Criminal Minds renewed for a 15th and final season

TVLine

The long-running CBS crime drama's final season will consist of 10 episodes that will shoot this spring and air next season. Criminal Minds will end its run with 324 total episodes, which is among the Top 20 shows of all time. “It’s really bittersweet, but I’m so, so grateful to CBS for giving us this heads-up,” showrunner Erica Messer tells TVLine. “I think one of my biggest fears was always, ‘Oh man, what if we don’t know’ and then they just don’t bring back the show? But they respect this series and the cast and the crew and the fans enough to end this properly.” Criminal Minds' 14th season finale is scheduled for Feb. 6. “It’s a really full episode,” says Messer, “and then we jump ahead in time, to kick off the final 10.” Messer adds that this season's final episodes will feature “a little more serialized storytelling," including “a bad guy that we meet toward the end of Season 14, who will be our main focus” in Season 15.