What goes on in the twisted and depraved minds of the worst criminals? That is what a special division of the FBI known as the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) attempt to answer.
For the BAU; they are only called in on the most baffling and the most dangerous criminals. Where they use their in-depth knowledge of psychology and advanced profiling in an attempt to better understand their suspects. To better identify them. To better anticipate them. To better apprehend them.
Because the best way to catch a criminal ... is to think like a criminal. And the best way to do that is by being able to get inside their devious criminal minds...
Criminal Minds was a long-running American produced crime-thriller TV series starring Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Kristen Vangsness.
It was an incredibly popular and highly ranked TV series that has won numerous awards during their original series run. It has spawned the Criminal Minds Franchise which consists of several spin-off series and a foreign adaptation as well of the BAU.
Notable Characters[]
Jason Gideon
Aaron Hotchner
Elle Greenaway
Derek Morgan
Spencer Reid
Jennifer Jareau
Penelope Garcia
Emily Prentiss
David Rossi
Ashley Seaver
Alex Blake
Kate Callahan
Tara Lewis
Luke Alvez
Stephen Walker
Matt Simmons
Tyler Green
Elias Voit
Plot Summary[]
Season 1[]
The BAU is called to investigate the murder of two small-town high school students who may have been victims of a cult killing. Based on the crime scene evidence, the team begins to believe it is possible that someone other than a cult member may be responsible.
Season 2[]
Reid relives his painful childhood after a religious serial killer, who has three personalities, abducts, tortures, and drugs him for the course of two days. Secrets about Morgan are revealed after he is arrested during a visit home on suspicion of being a serial killer.
Season 3[]
The BAU travels to Denver, Colorado, where they investigate a series of home invasions that end in the murders of entire families. However, the case takes a turn when they begin to suspect that the killers were once-abused children.
Season 4[]
It follows the Behavioral Analysis Unit as they deal with a number of dangerous cases including a series of murders that look like the work of a serial killer who was executed at the time these new murders transpired; terrorists who blow up a vehicle carrying BAU member Hotch (Thomas Gibson), an event that causes him substantial hearing problems; and Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) becomes haunted by his past while investigating the murder of a boy. Guest stars this season include Jason Alexander, Wil Wheaton, C. Thomas Howell, and William Mapother.
Season 5[]
The BAU investigates a group of suspects with a pack mentality who are randomly selecting their victims in the nation's capital and murdering them for the thrill of it. The BAU travels to Albuquerque to investigate the case of a serial killer who impregnates young women and murders them after they have given birth.
Season 6[]
The BAU travels to New Mexico to assist local authorities in Las Cruces in apprehending a serial killer who is garroting women in a gated community. Agent Ashley Seaver, an FBI cadet with a troubled past, is asked to assist with the case.
Season 7[]
It follows the Behavioral Analysis Unit as they crack a series of unsettling cases involving Philadelphia's boxing subculture, a Zodiac copycat killer terrorizing San Francisco, and a team of bank-robbing serial killers.
Season 8[]
When three members of a Kansas City, Kansas, family are found dead from an apparent murder-suicide and another family is subsequently reported missing, the BAU sets out to track down the perpetrator by establishing a connection between the two cases.
Season 9[]
It follows the Behavioral Analysis Unit as they investigate a number of disturbing cases and track down the perpetrators, who include a ritualistic killer in Arizona, a sniper in Dallas who may be using the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination as a motivating factor, a deadly UnSub in Utah with a bizarre fascination with the Salem witch trials, and missing teens in Chicago who commit a series of mass murders. Back at headquarters in Quantico, Va., new section chief Mateo Cruz (Esai Morales) is introduced and it's learned that he has a long work history with JJ (A.J. Cook), who is guarding a secret that could put her life in danger. As for Hotch (Thomas Gibson), he collapses during a meeting and is rushed to the hospital where he fights for his life due to complications from his stabbing at the hands of George Foyet (C. Thomas Howell), the infamous "Reaper," who murdered his wife Hayley (Meredith Monroe). During surgery Hotch sees mysterious visions of both Hayley and Foyet. Elsewhere, Rossi (Joe Mantegna) searches for his former Marine sergeant (Meshach Taylor) when he goes missing; Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) delves into her hacker past and reconnects with an old flame; and Blake (Jeanne Tripplehorn) experiences a tense reunion with her father and brother, who help her investigate homicides in Kansas City.
Season 10[]
When veteran profiler Jason Gideon is found dead in his cabin, the BAU revisits its origins after learning he was tracking down an elusive serial killer who has suddenly resurfaced in Roanoke, Virginia. Meanwhile, each individual agent struggles to come to terms with Gideon's death.
Season 11[]
After an undercover DEA agent is murdered and two others go missing, the BAU joins the NSA to investigate an underground Internet drug syndicate that is possibly involved in the crimes.
Season 12[]
When Reid's mother mysteriously disappears, he asks the BAU to investigate if she was abducted while he remains in prison. Caught in an impossible situation, Reid must face an old nemesis. Meanwhile, Derek Morgan comes to the BAU with a lead that might help them find Mr. Scratch.
Season 13[]
When escaped serial killer Peter Lewis (Bodhi Elfman) launches a devastating final assault on the BAU, killing one of their own and taking another hostage in the process, Garcia brings in former FBI International Response Team member Matt Simmons (Daniel Henney) to help apprehend Lewis before more lives are lost.
Season 14[]
When four people living in various cities along the East Coast are tortured and murdered over a three-day span, the BAU attempts to connect the spree with a DEA-Federal Police manhunt for an infamous Mexican cartel hitman.
Season 15[]
Reid suffers from a brain injury and, while experiencing hallucinations, is visited by ghosts from his past. Also, the BAU makes a shocking discovery about Lynch that affects Rossi personally, and the entire BAU team comes together to celebrate Rossi's retirement.
Season 16[]
The sixteenth season of the American police procedural crime drama television series Criminal Minds, subtitled Evolution, follows members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as they are faced with a network of serial killers built during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Season 17[]
Rossi and Prentiss investigate after two teachers in Provo, Utah are killed with a similar MO to Gold Star. Lewis and Tyler perform a stake-out but are joined by Tara's DOJ ex-girlfriend Becca. The BAU has become the subject of conspiracy theories called due to Doug Bailey's death the previous season.
