‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ to End With Season 20 on Paramount+

“Criminal Minds: Evolution” will end with its upcoming 20th season on Paramount+, Variety has learned. The final season does not yet have a premiere date, but will air in 2027.

The announcement closes a run that stretches across two networks and two decades. CBS carried the original “Criminal Minds” for 15 seasons. Paramount+ revived the franchise in 2022 as “Evolution,” billed as Season 16, and has since aired four more seasons; Season 19 ran between May and July this year.

What did the showrunner say?

Erica Messer, the series’ showrunner and executive producer, addressed the ending in a statement: “It’s hard to put into words what ‘Criminal Minds’ has meant to all of us who have been fortunate enough to be part of this extraordinary journey, first on CBS for 15 seasons and then on Paramount+ for five.”

Messer credited the people behind the show and its audience: “While suddenly navigating the end of this chapter, I’m filled with gratitude for our remarkable cast, writers, directors and crew who have poured their hearts into this show, and for the incredible fans around the world whose unwavering loyalty has kept ‘Criminal Minds’ going for two decades. We’re looking forward to sharing Season 20 with everyone, and celebrating the legacy of this special show we’ve all built together.”

Note what the statement does not say. Messer offers no reason for the ending, and the reported announcement includes no word on whether the finale will be a full season or a shortened wrap-up. Paramount+ has not yet named even a premiere year beyond “2027.”

Who makes the show?

The series follows the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, described as “a team of profilers tasked with analyzing and capturing the country’s most dangerous criminals, before they strike again.” “Evolution” picks up after the events of the original series.

The cast combines franchise veterans with newer arrivals:

• Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness and Aisha Tyler, all series mainstays
• RJ Hatanaka, a newcomer to the franchise
• Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster, returning to their roles

Messer runs the show and executive produces alongside Breen Frazier, Chris Barbour, Glenn Kershaw, Stacey Hardt and Mark Gordon. The production comes from 20th Television and CBS Studios.

What does the cancellation change for viewers?

Practically, little and soon: fans get at least one more season of the BAU, but they will wait until 2027 for it, with no premiere date set. The larger shift is for Paramount+: after five seasons of the revival, the streamer loses one of its most durable scripted franchises — a series that survived a network cancellation, a platform move and a title change, and still ran for two decades in total. Season 20 will now serve as the test of whether a legacy procedural can land a deliberate ending rather than the abrupt one CBS gave it in 2020.