Criminal Minds followed a specialist team at the FBI who hunted down the worst people mankind had ever produced. Whether it was a kidnapping, murder, or terrorist plot, the BAU wouldn't stop until the culprit was apprehended. It was this excitement and adventure that caused the show to develop a huge fan following.
Unfortunately, Criminal Minds ended its impressive 15-year run earlier this year, finally allowing the main cast to take a much-needed break. The series had featured many highs over the years, but looking back now, there were also some moments in the show's history that didn't age well.
10 Aged Well - Diverse Cast
Unbelievably, diversity is still a big issue in the film and television industry to this day. So many films and television series suffer from a lack of diversity in their main cast and are only now beginning to rectify this, with mixed success.
Fortunately, Criminal Minds was on the right track from the very start. There were a few bumps in the road admittedly, and this has an entry all to itself later on, but the show did act upon its mistakes, presenting a diverse and very talented cast.
9 Aged Poorly - Lack Of LGBTQ+ Representation
Unfortunately, Criminal Minds did suffer from a lack of sexual diversity, specifically concerning sexual orientation. While the show did feature LGBTQ+ characters in guest roles throughout the series, it felt like a token gesture, at best.
The main issue was that the entire main cast was portrayed as straight for 15 seasons. Considering the show only ended earlier this very year, this was extremely disappointing. Also, the main cast consisted of up to eight people on occasion, providing plenty of room for an LGBTQ+ character.
8 Aged Well - Longevity Of The Cast
There are some television shows where all of the main cast get replaced every few years, such as Doctor Who, and this, arguably, makes it more difficult to develop a strong fanbase. Despite its longevity, the main cast of Criminal Minds hung around for a long time.
Spencer Reid, J.J. and Penelope Garcia feature on the show from the beginning until its end. Other characters, such as David Rossi, Aaron Hotchner, Emily Prentiss and Derek Morgan also stayed with the show for a long time, providing fans with a familiar element.
7 Aged Poorly - Behind The Scenes Drama
Television shows are workplaces and so a bit of quarreling here and there is generally to be expected. However, Criminal Minds had an awful lot of drama on the set for just one television series.
In season 6, both A.J. Cook and Paget Brewster were unceremoniously fired from the series. While both of the women returned to the show not long after, thanks to fan and cast intervention, it was a complete shock and the show's reputation was tarnished. It even led to Brewster's departure in the following season.
6 Aged Well - Derek Morgan And Penelope Garcia's Friendship
Nowadays, in film and television, it seems impossible for a man and a woman to be platonic friends without one or even both of them developing romantic feelings for each other. This is why Morgan and Garcia's friendship was so brilliant.
Right from the start, it was obvious that the two of them had outrageous amounts of chemistry together, and watching them flirt together was one of the highlights of Morgan's time on the show. They were proof that friendships don't have to turn romantic for them to be interesting.
5 Aged Poorly - Reid's Prison Plot
This story arc took place fairly recently in the show's history and many fans wish it hadn't taken place at all. In season 12, Reid was framed for murder halfway through the season. At the end of the special episode, Reid still hadn't got free.
Fans expected the plot to be wrapped up in the next couple of episodes, but instead, Reid went straight to prison for the second half of the season. This meant that viewers had to put up with a mundane storyline revolving around Reid's time on the inside.
4 Aged Well - Representation Of Women
Despite the absurdity and the offensiveness of the events that occurred behind the scenes in season 6, Criminal Minds did have a distinctive female presence from the very beginning. Garcia and J.J. were fan favorites from the moment they appeared in season 1.
Emily Prentiss was also a much-loved character who actually had two separate stints on the show. The female characters in Criminal Minds were not there for romantic arcs and instead had some of the most gripping storylines on the series.
3 Aged Poorly - Inconsistent Storylines
One of the most annoying things about Criminal Minds was its complete and utter inability to fully commit to several potentially interesting storylines. In season 2, Reid was kidnapped and injected with heroin, leading to him developing a drug addiction.
This addiction, and watching Reid slowly spiral out of control, would have been fascinating to watch play out, but the storyline only lasted a couple of episodes and was literally forgotten about. Unfortunately, this lazy storytelling occurred multiple times in the show.
2 Aged Well - Interesting Plots
Despite having an inability to commit to some of its storylines, the crime drama did feature a lot of plots that were extremely well written. Early on in the show's run, the Fisher King storyline created plenty of suspense and drama for the BAU.
Additionally, the Reaper plot, which centered around Aaron Hotchnerm was incredibly tense and emotional, culminating in one of the show's best episodes, which also just so happened to be its 100th episode.
1 Aged Poorly - Stars Slagging Off The Show
As previously mentioned, Criminal Minds was not a stranger when it came to behind the scenes drama. In the very early years, series star Mandy Patinkin was not very happy in the role of Jason Gideon.
He declared that the show was simply too dark and twisted, and left abruptly at the beginning of season 3. However, he did make some rather negative public comments about the show, which seemed unnecessary at the time. His character was killed off off-screen in season 10.
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