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Published Oct 5, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT
Nick Bythrow is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant. He has been writing for the site since September 2022. He graduated from Hampshire College in 2022, where he triple majored in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies. When he's not writing about TV and movies for ScreenRant and his blog, Frayed Branches, Nick is penning speculative fiction and poetry on Amazon. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.
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CBS' groundbreaking crime thriller series has hit a 900-day streaming milestone ahead of its forthcoming landmark season. CBS has a number of crime TV shows in its lineup that have maintained popularity across the network's recent years. This includes the NCIS franchise, which will be growing with the release of NCIS: New York starting on October 6, 2026. There's also FBI, a police procedural that sees its core team attempting to prevent major catastrophes, alongside its sister series, CIA, a spinoff following a different team with similar goals.
But one of the biggest crime thrillers produced by the network is Criminal Minds. Beginning in 2005, this groundbreaking crime thriller follows members of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as they profile and confront suspects involved in various crimes, typically murders. The show's realism and approach to criminal profiling made it popular while it was airing on CBS from 2005 to 2020. The series remains ongoing, however, rebranded to Criminal Minds: Evolution starting with season 16, airing in 10-episode batches yearly on Paramount+.
Criminal Minds Just Hit A Massive Milestone
Now, Criminal Minds has hit a massive new milestone on streaming, proving its popularity thanks to a years-long achievement. According to data from October 5, 2026, the crime thriller has been on Paramount+'s Top 10 in the United States for over 900 days. As of writing, the show currently sits at Number 7 on the platform, performing better than SpongeBob SquarePants, Tracker, and Survivor. The series is also Number 8 worldwide, showcasing that, while its big achievement is in the US, it still retains a global audience.
Every season of Criminal Minds through season 15 would follow a criminal of the week format, the team investigating numerous crimes across one season. However, starting with Evolution in season 16, the show became about a long-term, multi-season threat in the form of serial killer Elias Voit and a network of supporters he built online. While the show's format has changed in recent years, it's still proven itself popular enough to retain a Top 10 spot on Paramount+ for almost two-and-a-half years.
The Show Is About To Enter A Rare TV Era
Criminal Minds' massive streaming achievement comes on the cusp of the series entering an era that's extremely rare for most TV shows. In March 2026, Criminal Minds season 20 was confirmed. The show will be continuing under its Evolution banner, the fifth season to do so. Although there's not much information yet about what to expect from the series, if the show continues to retain its yearly release schedule, then season 20 will likely begin on Paramount+ during Spring 2027.
This rare achievement is bolstered by the series' streaming success, which seems poised to continue for quite a long time. Given how many days the show has spent on the platform's Top 10, Criminal Minds is a series that simply refuses to die. It may have ended on CBS, but its power on streaming has continued for such a long time, that it seems inevitable season 20 will help it cross even more milestones — assuming it doesn't manage to get there beforehand.
Release Date September 22, 2005
Showrunner Erica Messer
Writers Bruce Zimmerman, Virgil Williams, Edward Allen Bernero, Janine Sherman Barrois, Chris Mundy, Simon Mirren, Debra J. Fisher, Kimberly A. Harrison, Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin, Karen Maser, Oanh Ly, Stephanie Sengupta, Aaron Zelman, Kirsten Vangsness, Erica Meredith, Andi Bushell, Holly Harold, Alicia Kirk, Jeff Davis, Randy Huggins, Edward Napier, Jayne A. Archer, Chikodili Agwuna
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Kirsten Vangsness
Penelope Garcia
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Matthew Gray Gubler
Dr. Spencer Reid
English (US) ·