Criminal Minds is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU).
Criminal Minds became a ratings success for CBS, consistently ranking among the network’s most-watched programs and winning the People’s Choice Award for Best TV Crime Drama in 2017. Its success has spawned a media franchise, with several spinoffs, a South Korean adaptation, and a video game.
Criminal Minds originally culminated after its fifteenth season on February 19, 2020; however, it was revived and re-titled Criminal Minds: Evolution for its sixteenth season, which premiered on Paramount+ in November 2022. In March 2025, Criminal Minds was renewed for a nineteenth season, which premiered on May 28, 2026. In March 2026, Criminal Minds was renewed for a twentieth season.
Premise The series follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) using behavioral analysis and profiling to help investigate crimes and find the suspect known as the unsub (unknown subject).
The team is supervised by Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner, and later Emily Prentiss. The team included Jason Gideon, the founder of the BAU, who was known as the best profiler in the Bureau; Derek Morgan, an ex-Chicago Police officer who is an expert on obsessional crimes; Spencer Reid, an expert on geographic profiling; Jennifer Jareau (JJ), the team's communications liaison, who later becomes a profiler; Elle Greenaway, an expert on sex crimes; David Rossi, one of the original BAU agents who is also an expert in criminal profiling; Ashley Seaver, a rookie FBI agent; Alex Blake, a linguistics specialist helping with nuances in communication; Kate Callahan, a seasoned undercover agent; Tara Lewis, a forensic psychologist; Luke Alvez, an expert fugitive tracker who becomes a profiler on the team; Stephen Walker, an expert on counterintelligence; and Matt Simmons, an expert profiler who joins the team from the FBI International Response Team.
Episodes
Characters
Main Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin; Seasons 1–3), FBI Senior Supervisory Special Agent and formerly BAU Unit chief. Gideon is widely known as the BAU's best profiler. After a series of emotionally troubling cases and the murder of his girlfriend Sarah by fugitive serial killer Frank Breitkopf (Keith Carradine), he begins to feel burned out. The last straw occurs when Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner is suspended for two weeks by the team's boss—an action for which Jason feels responsible. He retreats to his cabin and leaves a letter for Spencer Reid, whom he knows will be the one to look for him. When Spencer arrives at the cabin, he finds the letter and Jason's FBI credentials and firearm. Jason is last seen remarking to a Nevada diner waitress that he does not know where he is going or how he will know when he gets there, leaving the diner and driving off. In season 10, he is killed (off-screen) by a suspect he had tracked down from one of his first cases. Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson; Seasons 1–12), FBI Supervisory Special Agent and Unit Chief of the BAU, previously an agent in the Seattle field office. Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner is a former prosecutor and was originally assigned to the FBI field office in Seattle. He is one of the most experienced agents in the BAU. He struggles to balance the demands of his job with his family life, but his wife, Haley Brooks (Meredith Monroe), divorces him in season three. In the episode "100" (season 5), Haley is killed by fugitive serial killer George Foyet (C. Thomas Howell), also known as "The Boston Reaper", whom Aaron fights and beats to death. He also has a son named Jack (Cade Owens) and a brother named Sean. After Haley is murdered, he has custody of Jack, and Haley's sister, Jessica Brooks (Molly Baker), helps him take care of Jack. When SSA Jennifer Jareau leaves the BAU, Aaron and technical analyst Penelope Garcia take over her job as communications liaison. Aaron dated a woman named Beth Clemmons (Bellamy Young), who first appeared in the episode "The Bittersweet Science" (season 7), before the couple separated after Clemmons accepted a job in Hong Kong. Following an on-set altercation, Thomas Gibson was removed from the main cast after season 12, episode 2, at which point his character Hotch went on a temporary assignment. In a later episode, Aaron and Jack went into witness protection after Jack was stalked by Peter "Mr. Scratch" Lewis, a serial killer from a previous BAU case. Following Peter Lewis's death in the 13th-season premiere, Prentiss reveals that Aaron has opted not to return to the BAU to focus on his son but still believes Prentiss should continue being chief. Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini; Seasons 1 & 2), FBI Supervisory Special Agent. Greenaway is assigned to the FBI field office in Seattle and assigned to the BAU as an expert in sexual offense crimes. Elle develops extreme emotional trauma after being shot by an unsub in the season one finale ("The Fisher King (Part 1)"). In the season two premiere ("The Fisher King (Part 2)"), Elle survives and returns to duty sooner than SSA Jason Gideon and Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner would like. Several episodes later, while alone on a stakeout of a suspected serial rapist, she murders the suspect by shooting him in cold blood and planting her gun on the unarmed victim. The local police deem it self defense, but Jason and Aaron question her ability as a profiler after this. Elle resigns, turning in her badge and gun to Aaron, declaring that it is "not an admission of guilt". Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore; Main: Seasons 1–11, Guest: Seasons 12 & 13), FBI Supervisory Special Agent and former Chicago Police officer. Morgan is a confident, assertive, and often hot-tempered character. He was raised by his mother Fran along with his two sisters, Sarah Morgan and Desiree Benita, after the death of his police officer father right in front of him. Derek was a troubled Chicago youth headed for juvenile delinquency. He was rescued and mentored by Carl Buford (Julius Tennon), who turned out to be a sexual predator who molested Derek and other young boys; he was eventually arrested for murder. After developing an interest in football, Derek attended Northwestern University on a scholarship. After a football injury left him unable to play, he joined the Chicago Police Department's bomb squad and later joined the FBI and the BAU. He has an emotionally intimate but platonic relationship with technical analyst Penelope Garcia; the two have a unique shorthand and banter. In the season seven premiere ("It Takes a Village"), Derek shows utter hatred toward Ian Doyle (Timothy V. Murphy) for killing SSA Emily Prentiss, but when Emily returns alive, he has mixed feelings. In season eleven, Derek is kidnapped and tortured by the father of Giuseppe Montolo, a hitman whom Derek put away and who later died while in custody. Derek escapes and when he learns his girlfriend Savannah is pregnant, he realizes that he does not want to put his family through something like this again. Derek leaves the BAU in the episode "A Beautiful Disaster" to care for his now-wife and newborn son. Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler; Main: Seasons 1–15; Guest Season 18), FBI Supervisory Special Agent The youngest member of the team, Reid is a genius who graduated from Las Vegas High School at age twelve and holds Ph.D.s in mathematics, chemistry, and engineering as well as Bachelor of Arts degrees in psychology and sociology. As of season four, he is also working on a B.A. in philosophy. Reid has an IQ of 187, can read a dizzying twenty thousand words per minute, and has an eidetic memory. Throughout the series, Reid is portrayed as autistic, including in seasons one and eight. Most of the members of the team are intimidated by his profound knowledge. Reid is habitually introduced as "Dr. Spencer Reid" in contrast to the other agents, who are introduced as "supervisory special agents". The purpose of this, as explained by Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner in the pilot episode ("Extreme Aggressor"), is to create a respectable first impression of Spencer, deflecting judgments about his age. His mother Diana Reid (Jane Lynch) has schizophrenia and is committed to a mental institution. In season six, Reid starts suffering from cluster headaches and when doctors cannot diagnose why, Reid thinks he might be in the early stages of schizophrenia himself. Reid takes SSA Emily Prentiss' death very hard and, when he learns that the death was faked, he becomes distrustful of both Prentiss and SSA Jennifer "JJ" Jareau (who helped in the cover up) for some time. During season eight, Reid becomes involved with a woman who was being stalked. In the episode "Zugzwang", her stalker ultimately kidnaps her and kills her, devastating Reid. In season 11, he is deeply affected by Derek Morgan's decision to leave the BAU but understands and supports his reasons. Morgan and Reid have been close, and Morgan refers to Reid as his "little brother" prior to his departure in season eleven. Initially Reid was infatuated with Jareau, even going as far as taking her on a date to a football game. As the series progresses, their relationship becomes more like siblings. However they confess romantic feelings for each other in seasons 14 and 15, but nothing ever comes of it because of Jareau's marriage and children. Spencer is also the godfather of Jennifer's son Henry and Derek's son Hank. Derek also gives his child the middle name of "Spencer" in honor of Reid, further signifying their bond. In season twelve, Reid is arrested and finds himself in prison for the second half of the season. He develops a flirtatious relationship with serial killer Cat Adams in season eleven. It is obvious she has feelings for Spencer, though it is never made clear whether he also had feelings for her or if he simply flirted to get her to reveal her plans. Initially, Reid was intended to be bisexual. Jennifer "JJ" Jareau (A. J. Cook; Main: Seasons 1–5 and 7–present; Guest: Season 6), FBI Supervisory Special Agent and former BAU communications liaison. JJ served as the communications liaison on the team to local police agencies in seasons 1–5. She dates and marries William LaMontagne (Josh Stewart), a New Orleans Police Department detective. They have two sons, Henry LaMontagne (Mekhai Andersen) and Michael LaMontagne (Phoenix Sky Andersen). Both boys are played by A.J. Cook's real life sons. In the episode "JJ" (season six), Jennifer is forced to accept a promotion at the Pentagon, causing her departure from the team, although Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner expresses his hope that she will return to the BAU in the future. Jennifer returns in the episode "Lauren" (season six) to assist the team in finding SSA Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster). Jennifer returns as a series regular in the season seven premiere as a legitimate profiler and admits to helping fake Prentiss' death, much to the dismay of her colleagues. In the 200th episode, JJ is kidnapped because of a secret mission she performed while at the Pentagon. At the end of season ten, JJ reveals she is pregnant with her second child and consults over the phone for a few episodes of season eleven before rejoining the team in the field in the episode "Target Rich". Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness; Recurring: Season 1, Main: Seasons 1 – present), BAU technical analyst and BAU communications liaison.