"Alias" and "Criminal Minds" actress Rachel Nichols compared the experience of joining both shows as they were deep into their runs on television. Overall, she thought both sets were really positive, but she told PopEntertainment that she wasn't quick to work on TV again when "Criminal Minds" came calling. She said, "I had been reticent since to go back into TV – the one-hour drama side of things – because it's a really arduous schedule. You've got to be in the trenches with people that you really like."
Luckily the cast of "Criminal Minds" was very welcoming and made the new kid in school feel like part of the team. Nichols said, "I was ready for maybe the cast to be scary and intimidating." She continued, "Ed Bernero had come to me as one of the executive producers and he said, 'Come meet everybody. They're on the jet.' So I walked into the jet and I met everybody and in about five seconds I went, 'Okay, I really like these people.' I could tell immediately. It's a testament to them."
When Nichols joined the cast of "Alias" five years earlier, she said similar things about the atmosphere on that set. She told MSN Entertainment, "It's the nicest set on the planet. Even though you hear it's the nicest set on the planet, you're not really positive until you walk on and meet everybody — then you realize that to say it's the nicest set on the planet is an understatement. Everybody is so happy to be there." It seemed as if Nichols really lucked out on the shows she was able to join. Even though neither of her tenures lasted longer than a season, it seemed she only experienced positivity on both.
