Criminal Minds: Evolution will end with its upcoming 20th season on Paramount+, closing a run that stretched across two decades and two platforms. The decision was made recently, after the season had already wrapped production earlier this fall, leaving Season 20 set to premiere in 2027 as the last chapter.
That is why the news lands now: fans already knew the show was coming back, and Paramount+ had given it an early Season 20 renewal in March ahead of the Season 19 debut. Erica Messer said the end of this chapter felt sudden, even as she looked ahead to sharing the final season with viewers and celebrating what the series had built.
In a statement, Messer said it was hard to put into words what Criminal Minds has meant to everyone fortunate enough to be part of the journey, first on CBS for 15 seasons and then on Paramount+ for five. She also said she was grateful for the cast, writers, directors and crew, and for the fans whose loyalty kept the show going for two decades. The series stars Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, RJ Hatanaka, Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster.
The numbers make the ending harder to square with the timing. Criminal Minds is tied for No. 5 among the longest-running drama series, and it is still performing well enough to sit in Paramount+’s Top 10. But the streamer has decided to stop at Season 20 anyway, following the recommendation of the previous Paramount+ regime. That makes this the rare case where a series can be strong enough to keep drawing viewers and still be told it has reached its endpoint.
Criminal Minds was once canceled by CBS before continuing as Criminal Minds: Evolution on Paramount+, and Messer executive produces the series with Breen Frazier, Chris Barbour, Glenn Kershaw, Stacey Hardt and Mark Gordon. It has already become the last of its kind among Paramount+’s continuations of network hits, after earlier runs that carried forward shows such as SEAL Team, Frasier and NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Season 20 is already in the can; what remains is the release, not the making. When it arrives in 2027, it will do so as a finish line, not a launch pad.
