Which Seasons of ‘Criminal Minds’ Are Worth Binging … And Which Should We Skip?

Criminal Minds was one of CBS’s highest-rated series throughout its impressive 15-year run. The show was so beloved, it was quickly snapped up by Paramount+ for a reboot called Criminal Minds: Evolution, which premiered in November 2022.

The show is about the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), a group of criminal profilers who travel the country capturing serial killers and other baddies. It’s part procedural drama, part criminal pathology study, and it’s got just enough character-driven drama to keep viewers tuning in week after week for years. Still, with so many seasons, there are bound to be a few duds in the mix.

If you’re just starting off on your viewing journey, here’s a cheat sheet on which seasons to binge immediately, and which to sit out entirely.

15. Season 15 (2020)

Season 15 felt like a hastily-slapped together shadow of its former self. Instead of the usual 20 or more episodes, this season offered only ten. At times it felt like a fitting goodbye to the characters we’ve come to know and love, but other times these episodes felt superficial and unnecessary. The seasons biggest highlight was seeing Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) cope with so many years of collective trauma.

14. Season 10 (2014-2015)

At the end of season 9 viewers said goodbye to Alex Blake (Jeanne Tripplehorn), a fan favorite whose absence was sorely missed when season 10 rolled around. Then, showrunners replaced her with a younger actress in hopes of luring in a younger demographic, and the results were disastrous. Viewers detested Jennifer Love Hewitt’s character Agent Kate Callahan, even circulating an online petition to oust her from the show.

There were other character changes this season and a general lack of exciting storylines. Hewitt lasted just one season before exiting stage left.

13. Season 6 (2010-2011)

This season suffers from character changes as well. Paget Brewster and A.J. Cook, who played Agent Emily Prentiss and Agent Jennifer “JJ” Jareau, respectively, were let go due to budget cuts, but fans were so outraged they were eventually brought back into the BAU fold.

In season 6, Prentiss appeared in 18 of the season’s 24 episodes before getting written off when she faced her nemesis, Ian Doyle (Timothy V. Murphy) in season 7. Cook appeared in just two episodes. The resulting season felt forced, and fans were left scratching their heads about why two favorite characters were suddenly no more.

12. Season 9 (2013-2014)

When JJ was finally brought back, showrunners came up with a ludicrous reason involving a miscarriage and a secret mission to capture Osama Bin Laden to explain her absence. It was a sad attempt, and it took away from the other characters’ storylines for the entire season.

The season’s saving grace is its finale, which aired in two parts and saw the BAU capturing a riveting serial killer called “The Preacher.”

11. Season 14 (2018-2019)

This season focused more on the past than the present, so the action didn’t feel like it advanced much. Yes, Rossi gets married and Garcia gets kidnapped, but the biggest (and weirdest) reveal happens when JJ confesses she’s in love with Reid. Uh … come again?

This development felt like it came from nowhere, as neither character had expressed romantic interest in each other before now. For longtime viewers, this strange moment (which went nowhere) felt a bit like Fonzie jumping the shark.

10. Season 11 (2022-2023)

Fans finally got their wish when Hewitt left the show this season. She was replaced by a new character called Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler), who quickly became a popular fixture for the duration of the series run. Tyler’s presence rejuvenated the series in many ways, but the whole season was plagued by pacing and continuity errors that were hard to ignore. Two bright points in the season were guest appearances by Danny Glover and Audrey Plaza, respectively, whose storylines were engaging and fun to watch.

9. Season 13 (2017-2018)

Season 13 yet again suffers from casting changes that did little to advance the overall plot. Actor Daniel Henney, who headed up the first Criminal Minds spinoff, “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders,” joined the BAU after the new show was unceremoniously canceled. He didn’t add much to the dynamic, and although there were some brilliant moments (and episodes) this season, it’s nowhere near the best or the worst of the bunch.

8. Season 12 (2016-2017)

The lead-in to the (boring—yes, I said it) eleventh season was much easier to watch, but still smack-dab in the middle of the pack. Season 11 ended with a huge prison break that released thirteen serial killers back into the wild, so the BAU spends most of season 12 attempting to bring them to justice.

The real scandal of season 12 happened off-screen. Thomas Gibson, the actor who plays Aaron “Hotch” Hotchner, was fired after an altercation with one of the show’s writers. He and his son were shipped off to “witness protection” in a rather abrupt ending to his story. The good news is that his exit inspired the return of Prentiss, who returned to take over as BAU chief.

7. Season 8 (2012-2013)

Season 12 saw the return of Prentiss, but season 8 is when we had to say goodbye. She was replaced by Georgetown linguistics professor Alex Blake (Jeanne Tripplehorn), who slid into the series like a hot knife cutting through butter. Blake is brilliant and astute, and it’s incredibly entertaining to watch that big brain work.

Another fabulous addition to season 8 is Mark Hamill, who made a guest appearance as a serial killer called “the Replicator.”

6. Season 7 (2011-2012)

We didn’t have to wait too long to see Prentiss again after she left in season 6, but she doesn’t stick around. The character once again exits at the end of this season and does not return until season 12. JJ also comes back this season, marking the first time the whole “band” got back together in several seasons.

5. Season 1 (2005-2006)

The first season set the tone for the entire series, and it remains one of the most entertaining seasons of the run. The original BAU team holds a special place in fans’ hearts, especially Mandy Patinkin as Jason Gideon. Patinkin only appeared in seasons 1 and 2, tying up his storylines within the first few episodes of season 3. His departure was chalked up to “creative differences” until a 2012 interview with New York Magazine, in which Patinkin admitted that the show’s gritty subject matter was “destructive to [his] soul and personality.”

Many years later, in season 10, we learn that Gideon was murdered by an unsub he identified back in 1978, eliminating any hope of the character returning in the future.

4. Season 3 (2007-2008)

This is a shorter season because the series was impacted by the Writer’s Strike of 2007-2008. There are only 13 episodes, but they’re all pretty incredible and action-packed! Yes, Gideon leaves the BAU early on in the season, but the new character David Rossi (Robert Dunne) is a winner. The whole cast seems to fully gel this season, and the killers are downright scary.

3. Season 5 (2009-2010)

Season 5 gave us more of a peek into the personal lives of the BAU squad, giving fans a nice mixture of terrifying crime and intimate drama throughout the season. Thomas Howell guest stars as one of the most frightening killers yet, “The Reaper,” who becomes obsessed with Hotch and his family. There’s a shocking twist we won’t spoil for you, but suffice it to say this season really drives the crime home for our characters.

2. Season 2 (2006-2007)

Fittingly, season 2 is our second-favorite. Lola Glaudini’s character “Elle” gets a badly-needed write-off, ushering in the Prentiss era, and the rest of the BAU faces intriguing criminals that provide thought-provoking real-world scenarios we never pondered before. We see the beginning of Reid’s addiction struggles, and the stage is set for future seasons.

1. Season 4 (2008-2009)

Most longtime fans agree that season 4 is the best of them all! All of our original BAU squad are here, and we manage to make it through the entire season without seeing any major characters exit. The team tracks down terrorists, JJ takes a brief maternity leave, and we get our first look at The Reaper and lots of other horrible criminals.

Jason Alexander plays one such bad guy. Henry Grace is a narcissistic killer determined to outsmart Agent David Rossi (Joe Mantegna). Alexander appears in the episode titled “Masterpiece,” and it lives up to its name in every way. Jane Lynch also guest stars as Reid’s mother, and anything with Lynch is a winner in my book!

All seasons of Criminal Minds are available to stream on Hulu.