The focal point of the series follows a group of FBI profilers who set about catching various criminals through behavioral profiling. The plot focuses on the team working cases and on the personal lives of the characters, depicting the hardened life and statutory requirements of a profiler. The show spawned two spin-offs: Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (2011) and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (2016). On May 6, 2016, CBS renewed the show for a twelfth season, which is set to premiere on September 28, 2016.[1][2]
At the start of season three, Mandy Patinkin announced his departure from the show because he was deeply disturbed by the content of the series.[4] He left letters of apology for his fellow cast members, explaining his reasons and wishing them luck. Joe Mantegna replaced him as David Rossi, a best-selling author and FBI agent who comes out of retirement. During season three, A.J. Cook became pregnant with her first child. Her pregnancy was written into the show. Cook's son, Mekhai Andersen, has been written into a recurring role as Jennifer's son Henry. Cook's void was filled by Meta Golding, who played Jordan Todd, an FBI agent who works with the agency's Counter Terrorism Unit. In season six, Jennifer is forced to accept a promotion at The Pentagon, causing her to leave the BAU.
Later that season, Emily is seemingly killed off. Although she survives, she does not appear for the rest of the season. Cook and Brewster were both replaced by Rachel Nichols as Ashley Seaver, an FBI cadet. CBS's decision to release Cook and Brewster from their contracts resulted in fans' writing numerous angry letters to the studio and signing protest petitions. CBS rehired Cook and Brewster as Jennifer Jareau and Emily Prentiss, respectively; Nichols was released.[5][6] In February 2012, Brewster announced her departure from the show after the seventh season.[7] She was replaced in the eighth season by Jeanne Tripplehorn, who played Alex Blake, a linguistics expert.[8] Later in season nine, Paget Brewster made a special guest appearance, reprising her role as Emily Prentiss in the 200th episode.
After two seasons, Tripplehorn was released from the show.[9][10]Jennifer Love Hewitt joined the cast as Kate Callahan, a former undercover FBI agent who joins the BAU.[11] During season ten, Jason Gideon was killed off-screen. Executive producer and showrunner Erica Messer said CBS and ABC Studios were fine with the decision because it was clear that Patinkin would not come back again, but the show would feature him in a flashback if he were ever to return in the future.[12] Following the conclusion of season ten, Hewitt and Cook announced that they'll both be on hiatus from the show due to their pregnancies. Hewitt will return in season twelve,[13] while Cook returned after the first five episodes of season eleven.[14]Aisha Tyler, who plays Dr. Tara Lewis, joined the show at the start of season eleven.
Later that season, Shemar Moore, who plays Derek Morgan, left the show after eleven seasons. He had thought to leave in the previous season when his contract ended but was convinced to stay to give his character a proper sendoff.[15][16] Messer said the initial thought was for Moore to do six episodes, but when that didn't feel like enough, they settled on Moore doing the first eighteen episodes of that season and he departed in March 2016.[17] He is replaced in the twelfth season by Adam Rodriguez, who plays Luke Alvez, a Fugitive Task Force Agent.[18] A week after Moore left, Paget Brewster, who plays Emily Prentiss, made her second special guest appearance since leaving in season seven, her first being in season nine. Brewster will in season 12 begin to recur in multiple episodes.[19][20]
This is a list of characters in the television series Criminal Minds, an American police proceduraldrama which premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS and concluded its original run on February 19, 2020. It is also shown on A&E and Ion Television in the United States. A sixteenth season of the show began airing on Paramount+ on November 24, 2022.[21]
^Mandy Patinkin only appeared in the first two episodes of season 3
^Thomas Gibson only appeared in the first two episodes of season 12.
^Lola Glaudini only appeared in the first six episodes of season 2.
^A. J. Cook only appears as a regular in the first two episodes of season 6. She is a guest in 6.18 & 6.24.
^Joe Mantegna appears as a series regular starting with season 3 episode 6.
Jennifer Jareau
Played by A. J. Cook, SSA Jennifer "JJ" Jareau (born November 22nd 1981) originally acted as the team's Communication Liaison with the media and local police agencies and later turned to a full time agent in the field after returning from the Pentagon. She has two sons with her now husband Detective William LaMontagne Jr. (Josh Stewart), whom she met while the team was working a case in New Orleans in the season two episode "Jones" and married at the end of the season seven two-part finale, "Hit and Run". In the second episode of season six, JJ was forced to take a promotion to the Pentagon and left the team for the rest of the season. When JJ leaves the BAU for a promotion to a position at the Pentagon, Garcia and Hotch take up her responsibilities as media liaison, and Garcia retains this position when JJ returns to the BAU as a profiler. Jennifer returned to the show in the episode entitled "Lauren", in which she receives a call and returns to help the BAU find Emily Prentiss and capture Ian Doyle before it is too late. When Emily is stabbed by Doyle and rushed to a hospital, Jennifer announces she did not survive. However, it is later revealed that Emily is alive and Jennifer meets her at a cafe in Paris, where she provides her with three passports and bank accounts to start a new life in hiding. She returns once again in the season six finale before returning as a full-time cast member again in season seven. In the finale of season 14, JJ reveals to Reid that she was in love with him during a hostage situation.
In 2015, the actress announced she was expecting her second child, which was written into JJ's storyline. The character's children are portrayed by A.J. Cook's real-life sons, Mekhai and Phoenix Andersen.[22]
Penelope Garcia
Played by Kirsten Vangsness, Penelope García is the team's technical analyst at BAU headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. She is flamboyant, a nonconformist, kind, and fun-loving and provides the rest of the team with comic and compassionate relief whenever it is needed. Penelope’s mother remarried into the Garcia family. She has a brother named Carlos. Her parents were both killed by a drunk driver. Although she is an Anglo-Caucasian, she celebrates presumably Mexican/Mexican-American traditions from her stepfather’s side. She and SSA Morgan share a very friendly-flirty relationship that never goes beyond that, although Penelope does show mild jealousy when she sees him dancing with two other women. In turn, Morgan, responds negatively when asked for proposal advice by her then boyfriend, fellow FBI computer tech Kevin Lynch. Penelope taught herself to hack after she dropped out of college and was aligned with the best underground hackers in the world. After being caught by the FBI, she was given a choice of living in a high-security prison for the rest of her life or working for the BAU division of the FBI as an analyst. Two episodes focus on García's character. In "Penelope", she was shot and almost killed. When Jennifer Jareau leaves the BAU for a promotion to a position at the Pentagon, Garcia volunteers to take up her responsibilities as media liaison, completely changing her looks. She quickly realizes the job is not for her and resumes her job as a technical analyst. The liaison position is then split between her and Hotch, a job she retains when JJ returns to the BAU as a profiler. In "The Black Queen", Penelope's past is brought up after a series of flashbacks. In those flashbacks, viewers see a Goth-looking Garcia. Her background and history are revealed, indicating that her extraordinary computer skills are self-taught. She is overcome by guilt by her past actions, so much so that when her hacker ex-boyfriend needs to be caught, she volunteers to be bait. She is really uncomfortable in this situation and says that she would never do it again. Garcia states that she didn't know why she was ever "that" person.
Emily Prentiss
Played by Paget Brewster, SSA Emily Prentiss is the daughter of an ambassador and a U.S. diplomat. After Agent Elle Greenaway leaves the BAU permanently following a case in which she had shot an unsub in cold blood, Prentiss shows up with papers stating she is the newest member of the BAU, which catches both Hotch and Gideon off guard since they hadn't signed off on her transfer. She became a permanent member of the team in "Lessons Learned" where it was revealed that she was fluent in Arabic. She also has a tough relationship with her mother. She got pregnant at the age of 15 and later chose to have an abortion. Prentiss is also skilled at chess.
In "The Thirteenth Step" (episode 6.13), Prentiss receives some disturbing news from her previous boss at Interpol. In the following episode, "Sense Memory", after coming home from work, she notices that someone had been in her house because her cat's back was wet and her window was open. She also received several strange phone calls, with the caller ID saying "Caller Unknown". This also leaves Agent Morgan concerned for Prentiss. Prentiss appears in only 18 episodes of season 6. She faked her death to escape an old nemesis with the help of both Hotch and JJ while the rest of the team continued to assume she was dead. In season seven premiere ("It Takes a Village"), Emily returns to the team when Doyle resurfaces and she rejoins by the end of the episode. At the end of the season, she leaves the team to return and run Interpol in London.
She returns for the 200th episode to help rescue a kidnapped SSA Jennifer Jareau and again in the episode "Tribute" (season 11), where she enlists the help of the BAU in catching a serial killer who had originally killed in Europe before killing in the United States. Paget Brewster was confirmed to return for a several episode arc in Season 12. Following the dismissal of Thomas Gibson, Brewster was promoted to a series regular again starting from Season 12, episode 3; later Prentiss is promoted to Hotch's position of unit chief.
Played by Joe Mantegna, Senior Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi, a "'founding father' of the BAU", was in early retirement from 1997 until his voluntary return to the BAU in 2007, replacing Jason Gideon, who had abruptly resigned from the BAU. He had retired in order to write books and go on lecture tours, but he returned to settle some unfinished business that was not immediately specified. It was later revealed that the case involved three young children whose parents had been murdered in a possible home-invasion case that had remained unsolved. This case haunted Rossi for twenty years and prompted him to return to the BAU, where he eventually solved it. He served in the Vietnam war and lost a close friend which was revealed in a series of flashbacks.
Dr. Tara Lewis
Played by Aisha Tyler, Lewis is Callahan's and JJ's temporary replacement while they are both on maternity leave. Dr. Tara Lewis is a psychologist with an eye on forensic psychology and its application toward the criminal justice system. Her dream was to study psychopaths up close and personal – and her psychology background, combined with her experience in the FBI, brought her face-to-face with monsters. Her job was to stare them down and interview them, in order to determine if they were fit to stand trial. In the process, she made herself find the humanity inside these broken men (and, sometimes, women) in order to learn if there was a conscience behind their brutal crimes. Lewis is also fluent in both French and German.
Luke Alvez
Played by former CSI: Miami star Adam Rodríguez, Fugitive Task Force Agent and Supervisory Special Agent. Alvez is a member of the FBI Fugitive Task Force that partners with the BAU to catch the escaped serial killers that escaped in the Season 11 finale. In the Season 12 premiere he works with the BAU to catch the "Crimson King", one of the escapees that attacked Alvez's old partner. The team discovers the real killer is "Mr. Scratch" who taunts the team by turning over the real "Crimson King", who was tortured to the point he no longer remembered who he was. After that Alvez decides to join the BAU full-time and was Hotch's last hire. Alvez has a dog named Roxy (whom Garcia thought at first was his human girlfriend) and served in Iraq as an Army Ranger prior to joining the FBI.[23]
Played by Matthew Gray Gubler, SSA Dr. Spencer Reid is a genius who graduated from Las Vegas High School at age 12. Reid's mother, Diana Reid has schizophrenia and was sent to a mental hospital by Spencer himself when he turned 18. He is almost always introduced as Dr. Reid, even though the others are introduced as agents because SSA Jason Gideon understood that people would not otherwise take Spencer seriously because of his young age. After an introduction, he never shakes hands. It has been revealed that he holds Ph. D.s in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering, B.A.s in Psychology and Sociology, and is working on a B.A. in Philosophy. Spencer is known for having an IQ of 187 and has an eidetic memory. Around the office, Reid often interrupts others' sentences with facts. E408Matthew Gray Gubler confirmed that Reid is Autistic. In many episodes, Dr. Reid can be seen visiting his mother in her Las Vegas Mental Help/Nursing Home. In Season 4, "Memoriam", Reid experiences dreams, possibly nightmares, of a young boy being murdered. This was due to a series of events that happened in Reid's childhood. In the end, Reid saw his father after a 20-year absence and found out that the murders in his dreams were indeed based on a real murder case and that his baseball coach, his mother, and his father were involved in the case, some criminally (his baseball coach), and some not criminally (his parents). Matthew Gray Gubler has been known for his many hairstyles throughout the continuing show. In almost every season his hair is different, whether it is a long man bob, or short Albert Einstein hair.[24] Reid has also said that he was bullied when he was younger. Through the seasons Reid has faced many near-death experiences and even had to be resuscitated while being held captive, tortured, and drugged by Tobias Hankel (unsub from season 2 episode 15). Reid had made some attempts in finding love but only to have his girlfriend killed in front of him by her stalker and later on to be terrorized by Cat Adams top hit-woman who framed Spencer for murder sending him to prison. Through Matthew Gray Gubler expressing a desire to be a part of the show again, Spencer may return in the 17th season of the show.
Jason Gideon
Played by Mandy Patinkin, Senior Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon was the BAU's best profiler. He helped Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid through their nightmares. He was shown to have a very close relationship with Reid, having hand-picked him from the FBI Academy for his team, helping Reid through many difficulties (including his implied drug use), and even leaving the good-bye letter for Reid to find. Gideon did not know Garcia well, as expressed through an episode wherein he is placed with her while he is on crutches; after they are placed, Garcia complains about him, and he doesn't know her name. Through the first two seasons, Gideon was portrayed to be very good at chess, winning against Reid many times (only exception being Reid's birthdayE104) and encouraging him to "think outside the box". Prior to the series, he was said to have had a "nervous breakdown" (or "major depressive episode") after he sent six men into a warehouse with a bomb in it; all six agents were killed, and he was heavily criticized about the event. He showed particular dislike for the practice of using religion as a defense or motivation for one's crimes. Gideon participated in some field operations during his time with the BAU and had the rest of his team "think outside the box" as well, as he made a major advancement by shouting at the top of his lungs with pleas of mercy and, when questioned by his team, he said that the victims were being threatened to be kept quiet as neighbors would have heard the pleas if they were unrestrained. He blamed himself for the torture Reid received from Tobias Hankel as he had ordered Penelope Garcia to add a virus warning to the videos Hankel posted.E215 Gideon also had a son named Stephen.E111 The nature of their relationship has not been directly stated, but it was implied that they have not seen each other very recently. Gideon began to lose confidence in his profiling skills after Frank Breitkopf murdered his girlfriend, Sarah Jacobs. During his final case in Arizona, he further lost faith in his abilities when his decision to release the unsub resulted in the deaths of both the unsub and a young woman. As a result of his actions, Aaron Hotchner was suspended, which was the final straw for Gideon. He then left his cabin shortly afterwards, leaving his gun and badge behind along with a letter for Reid to find as he sought to regain a belief in happy endings.
In the season ten episode "Nelson's Sparrow", Gideon was murdered off-screen, having been shot dead at a close range by a serial killer named Donnie Mallick (Arye Gross), which prompts the BAU team to investigate Gideon's murder. During the flashbacks focusing on a young version of him for the episode which show him working at the BAU in 1978, he is played by Ben Savage.
Elle Greenaway
Played by Lola Glaudini, SSA Elle Greenaway was formerly assigned to FBI Field Office in Seattle, Washington, and was assigned to the BAU, being an expert in sexual offense crimes. Her father was a police officer but was killed in the line of duty. She is half Cuban and speaks Spanish. She is shot by an unsub.E122 Though she physically recovers, the event leaves her with psychological scars.E201
As a result of those scars, Elle begins acting even more harshly in season two, especially during a case involving a serial rapist.E205 Ultimately, she kills the suspect before he could even be properly arrested.E205 During this episode, she mentions that the unsub wrote on the wall with her blood from the wound.E205 She hands in her badge and gun in the episode "The Boogeyman", saying that it is not an admission of guilt.
Played by Rachel Nichols, Ashley Seaver is an FBI cadet assigned to the BAU. Her father, Charles Beauchamp, was a horrific serial killer from North Dakota known as "the Redmond Ripper" who killed 25 women over the course of 10 years before Ashley was a teenager. He was caught by David Rossi and Aaron Hotchner. Because North Dakota does not have capital punishment, he was sentenced to life in prison. She has not been to see him. Though he writes to her sometimes, she never reads his letters, though she does keep them and admittedly still finds herself unable to hate him for what he did. In the episode "What Happens at Home", the BAU investigate a series of murders in a gated community and bring Ashley along because of her understanding of the family dynamics of a serial killer. In the end, the suspect commits suicide by cop in front of her. In the next episode, she requests that the rest of her remedial training be done with the BAU and is attached to the team. In the season seven premiere "It Takes a Village", it was revealed that Ashley transferred to the Domestic Trafficking Task Force, which is led by Andi Swann.
Dr. Alex Blake
Played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, FBI Linguistics expert Dr. Alex Blake replaces SSA Emily Prentiss. She is introduced in season eight. Her appointment at the BAU was met with some mixed reactions as the team was close to Prentiss. She retired in 2001 until she rejoined the BAU in 2012 to restore her reputation after Blake was blamed for arresting the wrong suspect in the Amerithrax case and Section Chief Erin Strauss let her take the fall. As a result, she and Strauss do not get along, with Strauss accusing her of joining for selfish reasons, but they eventually make amends. The rest of the team recognize her expertise and are generally less antagonistic towards her. As season eight progressed, Blake found herself in danger when she was threatened by a serial killer, 'The Replicator', who turned out to be John Curtis: a fellow former FBI agent disgraced due to the events of the Amerithrax case, who targeted Blake out of envy that she had restored her reputation while his own was still in ruins. Curtis killed Strauss, kidnapped Blake, and tried to blow up the entire BAU team, but the team rescued her, and Rossi locked Curtis in the house to die when the bomb exploded as vengeance for Strauss's death.
Blake graduated from Berkeley with a double major and also holds a PhD. She was recruited to the FBI at the age of 24, making her one of at least two team members to join the Bureau in their early 20s along with Spencer Reid. Blake is also a professor of forensic linguistics at Georgetown, where Reid had previously guest lectured, and an SSA in the Washington field office. During her initial time at the FBI, Blake was involved in some high-profile cases, particularly the Unabomber case.E801 Blake understands and speaks American Sign Language.E801
In the season nine episode "Bully", it is revealed that Blake is estranged from her father Damon (a retired police captain of the Kansas City Police Department) and younger brother Scott (a current homicide detective there himself); after the death of her older brother Danny (a cop killed in the line of duty) and her mother, she found it too painful to be near her father and brother, and distanced herself from them. However, after Scott is injured by the UnSub, the two siblings start to reconnect, and by the end of the episode, she reconciles with both Scott and Damon when she and the rest of the BAU team have a barbecue at her father's home.
In the season nine two-part finale, Blake becomes distraught and depressed when Reid is shot in the neck by the UnSub after pushing Blake out of the way and nearly dies, even commenting that it should have been her who was shot instead. She is also further upset when rescuing a young boy who was being used by the UnSub as leverage against his mother. Though Reid survives, Alex is greatly shaken by the case, and reveals to Reid that both he and the young boy reminded her of her deceased son Ethan, who died of an unnamed neurological disease at age nine. Her guilt and distress over Reid's brush with death touched a major nerve with her, seemingly pushing her to the breaking point. At the end of the "Demons", she sits apart from the rest of the group on the plane ride home, and it is implied that she sends a text message to Hotch handing in her resignation. After taking Reid home, telling him about Ethan, and departing, Reid finds her FBI badge in his bag, and watches her leave, saddened but accepting, from his window.
Played by former Ghost Whisperer star Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kate Callahan has been in the FBI for eight years and has experience as an undercover agent, which has allowed her to establish a prior friendship with members of the BAU. Her sister and brother-in-law were killed in the September 11 attacks, leaving Kate as the legal guardian of their infant daughter, Meg, whom she raised for thirteen years along with her husband, Chris. This tragedy shaped her patriotic attitude. She is described as "smart, charming, and wise for her years" and holds a passion for making the world safer, according to showrunner Erica Messer. In the episode "Breath Play", Kate reveals she is pregnant. In the season ten finale, "The Hunt", Meg is abducted by human traffickers who are connected to a previous case that Kate had researched. Though Meg is eventually brought back safe, Kate decides to take a year off to spend with Meg, Chris, and her soon-to-be-born child.
Derek Morgan
Played by Shemar Moore, SSA Derek Morgan is a confident and assertive everyman character, the son of an African-American father and white mother. He went to Northwestern University on a football scholarship, holds a black belt in judo, runs FBI self-defense classes, and served in a bomb squad unit and as a Chicago police officer. In season two it was explained that after the death of his father when he was ten, Derek struggled somewhat: youthful fighting earned him a juvenile offender record. He was taken under the wing of a local youth center coordinator, Carl Buford (Julius Tennon), who acted as a surrogate father to Derek and helped him to obtain a college football scholarship. But he also sexually abused him; the episode "Profiler, Profiled" revealed this. In season three, it is revealed that he hates religion because, as he says, something bad happened to him when he was 13. He went to church every day and prayed for it to stop, but it did not. Because of this, he had resentment toward God and the church. He prays for the first time in 20 years at exactly the time, he later finds out, that Penelope Garcia is being operated on after being shot. Former Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner promotes him to unit chief in his place, a promotion Derek saw as only temporary until the "Boston Reaper" was captured. Aaron again takes his place as unit chief when he returns after grieving over his ex-wife's murder. He resigns to care for his family.
Aaron Hotchner
Played by Thomas Gibson, Unit Chief SSA Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner used to be a prosecutor and was formerly assigned to the FBI field office in Seattle. After stepping down for a period, he returned to lead the unit. He has a son named Jack (Cade Owens) by his deceased wife Haley (Meredith Monroe). The two eventually divorced and remained on good terms until Haley was murdered by George Foyet (C. Thomas Howell), Aaron's Nemesis. Aaron's attempts to balance his family life and his job have been something of an ongoing struggle on the show. When Jennifer Jareau leaves the BAU for a promotion to a position at the Pentagon, Garcia and Hotch take up her responsibilities as media liaison, and Garcia retains this position when JJ returns to the BAU as a profiler. But in the episodes "Closing Time", "A Family Affair", and "Run", it is shown that he has moved on and is currently in a romantic relationship with Beth Clemmons (Bellamy Young). It is known that "Hotch" is rarely seen smiling throughout the show, except for when he is with his family. Hotchner left the BAU to go into the federal witness protection program with Jack after finding out that serial killer Peter Lewis (Bodhi Elfman) was stalking the boy. The character was written out of the series after Gibson was fired for getting into a physical altercation with one of the show's writers.
Played by actor and conductor Damon Gupton, Walker is a Supervisory Special Agent with the BAU. Walker was a member of the Behavioral Analysis Program. He was contacted by Emily Prentiss about joining the BAU to assist in the manhunt for Peter Lewis, a.k.a. "Mr. Scratch". Walker is an experienced profiler, with about twenty years under his belt, and a member of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Program before his transfer to the BAU. He is married to a woman named Monica and has two children with her, Maya and Eli. He met Emily Prentiss, then the chief of Interpol's London office, during his line of work. He was also mentored by David Rossi. Stephen's first case concerned a terrorist cell in Belgium, and three agents were sent undercover to infiltrate it. However, Stephen's profile was wrong, and this resulted in the deaths of the undercover agents. He eventually moved on from the trauma and improved as he went along in his career. He and other BAP agents, including his longtime friend Sam Bower, were sent undercover to investigate corruption in the Russian government. Walker's skills include being fluent in Russian and playing the trombone. In "Wheels Up", Walker dies from injuries during a car accident with a semi-truck by Peter Lewis a.k.a. Mr. Scratch.
Matt Simmons
Played by Daniel Henney, SSA Matthew "Matt" Simmons is a Special Operations agent and special agent with the IRT. Simmons is married to his wife Kristy (Kelly Frye) and has a total of four young children, including sons Jake and David and twin daughters Lily and Chloe. Like Garrett, Simmons' full and fulfilling family life was a deliberate choice. Through his job, Simmons has some prior history with Derek Morgan and JJ of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. He was a former member of a Special Ops unit, and his experience with the unit allowed him to hone his profiling skills.
Played by Brian Appel, Agent Anderson appears in "Plain Sight" (episode 1.4)", The Fisher King" (1.22 and 2.1), "The Big Game" (2.14), as well as "Honor Among Thieves" (2.20), "The Crossing" (3.18), "100" (5.9), "The Slave of Duty" (5.10), "Hope" (7.8), "Hit" (7.23), "Run" (7.24), "Carbon Copy" (8.16), "The Replicator" (8.24), "To Bear Witness" (9.4), and "200" (9.14). Agent Anderson is told to drive Elle home in "The Fisher King", and he drops her off at her front door and leaves. She was soon shot by The Fisher King, as he had already been there, waiting for her. Hotch scolds Anderson briefly for not doing more, and quickly sends him back to the scene of the crime.
Agent Josh Cramer
Played by Gonzalo Menendez, Agent Josh Cramer runs the FBI Field Office in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as the Organized Crime division in that city. The two episodes which take place in Baltimore, "Natural Born Killer" (1.8) and "Honor Among Thieves" (2.20) both have him liaising with the BAU.
Diana Reid
As played by Jane Lynch, Diana Reid is Dr. Spencer Reid's mother. She first appears as a potential target of serial killer Randall Garner, the man who shoots SSA Elle Greenaway.E122 Like her son, Diana has a genius level IQ. She was once a university literature professor, but is no longer since her diagnosis of schizophrenia. She currently resides at the Las Vegas-based Bennington Sanitarium, where Spencer committed her when he was eighteen. Her husband, William Reid, left her when Spencer was a child. The reason William left is because he was aware Diana witnessed a murder, as a family friend avenged his own son's murder. He was unable to live with this knowledge though he claims he tried; he said "the weight of knowing what happened was just too much". Much of Diana and Spencer's time while he was growing up was spent with her reading to him. Spencer writes her a letter every single day because he feels guilty about not visiting her. In season 11, Spencer takes some time off from the BAU to visit her. In "Entropy", he reveals she has early signs of dementia and when he first walked in her room, she didn't know who he was for three seconds.
Kevin Lynch
Played by Nicholas Brendon, Kevin was Penelope Garcia's replacement when she was briefly suspended and hospitalized.E309 He is a former hacker like her, but he is far messier. Garcia is denied access to her system during her suspension from the BAU. Kevin takes over in the interim. He is immediately impressed with the system she has set up and her GUI. Garcia attempts to hack into the database under his watch. Kevin is unable to block her. They are each impressed with the other's work, but Garcia establishes dominance. When they finally meet face-to-face, they fall in love instantly. Kevin remains in awe of Garcia. They've developed a dating relationship in spite of Garcia's "special" relationship/mutual admiration with Agent Morgan. This is revealed at the beginning of "Damaged", when Agent Rossi shows up at Garcia's apartment only to find the quirky twosome showering together.E314
In the Season 6 finale, "Supply & Demand", they profess their love for each other. Later in the show Penelope brings him in for a case in Season 6.
William LaMontagne Jr.
Played by Josh Stewart, LaMontagne is the husband of Special Agent Jennifer Jareau. He is a homicide detective who worked for the New Orleans Police Department and is now with the Metro PD. In the season two episode "Jones", it is revealed that his father William Sr. was a detective himself in the NOPD and was killed during Hurricane Katrina as he was working a case in his home and refused to leave during the mass evacuations. The case later resurfaced and LaMontagne enlisted the help of the BAU.E218 While they were there, he and JJ became romantically involved, although he wasn't mentioned again until "In Heat". In that episode, he was brought to Miami where the unsub had killed a friend and colleague of his. During the episode, it was revealed that he and JJ had been secretly contacting each other since "Jones". JJ didn't want to reveal their relationship since she believed it would complicate their personal lives, but in the end, they went public with it. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Prentiss, Morgan and Reid already knew about it. In the episode "The Crossing", JJ discovered she was pregnant and they have a boy named Henry. The actual status of JJ and Will's relationship (engaged, married, etc.) has not been disclosed, though they exchanged rings with Henry's birthstone in season four. In the season three finale, it is revealed that he transferred to Metro to move to Virginia to be with JJ and raise Henry together. To conclude season seven, he and JJ marry in a small ceremony in David Rossi's back yard.
The character was written back in after A.J. Cook told the writers she was pregnant, and as such JJ needed a love interest. In addition, one of the original plans for the season seven finale was to kill off Will. However, this idea was scrapped due to Paget's impending departure.
Jack Hotchner
Played by Cade Owens, Jack Hotchner is the son of series regular Aaron Hotchner, his first appearance being in "The Fox". His mother, Haley Hotchner, is killed in season five by George Foyet (a.k.a. "The Boston Reaper") but is spared when his father gives him a secret signal to "work the case" (hide in the trunk in Hotch's office). It is shown in season seven's "Painless" that Jack is being bullied. Jack is shown to have become good friends with Beth Clemmons, his father's new girlfriend.
Lindsey Vaughan
Played by Gia Mantegna (Joe Mantegna's daughter), Lindsey Vaughan is the daughter of a hitman and first appears in the season three episode 3rd Life. The BAU initially believe her to be a victim of "Jack" until they track her to a school and discover that she is a willing accomplice, input under the witness protection program after a hit ordered by Irish mobsters designed to kill her father wound up killing her mother instead. She reappears in season twelve as Diana Reid's nurse using the name Dr. Carol Atkinson. Reid immediately recognises her as Lindsey Vaughan and later remembers that she was Mr. Scratch's accomplice from the hotel in Mexico but is taken back to his cell before he can warn Diana, later being revealed that she is the accomplice, and girlfriend, of Cat Adams.
Henry LaMontagne
Played by Mekhai Andersen (A.J. Cook's son), Henry LaMontagne is the first son of Jennifer Jareau and William LaMontagne Jr., his first appearance being in "100".
Mateo Cruz
Played by Esai Morales, Cruz is the new Section Chief of the BAU. All that is known about him is that he worked at the Pentagon prior to season nine and has a past with JJ.
It was revealed in "200" that the two had worked on a task force together in the Middle East. He was the only person to know of her pregnancy and her miscarriage during her time on the task force. In the same episode, they are both kidnapped by Tavin Askari, who was a traitor within the task force. They are both physically and mentally tortured into giving the access codes given to them during the mission. He is shocked to discover that Michael Hastings, one of the men they had worked with on the task force, was the mastermind behind the plan and threatened to rape JJ in order to give him the access codes. He gives in and is later stabbed by Askari, who was quickly killed by Hotch. Cruz is taken to the hospital following the incident and survives. Cruz later appears in the season nine finale "Demons", where he accepts a case from the sheriff who is a personal friend. When the sheriff is killed and Reid is shot, both Cruz and Garcia fly to Texas to meet with the rest of the team. He is next seen in the pilot episode for the upcoming spinoff, entitled Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, which was the nineteenth episode of season ten. He enlists the BAU to help the international team find a vicious international killer in Barbados.
Joy Struthers
Played by Amber Stevens West, Joy is Rossi's daughter from his short-lived second marriage to French diplomat Hayden Montgomery. When they divorced, Hayden didn't tell him she was pregnant and Joy thought her father was her mother's second husband, who finally told her the truth before dying from cancer. In the episode "Fate" (10x09), Joy sought Rossi out and they're getting to know each other. Joy is a reporter and true crime writer and is married with a 2-year-old son named Kai.
Former
Erin Strauss
Played by Jayne Atkinson, Erin Strauss was the BAU Section Chief, the direct superior to SSA Aaron Hotchner. Her job lies in administration, and she has little field experience. She is an alcoholic, as revealed in the seventh-season episode "Self-Fulfilling Prophecy" when she rants at the commandant of a military academy and Morgan smells alcohol on her breath. At the end of the episode, Hotchner and Morgan arrange for her to check in privately at a treatment facility, thus protecting her from losing her job.
Strauss becomes more prominent in season eight. It is revealed in "The Silencer" that the newest member of the BAU team, Alex Blake, worked with her during the Amerithrax case, during which Strauss left her to take the fall when a linguistics flub led to the arrest of the wrong suspect. As a result, Blake did not get along with her afterwards. At the end of "The Silencer", Strauss tries apologizing to her, but Blake turns Strauss down. In "Carbon Copy", she specifically oversees the investigation into the Replicator, and by the end of the episode, she apologizes to Blake again, and this time, her apology is accepted. In "Brothers Hotchner", she is abducted by the Replicator, later revealed to be a former FBI agent named John Curtis, whom she left to take the blame along with Blake following the Amerithrax case. In "The Replicator", Erin Strauss is killed in the line of duty when Curtis poisons her with spiked wine and leaves her to die. She is found on the streets by Hotch, and she admits that the Replicator forced her at gunpoint to drink again. She dies in Hotch's arms after begging him to stay with her as she does not want to die alone. Strauss indirectly helps defeat Curtis post mortem when Rossi uses her sobriety chip to escape his trap, leaving him to possibly die in an explosion. After her funeral, the team celebrates her life during dinner at Rossi's garden, recalling her expert pistol marksmanship, discussing happy stories of her time with them, and acknowledging her as a good person.
Haley Hotchner
Played by Meredith Monroe, Haley Hotchner was the wife of Aaron Hotchner. She and Hotchner have a son, Jack.E204 They divorced due to Hotch's job and duties. In season three, Aaron Hotchner picks up his home phone when someone calls, but when he answers it, the caller hangs up. Haley's cellphone starts ringing immediately afterward. Hotch looks at Haley, but she does not say anything. It is implied that Haley might be cheating on Aaron, and that is why the person who called the home phone did not speak when a man answered. In the season five premiere episode, after George Foyet (a.k.a. "The Boston Reaper") shoots and stabs Aaron unconscious and puts him in the hospital, it is discovered by him that Foyet knows where Haley and Jack live, and they are placed in witness protection, later revealed to be living in New Jersey. Afterwards, Foyet stalks Sam Kassmeyer, the U.S. Marshall protecting Haley and Jack, somehow gets into his house after he comes home from work, and brutally tortures him to try to get him to reveal their location. In spite of being tortured and nearly dead at the scene (he would die shortly on the way to the hospital), Kassmeyer does not reveal their location. However, Foyet then notices Kassmeyer's work cell phone on a small table next to his living room sofa that he put down after coming in, and guesses correctly that he has phone numbers (not listed as actual phone numbers) on speed dial and dials several asking for "Haley." After several unsuccessful attempts, he finally manages to get Haley's cell number and she answers that it is her. Foyet apologizes for using her real name, then poses as a Marshall, tells her that Kassmeyer has been killed, that her location may have been compromised, that they need to protect her son, and that Aaron is dead. Overwhelmed with fear, Haley then puts her complete trust in him. Foyet further tells her not to call anyone after they're through talking, that her calls may be intercepted, to buy a disposable phone, and call him on it after getting into her vehicle; and that he would give her another number to call him on as well as further instructions on what to do before reassuring her that everything would be fine if she followed his instructions and that he was telling her the truth about Aaron. He later tells her to go to the Hotchner's house before their divorce and before she and her son were placed in protection and that he would meet her there. Despite the highly questionable instructions, Haley follows them completely. She discovers the truth about the situation when Aaron is able to reach her by cell phone with her, Foyet, and Jack in the living room. Jack, as mentioned above, is able to go into hiding and later emerges safely after Aaron talks in code with him over the phone, but after an emotional goodbye Aaron and Haley over it, Foyet shoots and brutally kills her.E509 Haley returned in season nine, episode five, in a vision while Hotch was recovering from complications from his stabbing 100 episodes earlier.E905E501
Jordan Todd
Played by Meta Golding, Todd is JJ's replacement while she's on maternity leave. She was introduced to the team in Catching OutE405 and was mentored and trained by JJ until JJ went into labor.E407 Prior to that, she had spent 7 years working for the FBI's counter-terrorism unit. In the end, she announced that she would return there and that JJ would end her maternity leave and return to the team.E413
Dr. Savannah Morgan
Played by Rochelle Aytes, Savannah Morgan (née Hayes) is Derek Morgan's wife. She works as a doctor at Bethesda General Hospital. Savannah first appeared in Season Nine's "The Return", and it is presumed that Morgan and Savannah started dating prior to Season Nine and first met after she approached him when he was depressed over a case that ended badly. Before they started dating, they used to be neighbors. She was introduced to the show because Shemar Moore, the actor who portrays Morgan, had requested that his character get a romantic partner. She was last seen giving birth to her and Derek's son, Hank Spencer Morgan, after being shot by Chazz Montolo.
Peter Lewis
Played by Bodhi Elfman, Peter Lewis (aka Mr. Scratch) is a proxy killer who poisons his victims causing them to kill people for him. He is first hunted by the BAU in season 10. He escapes from prison in season 11 and continues killing in season 12. He also stalked SSA Aaron Hotchner's son, Jack, forcing them to go into witness protection. In the season 13 premiere, "Wheels Up," he is cornered by the team and falls to his death off the edge of a building.
Gideon is widely known as the BAU's best profiler. After a series of emotionally troubling cases and the murder of his friend Sarah by fugitive serial killer Frank Breitkopf (Keith Carradine), he begins to feel burned out. The last straw occurs when Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner is suspended for two weeks by the team's boss—an action for which Jason feels responsible. He retreats to his cabin and leaves a letter for Dr. Spencer Reid, who he knows will be the one to look for him. When Spencer arrives at the cabin, it is empty except for the letter and Jason's badge and firearm. Jason is last seen remarking to a Nevada diner waitress that he does not know where he is going or how he will know when he gets there, leaving the diner and driving off. In season ten, he is killed (off-screen) by a suspect he had tracked down from one of his first cases.
Hotch is a former prosecutor and was originally assigned to the FBI Field Office in Seattle. He is one of the most experienced agents in the BAU. He struggles to balance the demands of his job with his family life, but his wife Haley Brooks (Meredith Monroe) divorces him in season three. In the episode "100" (season 5), Haley is killed by fugitiveserial killer George Foyet (C. Thomas Howell), also known as "The Boston Reaper", whom Aaron fights and beats to death. He also has a son named Jack (Cade Owens) and a brother named Sean. After Haley is murdered, he has custody of Jack, and Haley's sister, Jessica Brooks (Molly Baker), helps him take care of Jack. When SSA Jennifer Jareau leaves the BAU, Aaron and Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia takes over her job as Communications Liaison. Aaron dated a woman named Beth Clemmons (Bellamy Young), who first appeared in the episode "The Bittersweet Science" (season 7), before the couple separated after Clemmons accepted a job in Hong Kong.
Greenaway is assigned to the FBI field office in Seattle and assigned to the BAU as an expert in sexual offense crimes. Elle suffers extreme emotional trauma after being shot by an unsub in the season-one finale ("The Fisher King (Part 1)"). In the season-two premiere ("The Fisher King (Part 2)"), Elle survives and returns to duty sooner than SSA Jason Gideon and Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner would like. Several episodes later, while alone on stakeout of a suspected serial rapist, she shoots the man in cold blood. The local police deem it self-defense, but Jason and Aaron question her ability as a profiler after this. Elle resigns, turning in her badge and gun to Aaron, declaring that it is "not an admission of guilt."
Morgan is a confident, assertive and often hot-tempered character. Raised by his mother Fran, along with his two sisters, Sarah Morgan and Desiree Benita, after the death of his police officer father right in front of him, Derek was a troubled Chicago youth headed for juvenile delinquency. He was rescued and mentored by Carl Buford (Julius Tennon). Buford turned out to be a sexual predator who molested Derek and other young boys; he was eventually arrested for murder. After developing an interest in football, Derek attended Northwestern University on a scholarship. After a football injury left him unable to play, he joined the Chicago Police Department's bomb squad and later joined the FBI and the BAU. He has an emotionally intimate, but platonic, relationship with Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia; the two have a unique shorthand and banter. In the season seven premiere ("It Takes a Village"), Derek shows utter hatred towards Ian Doyle (Timothy V. Murphy) for killing SSA Emily Prentiss, but when Emily returns alive, he has mixed feelings. In the episode "A Beautiful Disaster" (season 11), Derek resigns to care for his family.
Reid is a genius who graduated from Las Vegas High School at age 12 and holds Ph.D.s in mathematics, chemistry, and engineering as well as Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and sociology and, as of season four, is working on a B.A. in philosophy. It has been revealed that he has an IQ of 187, can read a dizzying 20,000 words per minute, and has an eidetic memory. Most of the members on the team are intimidated by his profound knowledge. He is habitually introduced as "Dr. Spencer Reid" in contrast to the other agents, who are introduced as "supervisory special agent". The purpose of this, as explained by Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner in the pilot episode ("Extreme Aggressor"), is to create a respectable first impression of Spencer, deflecting judgments about his age. His mother, Diana Reid (Jane Lynch), suffers from schizophrenia and is currently committed to a mental institution. In the episode "Proof" (season 7), Spencer completely ignores SSA Jennifer Jareau for not telling him that SSA Emily Prentiss was alive. Spencer is also the godfather of Jennifer's son, Henry. In season eight, Spencer is involved with a woman (Beth Riesgraf) whom he has never met in person because she is being stalked. In the episode "Zugzwang," Reid sees her die, when her stalker finally catches up with her and commits murder-suicide. Reid is devastated by the loss, but returns to work quickly.
J.J. served as the Communications Liaison on the team to local police agencies in seasons one through five. She dates and marries William LaMontagne (Josh Stewart), a New Orleans Police DepartmentDetective. They have a son, Henry LaMontagne (Mekhai Andersen). In the episode "JJ" (season 6), Jennifer is forced to accept a promotion at the Pentagon, causing her departure from the team, although Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner expressed his hope that she will return to the BAU in the future. Jennifer returned in the episode "Lauren" (season 6) to assist the team in finding SSA Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster). In the season-six finale ("Supply and Demand"), Jennifer meets with SSA David Rossi, informing him she is returning to the BAU. As of season seven, Jennifer is a legitimate profiler, with Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia and Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner taking over the role of communications liaison.
Garcia joined the BAU after bringing attention to herself by illegally accessing some of their equipment; she is offered a job in lieu of a jail sentence. She submitted her resume on pink stationery. She usually supports the team from her computer lab at Quantico but occasionally joins them on location when her skills can be used in the field. She is a leader in a support group for those who have lost someone in their lives. Her parents were killed by a drunk driver when they were out looking for her when she was a teen and had missed her curfew. She enjoys a flirtatious relationship with SSA Derek Morgan, often engaging in comical banter of a sexually suggestive nature when he calls in for information. He calls her "Baby Girl." She was once shot and almost killed by Jason Clark Battle, who lured her on a date in the episode "Lucky" (season 3). When SSA Jennifer Jareau leaves the BAU, Penelope and Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner take over her job as Communications Liaison. SSA Sam Cooper (Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior) often calls when his team need her computer skills. Penelope is the godmother of Jennifer's son, Henry.
Prentiss is the daughter of Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss (Kate Jackson). After SSA Elle Greenaway leaves the BAU, Emily shows up with papers assigning her to the BAU. Emily is also fluent in several languages, such as Spanish, French, Greek and Arabic, and has a working knowledge in Italian, but it is revealed that Emily has lost comprehension of her other known language, Russian. She is apparently killed while being held hostage by Ian Doyle in the episode "Lauren" (season 6), but in the last scene of the episode, it is revealed that she survived her encounter with Ian, and is seen with SSA Jennifer Jareau in Paris passing her passports and bank accounts for protection. In the season-seven premiere ("It Takes a Village"), she returns alive and well, much to the team's surprise. In the season-seven finale ("Run"), Emily decides to leave the BAU after accepting a position running and returning to the Interpol office in London. Her last appearance is in the episode "Tribute" (season 11), where she enlists the help of the BAU in catching a serial killer.
Rossi is a highly experienced profiler who once worked the BAU in its origins, then took early retirement in 1997 to write books and go on lecture tours about criminal analysis, until volunteering to return shortly after SSA Jason Gideon's departure in 2007. He has been married three times and is quite wealthy because of his successful writing career. In the episode "From Childhood's Hour" (season 7), David reconnects with his first wife, Carolyn Baker, who has shocking news for him. It is revealed that she came to him because she was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and wants David to assist in her suicide. In the next episode ("Epilogue"), Carolyn dies after taking a drug overdose. It is also revealed in this episode that David had a son who died at birth. In the season-eight episode "The Fallen," it is revealed that David was a Marine in Vietnam. The season-seven finale ("Hit") reveals SSA David Rossi may be having a secret relationship with Section Chief Erin Strauss; this was discovered when Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia and SSA Dr. Spencer Reid spot them both leaving a hotel. In the last season-eight episode ("The Replicator") we see their relationship has been known to the entire team. The episode is an emotional one for SSA David Rossi since Unit Chief Erin Strauss is murdered by The Replicator. She was taken from her hotel room, where he had planned to meet her that night, drugged and put on the streets of New York disoriented for Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner to find her. The episode's last scene is SSA David Rossi eulogizing her to the team after her funeral, at a gathering at his home. In season ten, we learn that David has a daughter by his second wife.
Seaver replaces SSA Jennifer Jareau after she is forced to accept a promotion at the Pentagon. She was chosen for her unique background; her father, Charles Beauchamp, was a horrific serial killer known as the "Redmond Ripper," who murdered dozens of women before being caught by the BAU, incidentally. At first, Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner was going to make her a special, one-time consultant to the BAU, but SSA David Rossi allowed her to finish her remedial training with the team, under the supervision of SSA Emily Prentiss. In the episode "... With Friends Like These" (season 6), she graduated from the Academy and had been added to the team as a "probationary agent." In the season-seven premiere ("It Takes a Village"), Jennifer reveals to Emily that Ashley transferred to the Domestic Trafficking Task Force, which is led by Andi Swann.
Blake once worked for the BAU during the 2001 anthrax attacks but retired after a conflict with Chief Erin Strauss and rejoins the BAU after SSA Emily Prentiss transfers to the Interpol Office in London. Alex first appears in the season-eight premiere ("The Silencer"). She makes a personal connection with Spencer Reid after he reveals to her that he has begun a romantic relationship with a woman whom he has never met. In the season-nine finale, she escorts Reid to his apartment, leaving behind her credentials, which Reid finds in his bag before seeing Blake leave in a taxi.
Callahan, as mentioned in the season ten premiere, previously worked under Andi Swann's team, which is also Ashley Seaver's team since she left the BAU. She is a "seasoned undercover agent whose stellar work at the FBI has landed her a coveted position with the Behavioral Analysis Unit." She and her husband Chris have been the guardians of Kate's teenage niece, Meg, since Meg was a baby following her parents' deaths in the September 11, 2001 attacks. Kate and Chris discover they are expecting a baby in the middle of season ten, causing her to hand in her leave-of-absence papers to Hotch at the end of the season, expressing her desire to take a year off with her soon-to-be-born baby, as she had done with Meg when she was a baby.[1]
Alvez is a member of the FBI Fugitive Task Force and joins the Behavioral Analysis Unit in season twelve.[2]
Recurring
Erin Strauss (portrayed by Jayne Atkinson; seasons 2–8, 9; 23 episodes), an Assistant Director and the BAU Unit Chief's direct superior. While her FBI experience was primarily in administration, SSA Derek Morgan remarked on her masterly marksmanship, after observing her at a firing range. In early episodes, Strauss appeared only concerned with herself and appearances within the Bureau, going so far as to force SSA Jennifer Jareau to accept a promotion to the Pentagon in the episode "JJ" (season 6). Further character development revealed her alcohol abuse. After being confronted by Morgan and Hotchner, Strauss accepts help and achieves sobriety. In the season eight finale, the Replicator breaks into Strauss' hotel room in New York, drugs her, and forces her – at gunpoint – to drink alcohol from her room's minibar. Hotchner finds her on a bench near the hotel, where Strauss dies in his arms. Her death is avenged when Rossi traps the Replicator in an exploding house. Fittingly, Strauss's sobriety helps defeat the Replicator as Rossi uses her sobriety chip to escape the Replicator's trap and taunts him with it. After attending her funeral, the members of the BAU gather in a still-emotional Rossi's backyard, reminisce, and toast her memory. Showrunner Erica Messer chose to kill Strauss off because she felt that the character had come full circle since she was first introduced.[3]
Haley Hotchner (portrayed by Meredith Monroe; seasons 1–5, 9; 14 episodes) is Agent Aaron Hotchner's wife and the mother of his only son, Jack Hotchner, born in late 2005. The couple's marriage was troubled, as clues were revealed in season three that she may have been having an affair and walked out on him. She later appeared with divorce papers, and he accepted reluctantly so as not to cause any trouble for his son with the divorce. In the episode "100" (season 5), Haley and Jack were captured by a killer known as "The Reaper"; though Jack was saved, Haley was shot and died before Aaron could save her. Aaron later beat The Reaper to death. In the episode "Route 66," Hotch collapses from internal bleeding and dreams about Haley. She tells him that he should stop blaming himself for her death and to make sure Jack knows that he can talk about his mother's death. Haley leaves Hotch by telling him that he and Beth have a good relationship and he shouldn't mess it up by not telling her how he feels.
Molly Baker as Jessica Brooks, Haley's sister.
Jordan Todd (portrayed by Meta Golding; season 4; 8 episodes) is SSA Jennifer Jareau's handpicked replacement to serve as the BAU's Media Director during Jennifer's maternity leave, from late 2008 through early 2009. Jordan had formerly served in the FBI Counterterrorism Division, but only follows Jennifer for one day of shadowing before Jennifer goes into labor. Jordan seemed to get along well with most of the team, even flirting platonically with SSA Derek Morgan. She is especially close with SSA David Rossi, who is seen to counsel her while they are on cases. However, Jordan clashed several times with Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner. She eventually leaves when she decides she can't handle the stress that comes with her job.
Dr. Diana Reid (portrayed by Jane Lynch; seasons 1–4; 5 episodes) is the mother of BAU team member Dr. Spencer Reid. Like her son, she has a high IQ. She was once a university professor of literature, but suffers from schizophrenia and is hospitalized in a Las Vegas sanitarium, where Spencer committed her when he was eighteen. Her husband, William Reid, left prior to her diagnosis, because of his inability to cope with her illness and he could not deal with protecting her after she witnessed a murder. She is functional when on her medication, but frequently lapses into regression to her university career. Diana spent much time reading aloud to Spencer while he was growing up, and he continues to write her a letter every day. She is proud of her son but disapproves of the FBI, as it is a government-run organization; she refers to his colleagues as "fascists." She seems to be showing signs of improvement in later episodes, when Reid states that she went on a supervised field trip to the Grand Canyon without feeling the need to notify Reid. However, she did not forget him as Reid later receives a postcard and a gift from her.
William LaMontagne, Jr. (portrayed by Josh Stewart; season 2–present) is SSA Jennifer Jareau's husband and the father of Jennifer's son, Henry LaMontagne. Will and Jennifer met while she was working a case in his hometown. As of early season four, Will had moved to Virginia and is a stay-at-home dad for Henry until he became a detective for the Metropolitan Police Department (Washington DC) as shown in the season seven finale ("Run"). It is also stated that the couple had made a deal that in a life-threatening situation, they would do everything so that one of them could live to look after Henry. Jennifer accepted his marriage proposal and they were married officially, however when their son was born, they exchanged rings with insets of Henry's birthstone, citrine. He is seen briefly in the 100th episode getting medicine for Henry with Jennifer, as well as the episode "The Slave of Duty" (season 5), accompanying Jennifer and the team at Haley Hotchner's funeral. In the season seven finale, Will works alongside J.J. to stop the bank robbers and is eventually taken hostage. Afterwards, they agree to get married and unknowingly attend a surprise wedding ceremony thrown by Rossi and Will.
Kevin Lynch (portrayed by Nicholas Brendon; season 3–present) first appears in the episode "Penelope" (season 3), in which he is required to search Penelope Garcia's computer to learn who shot her. Kevin sends the team live video alerting that the unsub (unknown subject) is in the BAU headquarters. He is intensely impressed by Penelope's computer skills, and the feeling is mutual. At the end of the episode, Penelope is introduced to Kevin, and the two become romantically involved. In the episode "I Love You, Tommy Brown" (season 7), Kevin proposes to Penelope, but she turns him down, saying that "things are going too fast," and ultimately the couple break up.
Mateo Cruz (portrayed by Esai Morales; season 9–present) takes over from the late Erin Strauss as the new BAU section chief in season nine. He has a past working relationship with J.J. It was revealed in "200" that the two had worked on a task force together in the Middle East. He was the only person to know of her pregnancy and miscarriage during her time on the task force. In the same episode, they are both kidnapped by Tivon Askari (Faran Tahir), who was a traitor within the task force. They are both physically and mentally tortured into giving the access codes given to them during the mission. He is shocked to discover that Michael Hastings (Tahmoh Penikett), one of the men with whom they had worked on the task force, was the mastermind behind the plan and threatened to rape J.J. to give him the access codes. He gives in and is later stabbed by Askari, who was quickly killed by Hotch. Cruz is taken to the hospital following the incident and is believed to be alive.[4] Several episodes later, he reappears in the season nine finale, "Angels" and "Demons," when he asks the team to investigate a case brought to him by his friend, Peter Coleman, the Sheriff of Briscoe County, Texas. They first arrive to investigate a series of murders involving prostitutes, but as they investigate, the team soon finds that they are caught in a ring of corrupt deputies – ironically the only officer not involved being Sheriff Coleman - and find their lives in danger. After a fatal shootout with the corrupt, drug peddling Preacher Mills (Brett Cullen), Sheriff Coleman is killed, Morgan is temporarily wounded and Reid is critically wounded and hospitalized as a result. Distraught by this turn of events, Cruz travels to Texas with Garcia to help the team investigate and apprehend the ring leader, Deputy Owen McGregor (Michael Trucco). He is not seen again until late in season 10 (episode 19, "Beyond Borders") when he needs the BAU to help the FBI's international team, led by Jack Garrett (Gary Sinise), to catch an unsub who has kidnapped a family while on vacation in Barbados. The case is especially critical because this unsub has eluded both the domestic and international BAU teams by killing a family in Aruba, then in Florida one year later. This episode was the backdoor pilot for the upcoming spinoff, titled Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.[5][6]
Dr. Savannah Hayes (portrayed by Rochelle Aytes; season 9–11; 10 episodes) Savannah Morgan (née Hayes) is Derek Morgan's wife and she works as a Doctor at Bethesda General Hospital. Savannah first appeared in Season Nine's "The Return" and it is presumed Morgan and Savannah started dating prior to Season Nine, and first met after she approached him when he was depressed over a case that ended badly. Before they started dating they used to be neighbors. She was introduced to the show because Shemar Moore, the actor who portrays Morgan, had requested that his character should get a romantic partner.
Dr. Tara Lewis (portrayed by Aisha Tyler; season 11–present) is a psychologist with an eye on forensic psychology and its application toward the criminal justice system. Her dream was to study psychopaths up close and personal – and her psychology background, combined with her experience in the FBI, brought her face-to-face with monsters. Her job was to stare them down and interview them, to determine if they were fit to stand trial. In the process, she made herself find the humanity inside these broken men (and, sometimes, women) in order to learn if there was a conscience behind their brutal crimes. Lewis replaced both J.J. (A.J. Cook) and Kate (Jennifer Love Hewitt) while they were on maternity leave in the 11th Season.
Joy Struthers (portrayed by Amber Stevens; season 10–present) is Rossi's daughter from his short-lived second marriage to French diplomat Hayden Montgomery. When they divorced, Hayden didn't tell him she was pregnant and Joy thought her father was her mother's second husband, who finally told her the truth before dying from cancer. In the episode "Fate" (10x09), Joy sought Rossi out and they're getting to know each other. Joy is a reporter and true crime writer and is married with a 2-year-old son called Kai.
Gallery
Cast and crew at a Paley Centre discussion of the show
Cast members in 2011–12: (left to right) Gibson, Cook, Gubler, Mantegna, Brewster and Moore. Absent: Kirsten Vangsness
This section needs expansion with: inclusion of more reviews and summaries, for all seasons. You can help by adding to it. (April 2016)
Initially, the show received mixed reviews.[7] However, as the show progressed it began to receive positive reviews.[citation needed] The first season holds a Metacritic score of 42 based on 21 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[7]
Dorothy Rabinowitz said, in her review for The Wall Street Journal, "From the evidence of the first few episodes, Criminal Minds may be a hit, and deservedly" and gave particular praise to Gubler and Patinkin's performance.[8] Ned Martel in The New York Times was less positive, saying, "The problem with "Criminal Minds" is its many confusing maladies, applied to too many characters" and felt that "as a result, the cast seems like a spilled trunk of broken toys, with which the audience—and perhaps the creators—may quickly become bored."[9]The Chicago Tribune reviewer, Sid Smith, felt that the show "may well be worth a look," though he too criticized the "confusing plots and characters."[10] Writing in PopMatters, Marco Lanzagorta criticized the show after its premiere, saying it "confuses critical thinking with supernatural abilities" and its characters conform to stereotypes.[11] In the Los Angeles Times, Mary McNamara gave a similar review, and praised Patinkin and Gubler's performances.[12]
American ratings
Broadcast
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Criminal Minds.
* The season-two episode "The Big Game" achieved a series-high rating by attracting an audience of 26.31 million viewers and an 18–49 rating of 9.3.[24]
DVR
The show ranked number nine in DVR playback (2.35 million viewers), according to Nielsen prime DVR lift data from September 22 – November 23, 2008.[25]
For the week of October 10, 2010, Criminal Minds ranked sixth in DVR playback (2.40 million viewers), and seventh in the demo playback (1.0 demo) according to Nielsen prime DVR lift data.[26]
Early seasons of Criminal Minds have begun airing on Rewind Networks's HITS TV channel in South East Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.[28]
Video game
CBS announced in October 2009 that Legacy Interactive would develop a video game based on the show. The game would require players to examine crime scenes for clues to help solve murder mysteries. The interactive puzzle game was released in 2012, but the show's cast was not involved with the project so it did not feature any of their voices.[29][30][31]
The season five episode "The Fight" introduced a second BAU team and launched a new series called Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. The spin-off series debuted February 16, 2011, on CBS[32] but was canceled after a short 13-episode season owing to low ratings.[33] On September 6, 2011, CBS DVD released The Complete Series on a four-disc set. It was packaged as "The DVD Edition."
The series will follow the FBI agents helping American citizens who find themselves in trouble abroad.[5][36] CBS aired a backdoor pilot on April 8, 2015 in the Criminal Minds slot, with a crossover episode titled "Beyond Borders".[5][6] The second spin-off series debuted March 16, 2016, on CBS.[37] On May 16, 2016, CBS renewed the series for a second season.[38]
^Lanzagorta, Marco. "Criminal Minds". PopMatters. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
^McNamara, Mary. "TV Review: 'Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior' Goes with Its Gut." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, Feb 16, 2011. Web. May 18, 2012.
