love Hewitt's Kate Callahan left after Criminal Minds season 10. For 15 seasons, Criminal Minds charted the cases of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), which was tasked with profiling and catching any number of serial killers. The show debuted in 2005 and proved to be incredibly successful, and spawned two spin-offs in the form of Suspect Behavior and Beyond Borders, with the latter fronted by Gary Sinese and Anna Gunn.
Of course, Criminal Minds saw many cast changes over the course of 15 years. Probably the most surprising came early on when Mandy Patinkin abruptly exited following the second season, later citing his unhappiness with Criminal Minds' level of violence. More audience favorites would exit in the years that followed, including Shemar Moore's Morgan and Thomas Gibson's Hotch, though the latter departure was a result of the actor kicking writer Virgil Williams during an episode Gibson was directing, with CBS firing him in the aftermath.
Jennifer Love Hewitt is best known for the first two I Know What You Did Last Summer movies and Party Of Five. She ed Criminal Minds during the tenth season as Kate Callahan, as a replacement for the departure of Alex Blake (Jeanne Tripplehorn). Callahan was a former undercover agent with a tragic backstory, but while it appeared Hewitt would be staying for the long run, she left by the end of the season. This was Hewitt's - who once got drunk with Betty White - decision, as the actor was pregnant during the filming of the season, with her pregnancy being mirrored onscreen by Callahan's own.
How Jennifer Love Hewitt's Callahan Left Criminal Minds
Kate Callahan's final Criminal Minds storyline played out in the season 10 finale "The Hunt." This saw Kate's niece Meg and her best friend Markayla are kidnapped as a revenge plot by an unsub who runs a human trafficking ring. Meg is later sold to a serial killer named Colin Dupley, but the BAU is able to find her in time and shoot Dupley dead. In the aftermath of Meg's rescue, Callahan decides to resign so she can spend time with her and focus on her new baby.
Just like Kate, Jennifer Love Hewitt wanted to take time out of Criminal Minds - where Spencer almost died MANY times - so she could focus on her child. While the door was left open for Callahan to return someday, the character didn't make a comeback for the rest of its run. Maybe with the Paramout+ revival series Kate could finally make a comeback alongside some other returning characters, but there's no sign of that happening thus far.
