CRIMINAL MINDS: SEASON 11???

The cast of the police  procedural show CRIMINAL MINDS have  finished shooting Season 10 and with just two more episodes left, the viewers are left to wonder if there will be a Season 11. It's the hope that there would be a new season after this because the Criminal Minds fans aren't ready to bid the BAU team adieu just yet.

It's been a long road for the show and I can't believe it's been 10 years already. What first drew me to the show in the first place were the main cast members (I started watching from Season 4 & hunted for Seasons 1, 2 and 3)- all familiar faces except for Matthew Gray Gubler (Dr Spencer Reid with the eidetic memory) and Kirsten Vangness (the talkative technical analyst, Penelope Garcia).

It was a huge surprise to see  Thomas Gibson,  whom I remember mostly as Greg Montgomery in the sitcom Dharma & Greg, play the solemn and intense Special Agent Aaron 'Hotch' Hotchner. His character was the complete opposite of Greg that I sometimes wondered if this was the same actor I saw in that sitcom, in the medical dram  series, Chicago Hope and the comedy The Flintstones In Viva Rock  Vegas.

The next surprise was Joe Mantegna who I never thought I  would see  play an FBI agent after his roles in  The Godfather Part 3 and The Last Don but I was pleased to see him take on the role of Agent David Rossi; more so after watching the previous seasons   and discovered he filled the void left by Mandy Patinkin who

played the original team leader, Jason Gideon and then left at the beginning of Season 3. The actor claimed there was a lot of violence in the show, hence his departure and he has a point; most of their cases make you feel very ill and wonder how some people can be so twisted and heartless. There's no question of Gideon ever coming back as his character was killed off in Season 10; "Nelson's Sparrow".











 There's the handsome ex The Young &The Restless actor, Shemar Moore, playing the tough yet compassionate Derek Morgan. Not so much of a surprise but until I discovered CM I did wonder where he ended up after The Young & The Restless; this role suits him completely and I'm glad he was in all 10 seasons.

 And there's the lovely A.J Cook. My first sight of her was in Final Destination Part 2 and since she was younger and  her hair wasn't blond in that movie, I didn't recognize her at first but I loved her character, level headed J.J immediately.

 Every Season has been eventful; not just because of the cases but in the personal lives of the characters and major changes. Lola Glaudini who played  Special Agent Elle Greenaway from Season 1 left in the middle of Season 2. She was replaced by the more popular Paget Brewster who played Emily Prentiss from Season 2 to 7

though her character was written off in the middle of Season 6 (A.J Cook too) but both brought back amidst fan pressure; and had a one episode comeback in Season 9.
Other events all through the show includes  Morgan facing an old nemesis in Season 2, J.J becoming a mother in Season 4, Hotch losing his wife to a serial killer in Season 5,  Emily's past unfolded in Season 6 and briefly replaced by Ashley Seaver (Rachel Nichols), J.J and Will finally marrying in Season 7,  Reid losing his girl friend and Section Chief Erin Strauss ( Jayne Atkinson) murdered in Season 8. The same season brought in Agent Alex Blake, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn but she later departed at the end of Season 9. Season 9, J.J is kidnapped and anti-violence Garcia is forced to use a gun!
 And there was the backdoor pilot episode in Season 5- The Fight- which later evolved to the spinoff,  Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior but was later cancelled after one season, which is a pity as Forrest Whitaker was very good as  the red cells' team leader, Special Agent Sam Cooper, who  strongly reminded me of Gideon.

The current Season 10 has been especially eventful. The new agent, or rather new addition to the BAU team was Kate Callahan and much to my surprise played by    Jennifer Love Hewitt. And before we could catch  our breath, Rossi discovers he's a father and grandfather but then loses an old war comrade (played by his real life friend Meshach Taylor), Kate is pregnant, Reid meets an agent that just might become  a new love interest and we are treated to another backdoor episode to another Criminal Minds spinoff- Criminal Minds:  Beyond Borders- guest staring C.S.I: N.Y alumni, Gary Sinise.


Criminal Minds is as different as they come from other police procedural t.v shows as the suspect's behaviour is thoroughly examined and profiled before the actual arrest. With its high ratings it deserves to have a new season; even if we have its new spin-off to look forward to.
Here's hoping for Season 11!