Criminal Minds season 15 is gearing up for its final run, but fans will have to wait until the midseason for the show to return on CBS. The network hasn't set the former high-rating drama series for its Fall 2019 schedule. Instead, the last season will be back in early 2020 for a shortened 10-episode closing.
Long-time cast members like Joe Mantegna (as David Rossi), Matthew Gray Gubler (as Dr. Spencer Reid), Kirsten Vangsness (as Penelope Garcia), Paget Brewster (as Emily Prentiss), and A.J. Cook (as Jennifer Jareau) will be back for Criminal Minds season 15. In addition, Jane Lynch will return to reprise her role as Reid's mother, Diana.
Viewers last saw Diana appear in Criminal Minds season 12 and the reunion in season 15 is expected to give this family a closure. Aside from Lynch, executive producer Erica Messer shared, in a Deadline interview, that they are planning to bring in more old favorite characters to spice up the last season.
"I see a happy ending in store for Reid, which is something that we're all looking forward to, including with his mom," Gray Gubler shared in an interview.
"I am very hopeful that we can honor all of those characters who have been beloved and with this team, with the audience for years," Messer told the press. The EP, however, did not reveal if there would be surprise appearances from former Criminal Minds stars Thomas Gibson (as Aaron Hotchner), Shemar Moore (as Derek Morgan), or Mandy Patinkin (as Jason Gideon).
Meanwhile, Criminal Minds season 15 will open with a six-month time jump from last season's finale. The first two episodes back will be a two-hour story but whether this would be aired straight on the same night or separated in two weeks will be up for CBS to schedule.
Everett "Chameleon" Lynch (played by Michael Mosley) will be the main target in the final run with Rossi and the rest of BAU aiming to catch the elusive serial killer. But, Messer promised viewers of the series that no major cast members will be killed off when the show ends.
The procedural drama Criminal Minds premiered on CBS on Sept. 22, 2005, and ranked as the 27th most popular show at that time. Its popularity and viewership grew every season that it landed as the eighth most popular show in America by season 10.
Criminal Minds was also one of the Top 50 U.S. programs in social media in 2016. During its prime, the show averaged 14 million viewers a week but cast changes, especially in the last few seasons, saw the series' ratings decline to five million viewers weekly.
