Why CBS Canceled Criminal Minds After Season 15

Coming intoseason 14, however, the show saw a sharp decrease in ratings. It ranked 20 in season 12, followed by a significant drop to the 29th spot the following year. Initially, it was uncertain if the shortened season 14 was going to be its last, but as the creatives behind the series decided on how to wrap up the year, long-time showrunner Erica Messer appealed for a 10-episode season 15 that would allow them to properly end one of the most successful procedurals on TV.

Luckily, all the involved parties agreed to greenlight one final season of the show.

It's unclear what caused to lose viewership towards the end of its run. However, there are several possible reasons for this. Firstly, the change of slot from Wednesdays 9 pm to a much later time to 10 pm may have contributed to its decline. Secondly, may have also played a part in this. It's worth noting that when Thomas Gibson was fired, it hadn't been long since the show also lost another original cast member, Shemar Moore.

Couple that with the increasingly infrequent appearances from Matthew Gray Gubler's Spencer Reid, then it isn't difficult to imagine views losing interest.

Criminal Minds Got A Reboot Just 2 Years After Its Ending

Just two years after ended its run on CBS, however, Paramount+ revived the show, but on the streaming platform.

There was some initial confusion about whether the project would come to fruition, but in November 2022, the 10-episode first season of premiered. The new show features the majority of the old cast back, making it essentially a continuation of its network predecessor. Currently, the show is already confirmed to return for season 2, but no release date has been announced after it was indefinitely delayed due to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA strikes.