In 2005, US police procedural drama, Criminal Minds, arrived on television screens. The series – which premiered on CBS – followed the story of a group of criminal profilers as they take on cases and deal with the day-to-day drama of their own lives.
Upon making its debut, Criminal Minds was a big hit with audiences and a ratings winner. As such, it was soon followed by multiple spin-off shows.
But if you’re new to Criminal Minds, where do you start, what shows do you need to watch, and what is the correct viewing order?! For all the details and more, keep reading!
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Understanding the Criminal Minds shows
The first season of Criminal Minds premiered on September 22nd 2005. It proved to be a hit with viewers and this convinced CBS to commission a second season, which hit screens in 2006, followed by a third in 2007, and a fourth in 2008.
After four seasons of Criminal Minds, the team behind the hit show began to work on plans for a spin-off series. This spin-off would initially exist in the form of a backdoor pilot, which would air as the 18th episode of the fifth season of Criminal Minds.
The episode was called ‘The Fight‘ and saw the introduction of a new team of characters. These characters were then given their own show called Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour, which made its debut in February 2011, while the sixth season of Criminal Minds was on air.
Unfortunately, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour did not take off with viewers, and after just one season it was cancelled. However, this did not impact Criminal Minds, and it continued on regardless, working through seasons seven, eight, and nine.
By the time Criminal Minds reached its tenth season, it was time to test the waters for another spin-off show. The spin-off initially existed as a backdoor pilot episode, in the shape of ‘Beyond Borders‘, the 19th episode of season ten, which introduced a new set of characters.
This backdoor pilot worked out as planned, and the first season of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders made its debut in March 2016. However, it would be a short-lived run for the show and after just two seasons, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders was cancelled.
The cancellation of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders was sad for fans, but it had no major impact on Criminal Minds, and the show remained on air as it continued through seasons thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen. But in 2020, it was announced that season fifteen would be the show’s last, and after an impressive run Criminal Minds would finish up on CBS.
However, this wasn’t the end of the road for Criminal Minds. Although the show did end on CBS in 2020, in 2022 it was revived by Paramount+ for a sixteenth season, which would be called Criminal Minds: Evolution.
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Series breakdown
To date, the shows/seasons breakdown as follows:
- Criminal Minds – 15 seasons/334 episodes
- Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour – 1 season/13 episodes
- Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders – 2 seasons/26 episodes
- Criminal Minds: Evolution – 1 Season/10 episodes
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Watching the Criminal Minds shows in order
If you have never watched any of the Criminal Minds shows before, and you are only now just finding your way into this little universe, hopefully the following show/season list will ease you in nicely.
The viewing order
- Criminal Minds: Season One (2005 – 2006)
- Criminal Minds: Season Two (2006 – 2007)
- Criminal Minds: Season Three (2007 – 2008)
- Criminal Minds: Season Four (2008 – 2009)
- Criminal Minds: Season Five (2009 – 2010)
- Criminal Minds: Season Six (2010 – 2011)
- Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour: Season One (2011)
- Criminal Minds: Season Seven (2011 – 2012)
- Criminal Minds: Season Eight (2012 – 2013)
- Criminal Minds: Season Nine (2013 – 2014)
- Criminal Minds: Season Ten (2014 – 2015)
- Criminal Minds: Season Eleven (2015 – 2016)
- Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders: Season One (2016)
- Criminal Minds: Season Twelve (2016 – 2017)
- Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders: Season Two (2017)
- Criminal Minds: Season Thirteen (2017 – 2018)
- Criminal Minds: Season Fourteen (2018 – 2019)
- Criminal Minds: Season Fifteen (2020)
- Criminal Minds: Evolution (2022 – 2023)
Please note: As some of the Criminal Minds shows aired concurrently, there may be a few crossovers here and there between seasons. However, the viewing order listed above is the easiest way to follow all the shows without too much confusion.
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about the Criminal Minds shows – I hope it has proved useful. For more posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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