Overview
- Paramount+ confirmed Monday that it will end Criminal Minds with the upcoming 20th season and that the final episodes will be released in 2027.
- The cancellation decision came after filming for season 20 had already wrapped, so writers and cast did not have the chance to craft a planned series finale.
- Industry reports attribute the choice to an unfavorable production-cost‑to‑viewership ratio and questions about adapting a traditional network procedural to a streaming model under new Skydance/Paramount+ leadership.
- Showrunner Erica Messer and cast members posted public messages thanking fans and left open the possibility of future stories while noting the emotional impact of an unplanned ending.
- The series closes a two-decade run that began on CBS in 2005, revived on Paramount+ as Criminal Minds: Evolution in 2022, and remained commercially notable on streaming even as its format and costs prompted this strategic cut.