It’s not so much because there aren’t any exciting or original ideas to move forward on with characters like Paget Brewster’s Emily Prentiss or Aisha Tyler’s Tara Lewis, but rather because Messer wants to respect the fanbase that has been with the show and its characters for 15 years.
While Erica Messer’s explanation to TV Insider does obviously leave room for a potential show-rocking death to occur, it sounds a lot more like she and the rest of the show’s creative teamed aimed to stick as close as possible to Criminal Minds’ status quo.