“Criminal Minds: Evolution” is wrapping up after 20 seasons — but the abrupt ending has seemingly come as a surprise to its cast members.
The long-running crime drama, which began on CBS in 2005 before moving to Paramount+ in 2022, will air its final episodes in 2027, the streaming service announced Friday.
The final season will bring back familiar faces Joe Mantegna, AJ Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, RJ Hatanaka, Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster.
Vangsness, who has played fan-favorite technical analyst Penelope Garcia throughout the show’s 20-season run, addressed the news hours after it broke online.
“Social media is sort of like getting to do your own press conference I guess. This has happened. It’s being cancelled but then it says right there it’s ending ‘for now,’” she said in an Instagram video with the cancellation report visible behind her.
“You know the part in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ where Charlie gets the chocolate and it’s a little bittersweet. He’s like, ‘Thank you so much for the chocolate. Look at how long [20 seasons], that doesn’t happen ever,’” she continued, reflecting on her mixed feelings about the news.
Responding to fans on Instagram, Vangsness revealed she learned the news just 90 minutes before it was made public.
The actress also made clear in her video she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the show just yet.
“But I love my job and my boss Erica Messer says there’s so many more stories to tell. So if we get to keep telling them somewhere that would be amazing. I know all of us feel the same way.”
“Everything’s OK. Aren’t we all in a death and rebirth cycle? Yes, so maybe this goes somewhere else? What an adventure,” she added.
Hatanaka, who plays FBI agent Tyler Green, shared a group photo of the cast on Instagram, captioning it, “Just the finest group of people,” alongside a heart emoji.
Tyler, who plays Dr. Tara Lewis, reposted Hatanaka’s photo, adding, “Family for life.” She later shared an article ranking the most-streamed titles of 2026, which placed “Criminal Minds” at No. 11 after the show racked up 13.15 billion minutes watched.
Cook, who has played Jennifer “JJ” Jareau since the show’s first season, also reposted Hatanaka’s photo, writing, “These people own my heart forever and always,” alongside heart and broken-heart emojis.
“Criminal Minds” debuted on CBS in September 2005, following FBI profilers in the Behavioral Analysis Unit as they investigated criminals by examining their psychology.
After ending its original run in early 2020, the franchise returned on Paramount+ in November 2022 as “Criminal Minds: Evolution.”
The franchise also spawned two short-lived spinoffs: “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior,” starring Forest Whitaker, in 2011, and “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders,” led by Gary Sinise, which ran from 2016 to 2017.
The news comes after Brewster slammed ScreenRant critic Shealynn Scott earlier this year over her negative review of the series, accusing her of potentially putting 350 people’s jobs at risk and telling her to “do something better than what you do now.”
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