‘Criminal Minds’ Season 12 Spoilers: What Are The Cast Up To Behind The Scenes? Garcia Actress Kirsten Vangsness Shares Photos On Instagram

CBS TV series “Criminal Minds” has been going through a lot of cast changes recently. Not only did Shemar Moore exit last season, but Thomas Gibson got fired due to an on-set altercation with a writer and producer. Now, Damon Gupton has joined the crime show as a seasoned profiler named Stephen Walker.

Although things haven’t been smooth behind the scenes, one thing that didn’t change is the cast’s friendship. Paget Brewster, who plays Emily Prentiss, reunited with her fellow friends Kirsten Vangsness, who plays tech genius Penelope Garcia, and A.J. Cook, who plays Jennifer Jareau/J.J. on “Criminal Minds” this season. Brewster didn’t waste any time getting to know Aisha Tyler, who plays Dr. Tara Lewis.

The Season 12 cast also shares a close bond with “Criminal Minds” showrunner Erica Messer. Vangsness and Matthew Gray Gubler, who plays Dr. Spencer Reid, almost always co-write one or two episode of the show with Messer. Gubler also directs a few episode of the drama frequently. He recently directed the episode “Elliot’s Pond” which aired on Nov. 16.

Vangsness shared a photo of Garcia’s myriad rings on her Instagram account. The tech genius is often seen sporting colorful knick-knacks, kitschy hairbands and unique accessories along with distinctive makeup.

Interestingly, Gubler shared a throwback photo of the “Criminal Minds” cast when Mandy Patinkin was a part of the show. He played the Behavioral Analysis Unit’s (BAU) leader Jason Gideon. In the photo, which also shows former cast member Gibson and Moore, the four stars are looking at something in a book and smiling.

The Spencer Reid actor compared the three of them and him to popular “Sex And The City” characters. He captioned the photo, “Charlotte, Miranda, Samantha, and Carrie.” Who is who? Our guess: Gubler is Charlotte, Gibson is Miranda, Moore is Samantha and Patinkin is Carrie.

“Criminal Minds” Season 12 airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST on CBS.