CRIMINAL MINDS Season 11 - 1101. The Job - TVGuide Exclusive: Introducing JJ's New Baby!

by Joyce Eng

The BAU's newest member is pretty adorable.

JJ will only make a cameo in the Season 11 premiere of Criminal Minds, as A.J. Cook is on maternity leave, but she brought along a very special guest: her new baby boy!

"You'll get to meet A.J.'s real little baby, Phoenix. Like what she did with Mekhai [playing JJ's first son Henry], she's having her actual child play JJ's child," executive producer Erica Messer tells TVGuide.com. "His name is...

To Learn His Name and See More Photos: TVGuide.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 11 - Aisha Tyler Talks Pulling Double Duty, Explains New Look - TVLine Exclusive Video

By Matt Webb Mitovich

CBS’ Criminal Minds is about to recruit a new team member — and she is one very busy woman, as seen in this exclusive “day in the life of Aisha Tyler” featurette.

In the crime drama’s Season 11 premiere (airing Wednesday at 9/8c), Tyler debuts in the recurring role of...

To Read More and Watch Video: TVLine.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 11 - EW's Spoiler Room - SPOILER ALERT!

BY NATALIE ABRAMS

Anything Criminal Minds? — Steven
One of the big arcs of the season is ripped from the headlines of the takedown of the darknet black market...

To Read More: EW.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 11 - Is Reid Getting a Blast from His Past? - TVGuide Mega Buzz

by Joyce Eng

The seven-year itch for Jane Lynch's return to Criminal Minds might finally be over.

Lynch hasn't appeared on the drama as Reid's (Matthew Gray Gubler) schizophrenic mom Diana since the fourth season, but we are thisclose to a mother-son reunion in Season 11. "Now with Glee finished and [Lynch's new show Angel From Hell] is on CBS...

To Read More: TVGuide.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1023. The Hunt - EW's Spoiler Room Scoop!

BY NATALIE ABRAMS

Q: Anything on the Criminal Minds finale? — Katrina  

A: The storyline about the guy who’s been kidnapping and auctioning people off online will come to a head very soon, with unfortunate consequences for...

To Read More: EW.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1023. The Hunt - Zap2It: EP promises 'creepy,' 'heavy' ending to Season 10 [SPOILER]

by Sarah Huggins

"Criminal Minds" Season 10 has been quite a wild ride, and it's not done yet. As the season nears its end, there are still lots of surprises in store for fans. Zap2it caught up with showrunner Erica Messer who teased just what people can expect before the Season 10 finale...

To Read More: Zap2It.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1020. A Place at the Table - TVLine: Matt's Inside Line [SPOILER!]

by Matt Webb Mitovich

Q: Would love some A Place at the Table Criminal Minds scoop. I’ll take anything you’re willing to throw my way. –Michelle

A: I know, it feels like Ed Asner is everywhere these days, but his role on Criminal Minds this Wednesday is a far cry from his recent Good Wife visit. “He plays Hotch's father-in-law, Roy, who’s been diagnosed with...

To Read More: TVLine.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1019. Beyond Borders - Boss Talks of 'Many' Lessons Learned + The Ep That Will Drive You 'Crazy'

By Matt Webb Mitovich

Things aren't exactly B.A.U. at the BAU this Wednesday on Criminal Minds (CBS, 9/8c), when the team is enlisted to assist in solving a brutal crime committed against Americans outside the States.

In the planted spinoff episode, titled “Beyond Borders,” International Unit Chief Jack Garrett (played by CSI: NY vet Gary Sinise) reaches out to Hotch & Co. when the abduction of a family in Barbados dovetails with a case the Stateside BAU once worked. Rounding out Garrett's team are Breaking Bad's Anna Gunn (as international law expert Lily Lambert), Daniel Henney (Hawaii Five-0) as Special Ops Agent Matt Simmons and Tyler James Williams (The Walking Dead) as tech guru Russ “Monty” Montgomery.

TVLine invited Criminal Minds showrunner Erica Messer — who penned the potential spinoff — to talk of past lessons learned and why Sinise elected to play CBS crimesolver again. (Messer also teases another upcoming episode, directed by cast member Matthew Gray Gubler.)

TVLINE | Most simply put, what lessons were learned from the previous attempt at a Criminal Minds spinoff that were applied this time around?

In a word, many. The most noticeable one — and it's probably a struggle that every spinoff has – is: How are you the same but different? And what happened last go-around [with Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior starring Forest Whitaker] was, “Oh, they're different because they're rogue.” They don't work at the FBI, they work out of a dojo. And they've got this whole sort of “rogue” mentality about them. But [for Beyond Borders] I thought, maybe how they’re the same but...

To Read More: TVLine.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1019. Beyond Borders - TVGuide: Will the 2nd Time (& Gary Sinise) Be the Charm for Another Spin-Off?

by Joyce Eng

Criminal Minds is expanding its world again -- by going around the world.

Five years after launching the short-lived Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, the CBS procedural will air the backdoor pilot to Beyond Borders Wednesday (9/8c, CBS) -- or as executive producer Erica Messer describes in a nutshell, Criminal Minds International.

"In its simplest form, that's what it is," Messer tells TVGuide.com. "[Executive producer] Mark Gordon had been wanting to do another spin-off and I felt like we just needed to wait until we found the right idea. Certainly going the international route felt like it was the right thing to do, the right time to do it. We are 10 seasons in. It answers that spin-off dilemma, which is: How is this show the same but different from the mothership? And I think we were able to solve that nicely by saying that [the two shows are] the same in that they're profilers solving crimes via behavior, but it's different because they're doing it outside of our country when Americans are in trouble."

That was the main lesson producers learned from Suspect Behavior, which saw Forest Whitaker lead a team of rogue agents around the U.S. -- basically what Hotch (Thomas Gibson) & Co. already do. "I felt like it was too similar because they could be in Cleveland the same week we're in Cleveland solving a similar crime. The element of being rogue didn't stand out for me as being different enough. I think that was the misstep," Messer says. "You always...

To Read More: TVGuide.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1019. Beyond Borders - TVGuide: Get the Details! [SPOILERS!]

by Joyce Eng

What brings Gary Sinise to the BAU?

Criminal Minds will air the backdoor pilot for its spin-off on April 8, starring the former CSI: NY star as Jack Garrett, the head of an international BAU unit. After a family of four is abducted on a shuttle on the Caribbean island, his squad, which includes Breaking Bad's Anna Gunn, teams up with Hotch & Co.

"We find out that this unsub eluded Jack's team two years ago. He killed a family in Aruba and it [haunts] Jack that they weren't able to catch him," executive producer Erica Messer tells TVGuide.com. "Last year, he got away from the BAU when...
To Read More: TVGuide

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1013. Nelson's Sparrow - Erica Messer's Interview at TV Guide [SPOILERS]

by Joyce Eng

[WARNING: The following story contains spoilers about Wednesday's episode of Criminal Minds. Read at your own risk.]

Criminal Minds flashed back to the beginning of the BAU, but it was the end for Gideon.

Seven and a half years after Gideon (Mandy Patinkin) exited that diner and drove off into the sunset, he was killed off on Wednesday's episode. In the opening minutes, the BAU -- including a despondent Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Gideon's heretofore unseen son Stephen (James Lentzsch) -- gather at Gideon's cabin, where someone had shot their former leader dead. But before Gideon took his last breath, he fired a shot at one of his...

To Read More: TVGuide.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1013. Nelson's Sparrow - TVGuide's Meet the "Godfathers of the BAU"

by Joyce Eng

Gideon is gone, but not forgotten.

That was the thinking Criminal Minds executive producer Erica Messer had when she decided to revisit the early days of the BAU with young Gideon and young Rossi at the helm on Wednesday's episode (9/8c, CBS).

"Within the mythology of the series, Gideon is a very important part," Messer tells TVGuide.com. "To go back and acknowledge that yeah, he was one of the godfathers of the BAU, it was like, let's do it. It's time to meet godfathers of the BAU. It's been a while since we've seen him as we knew him, but I thought, let's see who that guy was."

Gideon, of course, hasn't been on the drama since Mandy Patinkin notoriously left the show over creative differences in Season 3 and was replaced by Joe Mantegna as Rossi. Though Gideon's been mentioned over the years, Messer felt, now that they're in their 10th season, it was the right time to take a...

To Read More: TVGuide.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1019. Beyond Borders - Gary Sinise to Lead Spin-Off

After a short break, CSI: NY star Gary Sinise is back in CBS' procedural fold as the lead of another spin-off drama, the network's Criminal Minds planted offshoot.

The proposed spin-off will air as an episode of the mothership series, filming in mid-February, which was written by Criminal Minds executive producer/showrunner Erica Messer.

Like Criminal Minds, which centers on the FBI's Analysis Unit, the spin-off focuses on a division of the FBI. It follows FBI agents helping American citizens who find themselves in trouble abroad. Sinise will play their boss, Jack Garrett, a 20-year veteran of the Bureau, who is currently in charge of the FBI's top team for handling cases involving Americans abroad.

Messer executive produces with Criminal Minds executive producer Mark Gordon and Nick Pepper of the Mark Gordon Co. Just like the original series, the spin-off...

To Read More: Deadline.com

MESSAGE FROM GARY SINISE

"As we wrapped shooting for CSI NY two years ago and I've been blessed to be able to take this time to work with my foundation, I'm excited, grateful and looking forward to working with Mark Gordon and Erica Messer on the new Criminal Minds spin off and to shooting the pilot next month with pal Joe Mantegna and the cast of Criminal Minds mother ship."

Source: Gary Sinise

CRIMINAL MINDS - 1019. Beyond Borders - New Spin-off in the Works

CBS is looking to launch another spin-off from a veteran crime drama procedural next season. The network has given the go-ahead to a Criminal Minds planted spin-off, which will air as an episode of the mother-ship series later this season. The episode, written by Criminal Minds executive producer/showrunner Erica Messer, will film in mid-February...

To Read More: Deadline.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1011. The Forever People - TVGuide's MegaBuzz: SPOILER!

by Adam Bryant

Q: Any Criminal Minds scoop? — Brett
A: Remember JJ's PTSD? She'll turn to Reid as her "sounding board" to get through it, executive producer Erica Messer tells us. "I've always..."

To Read More: TvGuide.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1011. The Forever People - TVGuide's Mega Buzz: SPOILER!

by Adam Bryant

Q: Got any Criminal Minds dirt? — Kyle 
A: Here's a nugget: Episode 11 deals with JJ's PTSD on the one-year anniversary of her abduction, which causes concern among...

To Read More: TVGuide.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1009. Fate - TVGuide Exclusive: Meet Rossi's… Daughter?!

by Joyce Eng

Rossi is getting a blast from the past on Criminal Minds — and we're not talking about his second wife.

While Wednesday's episode (9/8c, CBS) will feature a flashback to the second Mrs. Rossi, it's another new lady in Rossi's (Joe Mantegna) life that will have fans talking. As seen in the exclusive sneak peek below, Joy (Amber Stevens), an aggressive reporter, comes by the BAU and makes Rossi's mouth hit the floor when she tells him she's his daughter.

Is Joy actually Rossi's flesh and blood? That remains...

To Read More: TVGuide.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1013. Nelson's Sparrow - TVGuide's Mega Buzz: SPOILER!

by Adam Bryant


Q: I need more details about the young Gideon flashback on Criminal Minds! — Michael
A: We cannot confirm if Gideon and Rossi will sport bellbottoms and pornstaches in the '70s, but we can confirm that the past case in question went...

To Read More: TVGuide.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1013. Nelson's Sparrow - TVGuide's Exclusive: Ben Savage to Play Young Gideon

by Joyce Eng

Gideon's back! Sort of. Ben Savage will play a young version of Mandy Patinkin's character on Criminal Minds later this season, TVGuide.com can exclusively reveal.

The 13th episode — which executive producer and showrunner Erica Messer co-wrote with star Kirsten Vangsness and previously described as a "love letter to fans" — will feature...

To Read More: TVGuide.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - Jennifer Love Hewitt's "Fearless" Agent and a Jane Lynch Return? 7 Teases for Season 10 - TVGuide Interview + Mega Buzz!

by Joyce Eng

Erica Messer can't think of a more perfect day for Criminal Minds to turn 10.

"Episode 10.1 airs on 10/1. How cool is that?" Messer tells TVGuide.com. "It wasn't planned. We didn't know that until we started back up and we were well in the swing of things, and [CBS] mentioned that the premiere would be a little later than usual because of Extant and Survivor. So it's great timing."

But for Messer, "seven" is the magic number for Season 10. After Jeanne Tripplehorn left the series in the Season 9 finale, Messer told TVGuide.com at the time that she wasn't sure if they would replace her or just stick with the remaining six BAU members. "It was a really big, long conversation with the network and the studio, and they said, 'Let's go...

1. Undercover boss
Kate is not who you think she is when we first meet her. That's because she's...

2. Kate's secret
Like the introduction of Blake (Tripplehorn), Kate has a mysterious backstory that viewers will get a peek at when we follow her...

3. The long road to recovery
As we previously reported, Garcia (Kristen Vangsness) will be suffering from PTSD as a result of shooting the pseudo-nurse who tried to poison Reid in the season finale. In the second episode, she will meet...

4. Jane Lynch is (maybe) back!
It's been six years since we last saw Reid's schizophrenic mom Diana, but now that Glee is ending — with a shortened season at that — chances are looking...

5. Don't scratch
The season's still young, but Messer promises that the fourth episode is the show's "grossest episode yet." There's not much in the way of...

6. A love letter for you — yes, you!
To celebrate the big 1-0, Messer is planning a major midseason episode — similar to last season's 200th episode — that will have many...

7. Replicating The Replicator (story line)
For the second time ever, the series will feature a season-long unsub, who will be introduced at the end of...

To Read More: TVGuide.com


Mega Buzz: Various Shows
by Adam Bryant

Q: Criminal Minds scoop! — John
A: Need some relationship updates? Morgan's lady Savannah will return in the seventh episode and they're "still going strong," according to executive producer Erica Messer. We'll meet one of Rossi's old...

To Read More: TVGuide.com