After nearly two decades on the air, Criminal Minds has explored just about every true crime scenario — but there are still certain topics the show tries to avoid.
“There are boundaries [in the writers’ room]. And for most of us, it regards children,” executive producer and showrunner Erica Messer exclusively told Us Weekly. “We’ve said it before that there’s three victim types: men, women and children. Statistically women and children are victimized most, so we try not to dive into that world very often.”
Each writer has different types of stories they might dislike. “That’s probably the biggest boundary in the room. And then for me, it’s any stories that involve attacks on the home or family in that way,” Messer noted. “We should all have this understanding that we’re safe in our homes. So when you’re not, it just hits hard.”
Since 2005, viewers have tuned in to watch a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit. The crime drama explores different fictional cases and shows how behavioral analysis helps the team locate their unknown subjects.
The original Criminal Minds series was revived by Paramount+ after its initial conclusion in 2020, and the stakes are even higher on the new show.
“We’re always looking [at] how to modernize the show and the crimes,” Messer shared with Us about the show’s vision from season to season. “Even if the why of it is sort of timeless.”
Criminal Minds: Evolution brought back most of the cast with Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster reprising their characters. While not everyone returned, Messer doesn’t want fans to give up hope for surprise appearances from OG cast members such as Matthew Gray Gubler.
“We love [Matthew] and he’s always going to be a part of the family. We would love for an opportunity to arise to get him back. And we have tried — and he has tried,” she revealed. “It just hasn’t worked out timing wise. I can’t speak to [season 3 of Criminal Minds: Evolution] because we’re not there yet. But it’s not for lack of trying.”
Messer continued: “We can’t not acknowledge who’s not here because they’re huge parts of why we’re all still here. But the trick is we have a much shorter window [now]. Back in the olden days, we had 10 months out of the year to shoot. Now we have four [months]. So it just actually can be a scheduling nightmare to try to get anyone.”
Despite Gubler’s absence, the Paramount+ series continues to thrive because of its big storytelling swings and newcomers such as Zach Gilford. His character, serial killer Elias Voit, shouldn’t have lasted this long, which keeps the writers on their toes.
“To put him in jail and have [the agents] go consult with him felt like something new that we had never done before,” Messer noted. “So, we have a challenge for next season to keep him around. But that’s the plan — to keep challenging ourselves.”
Criminal Minds: Evolution has been renewed and episodes are currently streaming on Paramount+.