‘Criminal Minds’ To End With 10-Episode 15th Season
CBS’s long-running procedural series ‘Criminal Minds‘ is coming to an end the network has announced. The drama will get a final 15th Season consisting of 10-episodes before bowing out in the 2019/2020 season.
The show revolves around an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the country’s most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit’s most experienced agent is David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), founding member of the BAU, who is essential in helping the team solve new cases.
‘Criminal Minds’ is one of the top 5 longest-running live-action scripted dramas currently airing on US tv, with only ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘NCIS’ and ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ ahead of it at the moment. When it ends it will have filmed a total of 325 episodes.
The decision to end the series came last Autumn when showrunner Erica Messer discussed with the network (CBS) and studios ABC and CBS TV Studios about whether to make the Season 14 finale a cliffhanger or wrap things up. The group decision was to allow a shortened 15th Season to end things in an appropriate manner for such a long-running series. The additional 10 episodes will be filmed directly after shooting on Season 14 is complete.
“We wanted to make sure Erica had the time and ability to write a season finale that honours the characters and the fans,” commented Amy Reisenbach, CBS Executive VP of current programs. “We discussed wanting to keep the show in continuous production so 10 felt like the right number for us to roll straight into and give Erica enough episodes to end the series the way she wanted to.”
The final season will apparently be more serialised than the standard procedural format and will begin with a 2-part opening episode. It will also have a bit of a time jump and will feature “a bad guy that we meet toward the end of Season 14, who will be our main focus,” according to Messer.
‘Criminal Minds‘ airs on Sky Witness in the UK.
