Criminal Minds Ends After 20 Seasons

Paramount+ has ended Criminal Minds: Evolution after its 20th season. The announcement arrived on Friday, closing a chapter for the long-running procedural that began in 2005. The show’s final season is scheduled to air in 2027, but the network has confirmed the series will not continue beyond that point.

The franchise has spanned two decades of television. The original run ended with its 15th season at CBS in January 2019. Paramount+ revived the story in 2022 as Evolution, which launched as Season 16. That iteration ran through Season 19, which aired between May and July of this year.

Cast members took to social media to mark the end of the show. A.J. Cook, who played agent Jennifer Jareau since the series debut, posted a Halloween photo of herself wearing a tombstone. She captioned the image, "Rest in peace JJ (for now) #criminalminds #halloween #stillprocessing." The character served as the BAU’s media liaison before becoming a profiler in later seasons.

Paget Brewster, who has portrayed agent Emily Prentiss since Season 2, shared a black-and-white image with the text "Free Agent." RJ Hatanaka, who joined the cast as agent Tyler Green in Season 16, posted a group photo of the ensemble. He described them as "Just the finest group of people."

Kirsten Vangsness, who has played technical analyst Penelope Garcia since Season 1, addressed the news in an Instagram video. She noted that social media allows actors to hold their own press conferences. "This has happened. It’s being canceled, but then it says right there it’s ending ‘for now,’” she said. Vangsness compared the situation to a character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory receiving a treat, calling the moment bittersweet.

Vangsness credited her boss, Erica Messer, for noting that more stories remain to be told. "If we get to keep telling them somewhere, that would be amazing," Vangsness said. She added that the entire cast shares that sentiment. In the video caption, she expressed appreciation for her time at the job and her co-stars.

The series featured a large ensemble cast over its two-decade run. In addition to Cook, Brewster, and Vangsness, the cast included Shemar Moore, Joe Mantegna, Aisha Tyler, and Adam Rodriguez. The show’s final season will conclude the 20-year narrative arc established by the original creators.