‘Criminal Minds’ Will End After Its 20th Season

The Behavioral Analysis Unit is preparing for its final case. Criminal Minds will conclude with its upcoming 20th season, ending a run that began on CBS in 2005 and later found a second life on Paramount+.

The final season is expected to premiere in 2027. Paramount+ has not announced a more specific release date, episode count or finale schedule, so viewers still have time before the long-running procedural closes its files.

From CBS staple to streaming revival

Criminal Minds originally ran for 15 seasons on CBS, following FBI profilers in the Behavioral Analysis Unit as they investigated complex violent crimes. The network series ended in 2020, but Paramount+ revived it two years later under the title Criminal Minds: Evolution.

The streaming version brought back much of the ensemble, including Joe Mantegna as David Rossi, Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss, A.J. Cook as Jennifer Jareau and Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia. Matthew Gray Gubler, who played Spencer Reid in the original run, later returned as a guest star.

Season 20 had already been ordered in March, ahead of the 19th-season premiere. The new announcement changes the context of that renewal: instead of launching another open-ended chapter, the episodes will now serve as a planned farewell.

The team is promising a proper goodbye

Showrunner Erica Messer described the ending as an emotional moment for the people who built the series across two networks and two decades. She thanked the cast, writers, directors, crew and fans, while saying the team looks forward to sharing the final season and celebrating the show’s legacy.

The franchise has survived cast changes, a cancellation and a shift from broadcast television to streaming. It also produced the spinoffs Suspect Behavior and Beyond Borders. Season 20 now has the challenge of giving the current BAU team a satisfying conclusion without losing the tense case-driven storytelling that sustained the show for so long.