It’s a good news/bad news kind of day for fans of Criminal Minds. CBS has renewed the long-running criminal procedural for a 15th season but it will also be its last.
The upcoming season will be 10 episodes long and will be shot on the heels of the current season. By the time it wraps, Criminal Minds will have completed 325 episodes, making it one of the longest running TV dramas. The crime series, which is show-run by executive producer Erica Messer, follows an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the country’s most twisted criminal minds, attempting to anticipate their next moves before they strike again.
The series has been a cornerstone of the CBS schedule, though its ratings have fallen in recent years. In Live+Same Day, Season 14 is currently averaging a 0.8 rating in adults 18-49 and 4.7 million viewers per episode, though those numbers have typically risen noticeably in delayed viewing. Criminal Minds has also been a top draw in reruns on basic cable, and it has done very well on Netflix, in addition to strong international sales. At height of its popularity, seasons 4-12, Criminal Minds was a Top 20 broadcast series in total viewers.
Criminal Minds stars Joe Mantegna, Paget Brewster, Matthew Gray Gubler, A.J. Cook, Aisha Tyler, Kirsten Vangsness, Adam Rodriguez, and Daniel Henney. While the series has been a mainstay for CBS, it has also seen its share of controversy. The show’s long-time director of photography, Greg St. Johns, had faced multiple accusations of abusive behavior and sexual harassment towards crew members. St. Johns has since left the production. Prior to that, series star Thomas Gibson was fired from the show after an on-set altercation with a producer.
