Sorry to break it to you sick, crime-obsessed freaks, but one of the greatest crime drama series of all time (after Law & Order: SVU, of course), Criminal Minds is coming to an end.
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The beloved series’ official Twitter account confirmed the news that its upcoming 15th season will be its last with an “epic final season” promised to viewers.
“Hey, #CriminalMinds fans — we’ve got big news. First, mark your calendar for the Season 14 finale, Feb 6 at 10/9c,” the show tweeted.
“Next, get ready for a momentous ride: Season 15 will be our epic final season,” the tweet read alongside a cast photo.
Hey, #CriminalMinds fans—we’ve got big news. First, mark your calendar for the Season 14 finale, Feb 6 at 10/9c. Next, get ready for a momentous ride: Season 15 will be our epic final season. pic.twitter.com/7ASK0pgf2n
— Criminal Minds: Evolution (@criminalminds) January 11, 2019
Deadline reports that the fifteenth and final season will include 10 episodes and will air between 2019 and 2020.
“It is the quintessential CBS hit. We are so proud to have aired it,” said Amy Reisenbach, CBS’ EVP current programs, according to the outlet. “It speaks to everything we do best, which is air quality television. It’s been successful not only on air but online, in syndication, internationally for ABC (Studios).”
The decision to pick up a final installment was made just months ago when longtime executive producer/showrunner Erica Messer was writing the final episodes of Season 14 and asked the powers that be whether to make the ending a season finale with a cliffhanger or a series finale.
That’s when all the networks involved, CBS, ABC Studios and CBS TV Studios, came to the decision that the series should be extended for one more season so that they could spin a proper finale.
“We wanted to make sure Erica had the time and ability to write a season (14) finale that honours the characters and the fans,” said Reisenbach. “We discussed wanting to keep the show in continuous production so 10 felt like the right number for us to roll straight into and give Erica enough episodes to end the series the way she wanted to.”
