CRIMINAL MINDS Season 7 - Thomas Gibson at the Evian Masters Soccer Game

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 7 - Thomas Gibson at the Evian Golf Course

The full gallery can be found at citizenside.com

Criminal Minds Ratings Averages For Season 7

Criminal Minds ratings for Season 7 were excellent despite the great competitors scheduled against it, and the fact that usually older shows do worse as they tend to lost viewers as the seasons go by.

Season 7 averages, and how they compare to those of Season 6, are as follow:

• Live + Same Day DVR viewing (excluding repeats):
• A18-49[1]: S7 → 3.38; S6 → 3.45 (a 0.07 difference is statistically completely irrelevant)
• Total viewers[2]: S7 → 12.6 million; S6 → 13.5 million (around 900,000 viewers less on Wednesdays)

• Live + 7 Days worth of DVR viewing (excluding repeats):
• A18-49: S7 → 4.7; S6 → 4.5 (a difference of around 4.25% is statistically relevant)
• Total viewers: S7 → 15.8 million; S6 → 16.3 million (around 500,000 viewers less )

                 [1]: Every rating point represents 1% of the US population between 18 and 49 years.
                       It's rounded from 4 decimal points to only 2 before being made public.
                 [2]: The number isn't accurate, but rounded by Nielsen before being made public.


To read accurately those numbers, and understand why we are saying they are excellent, several things must be explained:

• Of the 2 measurements detailed, in the US the important one is the A18-49 rating. For a show to be successful from its network point of view, it must generate benefits thus earning enough money from the commercials aired during the breaks. US Advertisers opted decades ago to give relevance to viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, paying premium rates to reach those viewers, so the higher demo a show gets, the safer and most valuable it becomes.
• The fact that Criminal Minds has lost total viewers, but has gotten the same or higher demo numbers, means that the average age of its viewers has become younger. Losing viewers is expected; losing viewers over 49 but gaining younger ones is a phenomenon rarely seen, as usually viewers age at the same rate than the shows themselves, specially if we're talking of shows with so many season on air as Criminal Minds. 
• Translating the demo number for L + 7 days DVR we get that last season 2.62 million people did DVR Criminal Minds; this season 3.14 million people did DVR it. This is in line with the increase in the DVR usage in general; more people are recording shows to watch them at their convenience. This is true for all broadcast shows as seen here: 2010-2011 DVR L + 7 days viewing, compared to here: 2011-2012 DVR L + 7 days viewing.
• On CBS, Criminal Minds ranks as #2 drama in the demo and #5 drama in total viewers. 
• Last, but not least, Criminal Minds is the only show on CBS facing the #1 show on TV, American Idol, Wednesday edition, and #1 comedy on TV, Modern Family. Despite that Criminal Minds finished as #2 drama on CBS in the rating measurement that really matters (CM 3.38 against NCIS 3.77)!

So, when it comes to ratings, Criminal Minds is doing very well despite the competition dished out by  ABC and FOX's big guns. And CBS recognized this through his Executive Vice President, Program Planning & Scheduling of CBS Television Twitter account, answering to the questions of several concerned fans, saying: "i'll pay #CriminalMinds the ultimate compliment, it always delivers and you never, ever need to worry about it."

Congratulations to the cast, producers, writers and crew for another successful year!

TV Guide: Criminal Minds Boss: I Don't Want a New Prentiss Next Season

by Robyn Ross

Although Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) and Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) never got together on Criminal Minds, executive producer Erica Messer planned their final scene for fans who always hoped they would.

"It always felt like in a different time and place maybe those two could be together... There was always a connection," Messer said this weekend at the ATX Television Festival panel, moderated by this reporter.

Keep reading for more from Messer about replacing Brewster, how John Mayer got axed from the season finale, and who the writers dream of having on their team next year.

To Read More: TVGuide.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 7 - 723. Hit & 724. Run - Extended Promo Video

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 7 - Paget Brewster and AJ Cook play sexy photo spy game with Kirsten Vangsness

By Jay Bobbin

Their minds may be on criminals, but their bodies still like to play dress-up.

Such was the appeal to the female stars of CBS' long-running Wednesday series "Criminal Minds" -- Paget Brewster, A.J. Cook and Kirsten Vangsness -- when they participated earlier this year in a photo shoot for the June issue of CBS Watch! Magazine.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Tysons Corner, Va. (just outside Washington, D.C.), proved to have all the swanky settings needed for the shoot storyline casting the women as high-class spies tailing an international bad guy.

Brewster, alias FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit Agent Emily Prentiss on "Criminal Minds," says while on location for the occasion that the feel is...

To Read More:Zap2It

'Criminal Minds' A.J. Cook glad to have come full circle

Criminal Minds' A.J. Cook glad to have come full circle

By Jay Bobbin

A.J Cook is glad to be back where many fans feel she belongs.

After being let go from her role as FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit sleuth Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, the actress was brought back to CBS' long-running Wednesday crime drama "Criminal Minds" for its current season. With the show seventh round nearing its end, and repeats shown regularly on both A&E Network and ION, Cook feels as if she never left... almost.

To Read More: Zap2it.com

'Criminal Minds' Paget Brewster on leaving: 'I'm probably in denial'

By Jay Bobbin

Paget Brewster is doing her best not to think about her imminent exit from "Criminal Minds." Again.

With several weeks of filming left on the seventh season of the CBS mystery series, which airs a new episode tonight (Wednesday, March 21), the actress is in her last rounds as FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit Agent Emily Prentiss. It's a spot she knows only too well, having been written out of the show during the sixth year... but this time, her departure is on her own terms.

To read more: ZapTV.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 7 - Oscar Lounge and Party at Cafe Boheme

by Stevie Wilson

Doris Bergman and her firm is known for throwing great parties– where celebrities love to come have a good time and media have a chance to mingle with celebrities and see what goodies they walk out with. Her Oscar Lounge and Party at Cafe Boheme is a highly coveted invitation-only event, sponsored by world-renown couture designer Sanaz Afsar for SAFIR, and produced by Doris Bergman in association with Michelle Lee Faulkner. Guests are indulged with an incredible array of fashion for him and her including bespoke tuxedos and suits, the finest in skin care, stunning jewelry, fabulous fragrance, couture gowns, custom hats, sexy lingerie, couture handbags, the finest in electronics, hand-rolled cigars, gourmet cuisine, delectable sweets, exotic spirits and more!

More than just about celebrities, Bergman and group always tie a charity to the event and guests brought new or slightly-worn clothing to donate to Operation Dress Up!, a student-run California non-profit organization. All heads turned when "Criminal Minds" Joe Mantegna showed up with...

To Read More: LA-Story.com

Criminal Minds: Primetime Broadcast Ratings for the week ending February 19, 2012

Primetime Broadcast Adults 18-49 Viewers for the week ending February 19, 2012:

Primetime Broadcast Total Viewership for the week:

Source: TVByTheNumbers.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 7 - 714. Closing Time - TVLine's Interviews AJ Cook & Teases 'Cool' Reveal

By Matt Webb Mitovich

This Wednesday's episode of Criminal Minds (CBS, 9/8c) may be titled “Closing Time,” but it's also time for one “JJ” Jareau to open up a can of… well, you know, as she takes her profiling game to the next, fierce level. TVLine invited series vet A.J. Cook to preview this latest evolution with her character, as well as tease a reveal that will come out of the hour as well. (Hint: It involves one of JJ's BAU buddies.)

TVLINE | So, [showrunner] Erica Messer told me that [executive story editor] Rick Dunkle wanted to get you get away from the typical talk-down and more immersed in the action with this episode. Did he succeed on that front?

To Read More: TVLine.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 7 - Interview with Thomas Gibson via MSN.ENTERTAINMENT

Q&A: Thomas Gibson of 'Criminal Minds'
Veteran actor gives us the scoop on his character and what's in store on future episodes

By Minh Nguyen
Special to MSN TV

Thomas Gibson's roles as Dr. Daniel Nyland on "Chicago Hope," conservative attorney Greg Montgomery on "Dharma & Greg" and FBI supervisory agent Aaron Hotchner on "Criminal Minds" (for the past seven years) have kept him in front of viewers for nearly the last two decades. MSN TV had the chance to chat with the veteran actor about what's in store for his character and upcoming episodes of "Criminal Minds," and his love of Louis Armstrong.
MSN TV: What is going on this season, and what can you tell us about future episodes of "Criminal Minds"?
Thomas Gibson: There are all kinds of stuff. We've gotten our girls back, Paget (Brewster) and AJ (Cook) are back after a very strange season last year where they weren't with us for part or most of the season. It's been really nice to get everybody back together and start what is, unbelievably, a seventh season, with a new fusion of a feeling of a family reunion. That's been really good, and we're solving some of those grizzly crimes again. You know with the news in L.A. these past few days,...

To Read More: msn.ENTERTAINMENT

EW SPOILERS: ‘CRIMINAL MINDS’ BOSS ON GIRLFRIENDS, GIRLS NIGHTS, AND MORE!

As I not so subtly teased in last week's column, I hopped on the phone with Criminal Minds showrunner Erica Messer this week ahead of the 150th episode to get a status on our friends at the BAU. And in the process, she was also kind enough to take on a few of the many, many questions y'all sent in. (If you don't see yours here, maybe I addressed it in the piece earlier this week, which you can read here.) Read on for more:

Hi, would love to know if Hotch love interest Beth is here to stay? Love the character and I hope she is! Thanks! – A Big Hotch Fan

In short, yes, she'll be sticking around. To elaborate, Messer says she hopes that Hotch's joy and excitement over this new relationship is as important to fans as it is to her. “There's no win across the board,” she says. “Finding...

To Read More: Entertainment Weekly

THR: "Criminal Minds Hits 150 Episodes: EP Erica Messer Reflects on Series' Evolution, Reveals Season 7 Secrets (Q&A)"

Reminiscent of the season 4 closer, the showrunner tells THR that the seventh season will close out with a two-hour finale.
8:00 AM PST 1/25/2012 by Philiana Ng

Criminal Minds is hitting another milestone: 150 episodes.

Riding strong in season 7, the CBS procedural has had its share of headline-making news with numerous cast departures -- and subsequent returns. Still, the show -- centered on an eclectic team of profilers in the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) -- continues to average nearly 13 million total viewers per week in its current season and showing no signs of significant ratings deterioration.

"Episode 200 would be during season 9 so bring us back. It's not that far away.," showrunner Erica Messer half-joked to The Hollywood Reporter, referencing network-mate NCIS' big feat airing Feb. 7.

Messer, who has been with Criminal Minds since the very beginning, chatted with THR on two separate occasions -- once in November during filming and again just one day before air -- about the show evolution, details of episode 150 (suspect: serial rapist called The Piano Man) and hints at the season 7 finale (hint: it's two hours).

Erica Messer: The one thing we've been able to continue to do is tell fresh and compelling stories. Early on people were afraid this show wouldn't have enough bad guys to last a year and here we are seven years in. The way we've evolved is really through our characters. We've been able to learn more and more...

To Read More: TheHollywoodReporter.com

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 7 - 712. Unknown Subject - Thomas Gibson Teases 150th Ep... SPOILER!

By Sandra Gonzalez

After getting a flood of emails from Criminal Minds fans asking me about the 150th episode, I knew I had to toss in a few questions about it when I hopped on the phone with Thomas Gibson literally a few hours ago to chat about Hotch’s upcoming possible romance (more on that soon!). And while details on the case are a little premature to reveal, he did talk about the rumored revealing scene between Hotch and Emily. “It’s a really nice scene, and it touches on where she was in her personal and professional life in the last year when she was dead,” Gibson reveals. “And it also allows Hotch to reveal a little bit to her about what goes on with him. He says at one point that he’s tired of being profiled through his office window, where prying eyes are wondering what’s going on when he’s talking to people… There’s some really great stuff between these two. I’m hoping people will tune in and like it.”

To Read More: TVGuide.com

Criminal Minds' Thomas Gibson Q&A: 'Nothing shocks me anymore'

by Catriona Wightman

There's nothing like a good crime drama to settle into, and if you fancy a bit of a binge you're in luck - the sixth season of Criminal Minds is out on DVD on Monday!

To celebrate the excellent news, Digital Spy and a couple of other reporters caught up with Thomas Gibson, who plays Hotch, for a bit of Criminal Minds chat...

How did you feel about the drama surrounding AJ Cook and Paget Brewster? Are you glad to have them back?

"Of course I'm glad they're back. I think we were all taken by surprise by the move on the part of the network last year to curtail their appearances on the show. I don't think there was any good reason for it - I don't think there was any reason for it whatsoever. We're still trying to understand what the motivation was. But regardless of what it was, we're very happy to be on this side of that development and having them both come back."

What makes Criminal Minds different from other procedurals?

"I think it's the fact that instead of physical forensics, it's psychological forensics. I think that's basically what sets it apart, as well as the character development. These are interesting stories, these are universal stories, because unfortunately the cases that we deal with are some of the darker sides of human nature.

"I think those are universal themes, and trying to explain why a particular person made that horrible choice to do such a terrible thing over and over again, and these characters do try to kind of unlock the motivations and therefore the case in order to find them.

"But also the fact that there's character development. I think some of the procedurals when the genre first rolled out 10, 12, 15 years ago, there seemed to be a focus on the procedure itself and not the characters at all. I think one of the things that's developed over the last 10 years or so is you have the reintroduction of interesting characters in these procedurals.

"So I think that's maybe one of the reasons that this show has been successful. We all work very well together, it's an interesting and good group of actors and the characters are all very complementary to each other as well. Somewhere in there is maybe one of the reasons it's working."

To Read More: DigitalSpy.ca

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 7 - 708. Hope - Sneak Peek

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 7 - 712. Unknown Subjet - BTS Photo

Photo by @CM_SetReport

Rehearsal between Paget Brewster, who plays SSA Emily Prentiss, and Thomas Gibson, who plays SSA Aaron Hotchner, on Criminal Minds.

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 7 - 708. Hope - Garcia Leans on Morgan During... SPOILER!

Next Wednesday, Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) will find herself front and center on a case that will push her psyche to the limits as a friend of hers (Brigid Brannagh) goes missing. And as Vangsness previews, the horrific event will bring Garcia even closer to her BAU bestie, Morgan. “I think that he and J.J. are there the whole time, but she can totally be who she is around him,” says Vangsness. “When she gets crazy, he is the giver of that support she needs. When she is about to completely crack, he’s the one giving the tough love. He’s the one who comes to her when he thinks there’s something wrong.”

To read more go to EW

'Criminal Minds' Out Star Kirsten Vangsness Goes Noir

By Diane Anderson-Minshall

Shemar Moore isn't the kind of guy you'd expect to turn a girl gay.

In fact, the former fashion model, who spent much of the 90s on the steamy daytime drama The Young and the Restless is considered one of the sexiest men in Hollywood. He's more likely to be joked about as someone who could make men gay.

Yet in 2005, Moore unwittingly helped his Criminal Minds costar Kirsten Vangsness figure out that she is, as she says, “super queer.” Over brunch at her favorite café in the Larchmont Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, Vangsness laughs as she tells the story.

“Season 1 was right when I was coming out,” remembers the 39-year-old actress, who stars as Penelope Garcia on the hit CBS drama opposite Moore (as flirty coworker Derek Morgan). “It was like one of the coolest things to sit there with Shemar. I was just a guest star at first. I had two lines, and they kept making my part a little bigger. We got along famously and he was flirting with me and I remember thinking, I must be queer. I should be reacting differently to what he's doing."

Now in its seventh season, Criminal Minds was the 10th-highest-rated show on TV this spring, and at one point it'd drawn 26 million viewers. It stars an ensemble that Vangsness says is like one big family, including Moore, Paget Brewster, A.J. Cook, Thomas Gibson, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Joe Mantegna. It's been such a hit that CBS did a short-lived spin off last year, Suspect Behavior. Vangsness was the only original Criminal Minds cast member to star in both shows, though she was one of many who worried that even with a stellar cast (Suspect Behavior co-starred Forest Whitaker and Janeane Garofalo) the magic of Criminal Minds couldn't be duplicated.

“That chemistry does not come every day,” says Vangsness. We genuinely get along. On other sets they say ‘Cut’ and everybody goes to their trailers. Here everybody stays. We're all joking around and talking.” The relationships extend off the set as well. “Shemar goes to every single play I've ever done ever since I've met him,” she says. “All of them do, actually."

The daughter of elementary school teachers (dad was band director and an opera singer, as well), Vangsness grew up in Southern California's theater community but didn't quite fit in. “From the time I was about 7 until I was about 13 or 14, I looked like I was Pat from Saturday Night Live,” she laughs. “I'm not exaggerating, remotely."

A target of bullies, Vangsness wants to do an It Gets Better video to remind kids that being different is okay — and so is letting your “freak flag fly.” Vangsness says she developed her own unique sense of style: “I dress like a 7-year-old space pilot. I have clothes that I still wear regularly from high school. My mom would give us $20 and she would send us to the thrift store, and I would [buy] a faux fur coat with a pimp-daddy collar and some sort of nature scene polyester dress."

To Read More: SheWired.com