Criminal Minds: Evolution is officially closing its final case. Paramount+ announced Friday that the show’s last episodes will arrive in 2027, wrapping a run that started on CBS in 2005 and stretched across 20 seasons. Joe Mantegna, AJ Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, RJ Hatanaka, Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster will all return for the farewell.
The ending hit the cast as hard as it hit fans. Vangsness revealed she learned of the cancellation just 90 minutes before the announcement went public, and she, Cook and Tyler shared emotional posts about saying goodbye. Vangsness also pointed out that the release says the show is ending“for now,”and noted that executive producer Erica Messer believes there are still stories to tell.
The timing is strange no matter how you slice it. The series ranked No. 11 on 2026’s most-streamed titles list with 13.15 billion minutes watched, which is not exactly a number that screams“shut it down.”The franchise has tried spinoffs before with Suspect Behavior and Beyond Borders, so whether the BAU resurfaces somewhere else is an open question. Would you follow Criminal Minds to a new platform, or is 20 seasons the right place to end it?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.