Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'' is a

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

that debuted on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

on September 22, 2005. The series follows a team of profilers from the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

Behavioral Analysis Unit The Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is a department of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) that uses behavioral analysts to assist in criminal investigations. The mission of the NCAVC a ...

(BAU) based in

Quantico, Virginia Quantico ( or ; formerly Potomac) is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, DC, bordered by the Potomac River to the east a ...

. The BAU is part of the FBI

National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime The National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) is a specialist FBI department. The NCAVC's role is to coordinate investigative and operational support functions, criminological research, and training in order to provide assistanc ...

. The show differs from many procedural dramas by focusing on profiling the criminal, called the unsub or "unknown subject", rather than the crime itself. The series follows special agents Dr.

Spencer Reid Dr. Spencer Reid is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'', portrayed by Matthew Gray Gubler. Reid is a genius with an IQ of 187 and can read 20,000 words per minute with an eidetic memory. He is the youngest member of th ...

, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau,

Penelope Garcia Penelope Grace Garcia is a fictional character portrayed by Kirsten Vangsness on the CBS crime dramas ''Criminal Minds'' and its short-lived spin-off '' Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior''. She is the technical analyst of the Behavioral Analysis ...

Emily Prentiss Emily Prentiss is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'', portrayed by Paget Brewster. Prentiss first appeared in "The Last Word" (episode nine of season two), replacing Agent Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini), who had quit i ...

, David Rossi, Dr. Tara Lewis,

Luke Alvez Luke Alvez is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'', portrayed by Adam Rodríguez. Background and characterization Alvez was born in the Bronx, New York. Inspired by his father's military service, he joined the U.S. Ar ...

, and

Matt Simmons Matthew Roy Simmons (April 7, 1943 – August 8, 2010) was founder and chairman emeritus of Simmons & Company International, and was a prominent figure in the field of peak oil. Simmons was motivated by the 1973 energy crisis to create an invest ...

as they try to profile the unsub. Other former characters are

Elle Greenaway Elle Greenaway is a fictional character from the CBS police procedural, crime drama ''Criminal Minds'', portrayed by Lola Glaudini throughout the Criminal Minds (season 1), first season and the beginning of the Criminal Minds (season 2) ...

Jason Gideon Jason Gideon is a fictional character in the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds,'' portrayed by Mandy Patinkin. Gideon is a Senior Supervisory Special Agent and the unit chief of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, and appeared from the series' pilo ...

, Jordan Todd,

Ashley Seaver This is a list of characters in the television series ''Criminal Minds'', an American police procedural drama which premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS and concluded its original run on February 19, 2020. It is also shown on A&E and Ion Televis ...

, Dr.

Alex Blake Alex Blake (born Alejandro Blake Fearon Jr.) is a jazz bass player. Biography Blake was born in Panama and moved to the United States at the age of 7, growing up in Brooklyn, NY. He began his career with Sun Ra in his band Arkestra. He became o ...

, Kate Callahan, Derek Morgan,

Aaron Hotchner Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner is a fictional character from the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'', portrayed by Thomas Gibson. He is a Supervisory Special Agent and the unit chief of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, and has appeared from the series ...

and Stephen Walker. On January 10, 2019, CBS renewed the series for a fifteenth and final season consisting of 10 episodes, which was held for mid-season. The season eventually premiered on January 8, 2020. In 2021,

Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

announced that ''Criminal Minds'' would return with a sixteenth season titled ''Criminal Minds: Evolution'' containing 10 episodes which debuted on November 24, 2022.

Series overview

Episodes

Season 1 (2005–06)

Season 2 (2006–07)

Season 3 (2007–08)

Season 4 (2008–09)

Season 5 (2009–10)

Season 6 (2010–11)

Season 7 (2011–12)

Season 8 (2012–13)

Season 9 (2013–14)

Season 10 (2014–15)

Season 11 (2015–16)

Season 12 (2016–17)

Season 13 (2017–18)

Season 14 (2018–19)

Season 15 (2020)

Season 16: ''Evolution'' (2022–23)

Home video releases

References