217 Fun Facts About Criminal Minds

Who created the police procedural drama Criminal Minds?

Jeff Davis created the series and wrote its pilot himself, an episode that turns on whether a shaken Gideon is fit to return to duty.

What is the title of the very first episode of Criminal Minds?

'Extreme Aggressor' has Hotch assessing whether Gideon, called back from medical leave, is fit to return, while the team races to save a kidnapped woman.

What is Penelope Garcia's job within the BAU?

Technical Analyst: Garcia digs up records and footage from her computer lab while the profilers work in the field, joining them on location only occasionally.

Dr. Spencer Reid holds Ph.D.s in mathematics, engineering and which other field?

Chemistry completes Reid's trio of doctorates, and he has not stopped: in 'Masterpiece' he says he is working toward yet another bachelor's degree.

In which season did Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi join the BAU team?

Third season: Rossi arrives in its sixth episode, 'About Face', volunteering to return after the abrupt exit of a fellow founding profiler.

How was Aaron Hotchner's exit in season twelve explained on screen?

Witness protection: Hotch entered it after the killer Mr. Scratch began stalking his son; Thomas Gibson had been dismissed over an on-set altercation.

Why does Derek Morgan leave the BAU in season eleven?

Fatherhood: after Morgan is abducted and tortured and learns that Savannah is pregnant with their son, he decides not to put his new family through it again.

When the FBI caught Penelope Garcia hacking, what was her alternative to taking a job with the Bureau?

A prison sentence: Garcia had drawn attention by illegally accessing FBI equipment as an underground hacker, and was offered a place at the Bureau in lieu of jail.

Which sport does Spencer Reid play for the FBI's team?

Softball: Reid has to be talked into it by Morgan, who spends season eight's 'The Apprenticeship' coaxing him onto the FBI's team.

What is the name of Emily Prentiss's cat?

Sergio is Emily Prentiss's cat; she leaves him in Garcia's care while she is presumed dead in season six, and Garcia grows attached to him.

In 'Criminal Minds,' what does the acronym 'BAU' stand for?

Behavioral Analysis Unit: the real FBI unit began in 1972 as the Behavioral Science Unit, whose agents toured prisons interviewing serial killers about their motives and methods.

Which original BAU member is a half-Cuban sex-crimes expert who speaks fluent Spanish?

Elle Greenaway is shot by an unsub in the season-one finale; the trauma follows her into season two, where she kills a suspect in cold blood and resigns.

Before joining the FBI, what was Aaron Hotchner's profession?

Prosecutor: Hotch traded the courtroom for the FBI, working as a field agent before he rose to take charge of the BAU.

Which actress joined the cast in season six as FBI cadet Ashley Seaver?

Rachel Nichols began as a guest star playing the cadet and was promoted to the regular cast, but the character lasted only that one season.

Which university did Penelope Garcia drop out of before the FBI recruited her?

Caltech: after her parents' deaths, Garcia dropped out and went underground as a hacker, which is how the FBI found and recruited her.

The series was revived as Criminal Minds: Evolution on which streaming service?

Paramount+ revived the show as Criminal Minds: Evolution in November 2022, two years after CBS had ended it, with most of the final-season cast returning.

Why is Spencer Reid introduced as a doctor rather than an agent?

His youth: Reid finished high school at twelve, and Hotch tells him in the pilot that people see a kid, so the title is there to make sure they respect him.

Which actor plays David Rossi, who rejoined the BAU after early retirement?

Joe Mantegna joined in 2007 when the show abruptly lost its original lead, and he has stayed with it through the CBS finale and into the revival.

Which notorious unsub was known as 'The Reaper' and had a personal vendetta against Aaron Hotchner?

George Foyet posed as a surviving victim of his own attacks, then went quiet for a decade under a pact with the lead detective that ended when the detective died.

What is the name of JJ's detective husband?

Will LaMontagne meets JJ when his late father's unsolved case brings the BAU to his city; he later joins the Washington police to be with her.

Criminal Minds' 'Revelations', where Tobias Hankel tortures an agent, concludes a two-parter begun by which episode?

'The Big Game' aired straight after CBS's Super Bowl XLI coverage in February 2007 and ends on a cliffhanger that 'Revelations' resolves three nights later.

Which Criminal Minds cast member's real-life sons play her character's children?

A.J. Cook's sons Mekhai and Phoenix play JJ's boys, a casting that followed the writers folding the actress's own pregnancy into the character's storyline.

What does the BAU's sex-crimes expert deny admitting when she hands Hotch her badge and gun?

Guilt: the agent has shot a suspected rapist while alone on a stakeout, and though local police call it self-defense, she resigns saying it is 'not an admission of guilt'.

Which actress plays Penelope Garcia?

Kirsten Vangsness began as a recurring player in 2005, not yet a regular, and went on to co-write episodes including the series finale.

Which Beverly Hills, 90210 star played cult leader Benjamin Cyrus in season four's 'Minimal Loss'?

Luke Perry played Cyrus, who takes Prentiss and Reid hostage inside his Colorado compound when a state raid goes disastrously wrong.

Which actor played the contract killer Cat Adams, a recurring antagonist for Dr. Spencer Reid?

Aubrey Plaza played Cat Adams, who spends 'Entropy' locked in a battle of wits with Reid and returns in season twelve to force him into a second round.

In which Virginia town is the BAU headquartered?

Quantico: the FBI Academy is based there too, and in season six the team brings one of its cadets, not yet graduated, onto a case.

Which BAU member briefly replaced JJ as communications liaison during her maternity leave?

Jordan Todd came over from counter-terrorism and was trained by JJ until JJ went into labor; when the leave ended, she went back to her old unit.

Which actress plays Emily Prentiss?

Paget Brewster joined in season two, left in 2012 to pursue other roles, and returned as a regular four years later when the show lost Thomas Gibson.

What is the name of Aaron Hotchner's son?

Jack: in the pilot the expectant parents trade baby names, and Hotch flatly rejects his wife's suggestion of Gideon.

Which recurring unsub, 'Mr. Scratch', targeted the BAU with hallucinogenic drugs and psychological torture?

Peter Lewis, alias Mr. Scratch, first appears in season ten drugging victims so that they kill for him, and falls to his death in the season-thirteen premiere.

What is the first name of Spencer Reid's mother, who has schizophrenia?

Diana Reid has a genius-level mind like her son's and taught literature at a college until her illness ended the career; he grew up with her reading to him.

Which fear does Morgan tease Spencer Reid about in season two?

The dark: Reid complains of sitting alone in an unlit house while waiting for a suspect, and when Morgan teases him about the fear he says only that he is 'working on that'.

Which arms dealer from Prentiss's undercover past forces her to fake her death in season six?

Ian Doyle, the Irish arms dealer Prentiss helped put away while undercover, escapes prison and nearly kills her; JJ then hands her new passports so she can disappear.

Which future Star Trek actor played Nathan Harris, a teenager who begs Reid for help with his murderous urges?

Anton Yelchin, later Star Trek's Chekov, played the boy in season two's 'Sex, Birth, Death'; he seeks Reid out because he fears he will kill and wants to be stopped first.

Which actor played Jason Gideon in the first two seasons of Criminal Minds?

Mandy Patinkin, The Princess Bride's Inigo Montoya, walked away from the show and later called the role his biggest public mistake, saying its violence was destructive to his soul.

Which BAU member is a forensic psychologist specializing in interviewing psychopathic criminals?

Dr. Tara Lewis spent years judging whether captured killers were fit to stand trial; she joins the BAU in season eleven because she wants to catch them instead.

Which actor plays Elias Voit, the serial-killer mastermind of Criminal Minds: Evolution?

Zach Gilford plays Voit, who runs a nationwide network of killers; his real-life wife at the time, Kiele Sanchez, was cast as Voit's unsuspecting wife.

Which forensic linguist, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, joins the team in season eight?

Alex Blake rejoined the FBI to restore a reputation damaged when she was blamed for mistakes in the Amerithrax case.

In the 100th episode, which member of Hotchner's family is killed by the Reaper?

His ex-wife, Haley, is tricked into meeting her killer and shot while Hotch listens on the phone; he arrives minutes later and beats the Reaper to death.

In which city did JJ meet her future husband while the BAU was working a case there?

New Orleans: JJ meets a local detective there during the season-two case 'Jones', then keeps the romance to herself for more than a year before showing it in front of the team.

What is the name of Spencer Reid's girlfriend, murdered by her stalker in the episode 'Zugzwang'?

Maeve Donovan and Reid fall for each other over phone calls he hides from the team, before they have ever met face to face, and her stalker kills her in front of him in 'Zugzwang'.

Which actor guest-starred in season two as Tobias Hankel, a serial killer with multiple personalities?

James Van Der Beek plays Tobias Hankel, whose kidnapping and drugging of Reid sets up the agent's later substance-abuse storyline.

Which sport won Derek Morgan his scholarship to Northwestern University?

Football took Morgan to Northwestern, pulling a troubled Chicago teenager away from delinquency, until an injury ended his playing days.

Which BAU member joined in Season 10 after working undercover and later left due to pregnancy?

Kate Callahan lasts a single season: after traffickers abduct her niece in the finale, she takes a year off to raise her baby and does not come back.

Which unsub, nicknamed the Replicator, restaged the BAU's old cases to taunt the team?

John Curtis spends season eight copying killers the team has already caught; he is an FBI agent who blames his wrecked career on the fallout from the Amerithrax case.

Which unsub shoots Garcia after luring her on a date in season three's 'Lucky'?

Jason Clark Battle proves to be someone close to the investigation of his own shootings, the twist that the follow-up episode, 'Penelope', turns on.

In which city does the BAU hunt a strangler in the pilot episode of Criminal Minds?

Seattle: the pilot sends the team after the 'Seattle Strangler' while Hotch weighs up whether Gideon, just back from medical leave, is fit for duty.

Which award did Criminal Minds win in 2017 for Favorite TV Crime Drama?

People's Choice Award: fans voted Criminal Minds Favorite TV Crime Drama in January 2017, a year after it had lost the same category to Person of Interest.

Which future Scandal star played Beth Clemmons, Hotch's girlfriend in seasons seven and eight?

Bellamy Young played Beth just as Scandal was making her famous as Mellie Grant; the character moves away for work and the romance ends off screen.

In Criminal Minds, what does the term 'unsub' stand for?

Unknown subject: the team's label for a culprit it has yet to identify, used instead of 'suspect' because nobody has been singled out at that stage.

Which fugitive serial killer murdered Gideon's girlfriend Sarah?

Frank Breitkopf, the killer who escaped Gideon in 'No Way Out', returns in the season-two finale and murders Sarah in Gideon's apartment.

Where is Jason Gideon found shot dead in season ten?

His cabin: the murder sends the team back to a 37-year-old cold case, one of the first that Gideon and Rossi worked together.

Which Dawson's Creek actor played Aaron Hotchner's ex-wife?

Meredith Monroe, Dawson's Creek's Andie McPhee, played Haley from the pilot; the character divorces Hotch in season three because the job keeps him from home.

Which actor played Hotch's nemesis, 'The Boston Reaper'?

C. Thomas Howell played the Reaper from the killer's return in season four until Hotch beat him to death in the 100th episode.

Which university did JJ attend on a soccer scholarship?

University of Pittsburgh: JJ, raised in East Allegheny, Pennsylvania, played soccer there on an athletic scholarship before joining the FBI.

What was the job of Derek Morgan's father, who was shot dead in front of him as a boy?

Police officer: after losing his father, Derek drifted toward juvenile delinquency, yet he ended up following him into the Chicago force.

Which specialist unit did Derek Morgan join after a sports injury?

Bomb squad: Morgan handled explosives for the Chicago force before joining the FBI, and they remain his specialty within the BAU.

Which film star appears as Derek Morgan's late father in visions while Morgan is held captive?

Danny Glover appears as Hank Morgan, the hallucination Derek retreats into to shut out the pain while mercenaries torture him in the episode 'Derek'.

Whom does David Rossi marry in season fourteen's finale?

Krystall Richards, Rossi's ex-wife from a short-lived marriage, comes back into his life in season thirteen, and the two remarry in the season-fourteen finale, 'Truth or Dare'.

Which actor plays Dr. Spencer Reid?

Matthew Gray Gubler, a film-school graduate first spotted by a model scout, has played Reid since the pilot and went on to direct episodes himself.

Roughly how many words per minute can Reid read?

20,000 words a minute, a figure Reid cites himself, paired with an eidetic memory; he shows it by absorbing whole case files in seconds.

Which subject is Reid working toward a B.A. in as of season four?

Philosophy: Reid is still working on that B.A. in 'Masterpiece', the episode in which a killer confesses to seven murders and the team must race to find his latest victims in time.

Which ailment makes Reid fear early schizophrenia in season six?

Cluster headaches: through season six Reid suffers severe headaches no doctor can explain, and he fears they are the onset of the schizophrenia his mother has.

Where does Reid take JJ on a date early in Criminal Minds?

A football game: Gideon gives Reid Redskins tickets for his birthday in season one's 'Plain Sight' and steers him toward JJ, a fan; the two end up more like siblings.

In which country is Reid arrested for murder in season twelve?

Mexico: Reid is arrested there in the episode 'Spencer', framed for murder in a scheme run by Cat Adams, and spends the rest of the season in prison before he is cleared.

Which agency forces JJ to accept a promotion in season six's 'JJ'?

The Pentagon: JJ does not want the liaison post, but her bosses push the transfer through and Hotch can do nothing to stop it.

What are JJ's two sons named?

Henry and Michael: Henry arrives in season four, when JJ asks Reid and Garcia to be his godparents, and Michael follows in season eleven.

Why is JJ kidnapped in the 200th episode?

Her secret mission while on transfer: the year JJ spent away from the BAU hid covert work overseas, and her captors want what she and a colleague learned there.

On what did Garcia submit her resume to Hotch?

Pink stationery: even when applying to the FBI, the underground hacker did it in her own flamboyant style, a detail Hotch himself recalls on screen.

How did Garcia's parents die?

Killed by a drunk driver: Garcia, still a teenager, had missed her curfew and her parents were out looking for her; the loss sent her underground as a hacker.

What nickname does Morgan use for Garcia?

Baby Girl: the pet name is half of a running double act, with Garcia answering one of Morgan's calls by hailing him as a 'god of sculpted chocolate thunder'.

Which Charlie's Angels star played Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss, Emily's mother?

Kate Jackson played the ambassador in season two's 'Honor Among Thieves', where a kidnapping forces Emily to work a case alongside her estranged mother.

Which language does Prentiss have only a working knowledge of, rather than fluency?

Russian: Prentiss speaks it only passably, while she is fluent in Spanish, French, Arabic and Italian, the Arabic on show interrogating a detainee at Guantanamo in season two.

In which city is Prentiss seen with JJ after faking her death in season six?

Paris: in the episode's final scene JJ meets a very much alive Prentiss there and hands over passports and bank accounts so that she can live in hiding.

Which agency's London office does Prentiss leave to run at the end of season seven?

Interpol: Prentiss accepts an offer to head its London office in the season-seven finale 'Run', and returns to the BAU in season twelve.

Under what alias did Prentiss go undercover with Ian Doyle?

Lauren Reynolds is the alias Prentiss used to get close to Doyle, who later believed 'Lauren' had died in a car crash; she also faked the death of his son Declan to protect the boy.

Which agent becomes Prentiss's romantic partner in the later seasons?

Andrew Mendoza, played by Stephen Bishop, arrives in season fourteen as a love interest for Prentiss, who spends an episode wrestling with her nerves before their first date.

Which top job is Prentiss in the running for during season fifteen?

Bureau Director: Prentiss makes the shortlist to run the whole FBI in season fifteen, yet she ends the CBS run still with the BAU, promoted only as far as Section Chief.

Why did the BAU's section chief arrange Emily Prentiss's posting to the unit?

To report on the team: the chief wanted ammunition against Hotch, but Prentiss refused to inform on her colleagues and offered her resignation instead.

Which change to Emily Prentiss's look arrived with Criminal Minds: Evolution?

Natural gray hair: the actress announced that viewers would meet an older, sassier, grey-haired Prentiss with no filters, and told anyone who objected to tell someone else.

In what year did Rossi take early retirement from the BAU?

1997: Rossi left the BAU that year to write true-crime books and lecture, returning a decade later in 2007 to fill an opening on the team.

Which disease did Rossi's first wife Carolyn reveal she had?

ALS: Carolyn tells Rossi in 'From Childhood's Hour' and asks him to help her die; in the next episode, 'Epilogue', she takes an overdose herself and dies with him beside her.

In which war did Rossi serve as a Marine?

Vietnam: season eight's 'The Fallen' shows Rossi as a young Marine there and reunites him with his old sergeant, Harrison Scott, who is now homeless.

Whom is Rossi secretly seeing by season seven's finale?

Erin Strauss: the season-seven finale 'Hit' implies she and Rossi spent the night at a hotel.

Which item belonging to the late section chief does Rossi use to escape the Replicator's trap?

Her sobriety chip: Rossi uses the medallion to get out of the Replicator's rigged room, then holds it up, says 'Zugzwang' and leaves the killer shut inside.

Which actor played the hard-nosed section chief who dies in season eight's finale?

Jayne Atkinson played the section chief from the season-two finale until the Replicator forced drugged wine on her at gunpoint; she dies in Hotch's arms, begging him not to leave her alone.

Ashley Seaver's father was which notorious serial killer?

The Redmond Ripper, Charles Beauchamp, was a North Dakota serial killer caught by Hotch and Rossi; years later the two bring his daughter, by then an FBI cadet, onto a season-six case.

Which task force did Seaver transfer to after leaving the BAU?

Domestic trafficking: Seaver, kept on as a probationary agent after graduating from the Academy, transferred to Andi Swann's task force between seasons six and seven.

Which university does Alex Blake teach at?

Georgetown: Blake lectures there between cases, and she rejoined the Bureau to restore a reputation damaged when she took the blame for a mistake in the Amerithrax case.

Why did Alex Blake leave the team at the end of season nine?

Reid's shooting recalled her son's death: after Reid is shot in the two-part season-nine finale, Blake tells him about her son Ethan, who died at nine, then resigns and leaves her badge in his bag.

Kate Callahan raised her niece Meg after Meg's parents died in which event?

The September 11 attacks killed Kate's sister and brother-in-law, leaving her to raise their baby; years on, the airliner crash in 'A Thousand Suns' brings it back and she tells Reid the story.

What is the name of Luke Alvez's dog?

Roxy is the dog Garcia mistook for a girlfriend; Alvez served in Iraq as an Army Ranger before joining the FBI.

Which escaped killer, who once tortured Alvez's partner, does the BAU hunt in season twelve's premiere?

The Crimson King, Daniel Cullen, is one of the prison escapees Alvez's fugitive task force is chasing; once he is caught, Alvez stays on with the BAU full-time.

Which two skills is Stephen Walker noted for?

Russian and the trombone: Walker, a fluent Russian speaker, was once sent undercover with other agents to investigate corruption in the Russian government.

Who was recruited to the BAU as the replacement for the late Stephen Walker?

Matt Simmons joins in the season-thirteen premiere after Walker's death, crossing over from the International Response Team of the spin-off series.

How many children does the former IRT agent on the team have after the season fourteen announcement?

His wife Kristy is played by Kelly Frye.

What did Tyler Green do in the Army before hunting Sicarius?

Drone spotter: after the Army, Green turned vigilante, hunting Sicarius to avenge the murder of his sister Alison, which is how he crosses paths with Garcia and the BAU.

During which crisis did Elias Voit plant his 'kill kits' around the country?

The COVID-19 pandemic: short of money while it lasted, Voit recruited killers online and planted 'kill kits' around the country for them, in return for the funds to keep going.

Which actor played the recurring killer known as 'Mr. Scratch'?

Bodhi Elfman played Mr. Scratch from the character's season-ten debut until the killer falls to his death in the season-thirteen premiere, 'Wheels Up'.

Which sanitarium is home to Reid's mother?

Bennington Sanitarium in Las Vegas is where Reid had his mother committed, and she receives a letter from him there every day.

Which condition does Reid's mother show early signs of in season eleven's 'Entropy'?

Dementia: in 'Entropy' Reid tells Cat Adams his mother failed to recognize him for three seconds, the first sign of the dementia that later pushes him to seek experimental treatment for her.

Which Buffy alum plays Garcia's boyfriend Kevin Lynch?

Nicholas Brendon, Buffy's Xander Harris, plays Kevin Lynch, the analyst brought in to search Garcia's computer after she was shot in season three.

Which November birthstone, chosen for their son, is set in the rings JJ and her partner exchange?

Citrine marks their son's November birthday: JJ returns from maternity leave wearing the ring and explains that she and her partner each got one.

Where do JJ and her partner marry at the end of season seven?

Rossi's back yard hosts the small ceremony that closes season seven, straight after the groom survives being held hostage by bank robbers in the two-part finale.

Which storm killed Will LaMontagne's father?

Hurricane Katrina: he refused to evacuate while working a serial-killer case at home.

Which Malcolm in the Middle star played comic-book artist Jonny McHale in 'True Night'?

Frankie Muniz played Jonny McHale, a famous comic-book artist tied to a string of gruesome vigilante killings of gang members, a dark turn for the sitcom's child star.

Which new section chief took over the BAU in season nine?

Mateo Cruz, played by Esai Morales, is promoted after his predecessor's murder and first appears in 'To Bear Witness'; he and JJ hide an old friendship from the team.

Which Caribbean island is the setting for the Beyond Borders backdoor pilot case?

Barbados: the season-ten backdoor pilot sends the FBI's International Response Team to the island after an American family is abducted there on holiday.

Which Nightmare on Elm Street star played a detective in season seven of Criminal Minds?

Robert Englund, the screen's Freddy Krueger, switched sides in 'Heathridge Manor' to play the detective who calls in the BAU when a killing in Oregon points to a Satanist.

Which Star Wars actor played the villain of season eight's two-part finale?

Mark Hamill, far from Luke Skywalker, played the Replicator, the copycat killer stalking the team, across 'Brothers Hotchner' and 'The Replicator'.

Which actor played the 'Prince of Darkness' in season five's finale?

Tim Curry played Billy Flynn, the 'Prince of Darkness', who uses Los Angeles's rolling blackouts as cover to kill people in their homes at night.

Which drug does Tobias Hankel inject Reid with during his captivity?

Dilaudid, an opioid, is what Hankel injects into Reid during his captivity in 'Revelations'; Reid quietly fights the addiction over the following episodes.

Which agent is shot in the knee in the season-five premiere?

Spencer Reid takes a bullet to the knee in the season-five premiere 'Nameless, Faceless', leaving him on crutches for several episodes, while Hotch is stabbed by Foyet in the same hour.

Which two main cast members sat out Evolution's first season in 2022?

Gubler and Henney: both skipped the revival's launch, and Gubler stayed away until 2025, when he came back for a single guest episode.

Which writer became showrunner in season seven and went on to run Evolution?

Erica Messer, with the show since its first season, co-wrote the 2020 series finale with one of its own stars.

Which Oscar winner led Suspect Behavior as Sam Cooper?

Forest Whitaker, an Oscar winner for The Last King of Scotland, played team leader Sam Cooper until CBS cancelled the spin-off over low ratings after 13 episodes.

Which season five episode served as the backdoor pilot for Suspect Behavior?

'The Fight' (5x18), aired in April 2010, introduced Sam Cooper's team alongside the BAU on a San Francisco case, serving as the backdoor pilot for Suspect Behavior.

What was the small rapid-response team in Suspect Behavior called?

Red Cell: Cooper's small rapid-response unit reported directly to FBI Director Jack Fickler rather than through the BAU's usual chain of command.

Which West Wing actor played FBI Director Jack Fickler in Suspect Behavior?

Richard Schiff, The West Wing's Toby Ziegler, played Jack Fickler, the FBI director to whom Sam Cooper's team answered directly, outside the usual chain of command.

What is the profession of Reid's estranged father, William?

Lawyer: William Reid practises law in Las Vegas, and Reid confronts him there in season four's 'Memoriam' while digging into a childhood murder case.

Which actor was originally cast as Lily Lambert in Beyond Borders but departed?

Anna Gunn, fresh from Breaking Bad, played Lily Lambert in the backdoor pilot but left before the series, with Alana de la Garza's Clara Seger taking the slot.

Which actor played tech analyst Russ 'Monty' Montgomery in Beyond Borders?

Tyler James Williams, the child star of Everybody Hates Chris, played the team's tech analyst for both seasons; after the 2017 cancellation he moved on to Abbott Elementary, which won him a Golden Globe.

Which actor led Beyond Borders as unit chief Jack Garrett?

Gary Sinise, fresh from CSI: NY, first played Jack Garrett in a season-ten episode of the parent show; the spin-off followed in 2016 and CBS cancelled it after two seasons.

Which Star Trek: The Next Generation actor played the killer Floyd Hansen in season four's 'Paradise'?

Wil Wheaton, Star Trek's Wesley Crusher, played Floyd Hansen, a motel owner who preys on couples and leaves them on blind curves so that passing trucks make the deaths look like accidents.

What bookends nearly every episode of Criminal Minds?

A quotation read by a team member bookends most episodes; the pilot opens with Gideon quoting Joseph Conrad on men being 'capable of every wickedness'.

Which stand-up comedian co-starred in Suspect Behavior as agent Beth Griffith?

Janeane Garofalo, best known for stand-up and comedy roles, played it straight as agent Beth Griffith in all thirteen episodes of the short-lived spin-off.

Which Disney animated film features Daniel Henney as the voice of older brother Tadashi?

Big Hero 6 cast Henney as Tadashi Hamada, inventor of the healthcare robot Baymax; his death is what drives his younger brother Hiro to form a superhero team.

Which serial bomber does Gideon face again in 'Won't Get Fooled Again'?

Adrian Bale is asked in 'Won't Get Fooled Again' to help catch a copycat, and bargains for a move to a different facility in return.

Which season one killer known as 'The Fox' murders entire families?

Karl Arnold, 'The Fox', murders entire families in season one, then resurfaces in season five's 'Outfoxed', when Hotch and Prentiss visit him in prison for his insight on a new case.

Which actress played stalking victim Lila Archer in 'Somebody's Watching'?

Amber Heard played actress Lila Archer, whom Reid guards and kisses in a pool in 'Somebody's Watching' (1x18); Katheryn Winnick played her stalker Maggie Lowe.

Which Hill Street Blues actor played 'The Fisher King', Randall Garner?

Charles Haid, Hill Street Blues' Officer Renko, played Randall Garner, a burn-scarred fellow patient of Reid's mother who sends the team on a Fisher King quest in the season-one finale.

Which Twilight actor played the delusional killer with a female alter ego in 'Conflicted'?

Jackson Rathbone, Twilight's Jasper Hale, played Adam Jackson, whose abused psyche produced the female alter ego Amanda, in 'Conflicted' (4x20).

Which X-Files actor played 'The Road Warrior' Norman Hill in 'Normal'?

Mitch Pileggi, The X-Files' Walter Skinner, played Norman Hill, the 'Road Warrior' who shoots drivers and turns out to have killed his own family in 'Normal' (4x11).

What hobby does Derek Morgan pursue outside the BAU?

Restoring run-down houses: Morgan buys and renovates old properties in his spare time, a hobby he mentions across the series and uses to unwind between cases.

Which supernatural drama did Jennifer Love Hewitt lead before joining Criminal Minds?

Ghost Whisperer cast Hewitt as Melinda Gordon, who sees and talks to ghosts, from 2005 to 2010 on CBS, the network that brought her back for a single season with the BAU.

The Criminal Minds finale 'And in the End' takes its title from a lyric on which Beatles album?

Abbey Road, the last album the Beatles recorded, closes its medley with 'The End', whose final line gave the finale its name; the showrunner said the characters had always loved the band.

Which Boy Meets World actor played young Jason Gideon?

Ben Savage played the young Gideon in flashbacks to one of his first cases, whose killer resurfaces nearly four decades later, and he returned to the role in the final season.

Which actress played Reid's season 15 love interest Max?

Rachael Leigh Cook played Max Brenner, whom Reid meets in a park in the season-fifteen episode 'Saturday', his last love interest of the CBS run.

What is the surname of Everett, 'the Chameleon', Criminal Minds' season-fifteen antagonist?

Lynch: Everett Lynch, 'the Chameleon', nearly kills Rossi in season fourteen and then disappears, and the hunt for him runs right through to the last episode.

Which CBS action reboot did Shemar Moore lead after leaving Criminal Minds?

S.W.A.T. made Moore the lead as LAPD sergeant Daniel 'Hondo' Harrelson from 2017, keeping him on CBS, his home since his soap-opera days.

Who plays Deputy Director Douglas Bailey in Criminal Minds: Evolution?

Nicholas D'Agosto plays Douglas Bailey, the FBI's deputy director, who is shot and killed by Elias Voit in 'Dead End' at the close of the revival's first season.

Which mystery drives season 17's story arc in Criminal Minds: Evolution?

Gold Star: season seventeen has the BAU chasing the mystery behind those two words, which forces them to work with Elias Voit after he bargains his way into federal custody.

Which actress guest-starred in season 17 as Dr. Jill Gideon, Jason's ex-wife?

Felicity Huffman played Dr. Jill Gideon, a biological psychiatrist who helps the BAU only reluctantly, given her tangled history with both Rossi and her late ex-husband.

What is the name of Elias Voit's wife in Criminal Minds: Evolution?

Sydney Voit, played by Kiele Sanchez, spends the revival's first season unaware that her husband, the father of her two daughters, is a serial killer.

Which daytime panel show did Aisha Tyler co-host during her early seasons on Criminal Minds?

The Talk had Tyler on its panel from its second season to its seventh and won her a Daytime Emmy, so for a while she was on CBS in daytime and prime time at once.

Which MTV series did the creator of Criminal Minds go on to develop?

Teen Wolf: the creator of Criminal Minds developed MTV's 2011 series, a darker reimagining of the 1985 film, and ran it for six seasons.

Which singing chipmunk did Matthew Gray Gubler voice on the big screen?

Simon, the brains of the trio, was Gubler's voice role in the 2007 film and its three sequels, a fitting match for the actor behind the BAU's boy genius.

Which soap role did Shemar Moore play on and off from 1994?

Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless won Moore a Daytime Emmy in 2000; he first played him in 1994 and has come back for guest stints several times since leaving the soap.

Which long-running music show did Shemar Moore host before joining Criminal Minds?

Soul Train: Moore was its third permanent host, after Mystro Clark and creator Don Cornelius, who gave up hosting in 1993 but stayed on as executive producer.

Which Simpsons mob boss does the actor behind Rossi voice?

Fat Tony: the Rossi actor has voiced the Springfield mob boss since 1991's 'Bart the Murderer' and insists on recording every line himself, saying that if Fat Tony sneezes he wants to be there.

Which David Mamet play won a future Criminal Minds star a Tony Award in 1984?

Glengarry Glen Ross: the man who would play Rossi won the 1984 Tony for Best Featured Actor as the slick salesman Richard Roma, and Mamet then cast him in his films House of Games and Things Change.

Which episode, built around Gideon's murder, did Kirsten Vangsness co-write with the showrunner?

Nelson's Sparrow was written by Vangsness with the showrunner; the pair kept collaborating, and the series finale was their fifth joint script.

Which Friends character did Paget Brewster play in season four?

Kathy, the girlfriend Joey and Chandler both fell for in Friends' fourth season, was Brewster's role; she later played Frankie Dart in Community's final season.

Which Homeland character did Mandy Patinkin play?

Saul Berenson, Carrie Mathison's mentor, was Patinkin's role in all eight seasons of Homeland, rising from Middle East division chief to acting director of the CIA.

Which sitcom starred Thomas Gibson as a buttoned-up attorney married to a free spirit?

Dharma & Greg had Gibson's straight-laced Greg Montgomery marry the free-spirited Dharma on their first date, and the odd-couple premise ran for five seasons.

Whom did Thomas Gibson clash with on set in 2016?

Virgil Williams: Gibson allegedly kicked the writer-producer in the shin during a dispute over an episode he was directing, and was suspended, then dismissed the next day.

Which animated spy did Aisha Tyler voice from 2009 to 2023?

Lana Kane, the field agent on Archer, was Tyler's role from the show's 2009 debut to its 2023 finale; she also took over as host of Whose Line Is It Anyway? when it was revived in 2013.

Which CSI: Miami character made Adam Rodriguez famous?

Eric Delko on CSI: Miami made Rodriguez's name, and he later wrote and directed an episode of the show himself, 'Hunting Ground'.

Which Marvel film featured Daniel Henney as Agent Zero?

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) cast Henney as the marksman Agent Zero, a Hollywood break after he became a star of South Korean drama without speaking any Korean.

Which Friday Night Lights role made Zach Gilford famous?

Matt Saracen, the shy backup quarterback thrust into the starting job on Friday Night Lights, made Gilford's name; he later starred in Netflix's Midnight Mass in 2021.

Which actor played the fugitive serial killer who murdered Gideon's girlfriend Sarah?

Keith Carradine played the prolific killer Gideon lets go in 'No Way Out' in exchange for abducted children; he returns in the season-two finale and strikes at Gideon's own home.

Which medical drama featured both Thomas Gibson and Mandy Patinkin years before Criminal Minds?

Chicago Hope had Patinkin as surgeon Jeffrey Geiger and Gibson as Dr. Daniel Nyland in the mid-1990s, a decade before the two were reunited at the BAU.

In which mob film did the actor behind Rossi play the treacherous gangster Joey Zasa?

The Godfather Part III (1990) cast him as Joey Zasa, the mobster who has taken over the Corleones' old New York territory and turns on Michael.

In 'L.D.S.K.', which test does Reid fail?

His firearms qualification: Reid has to work unarmed in 'L.D.S.K.', then shoots the sniper with Hotch's ankle gun after Hotch stages a kicking as cover for passing it to him.

Which Wes Anderson film cast Matthew Gray Gubler as an intern while he was interning for the director?

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: Gubler was interning for Wes Anderson, who urged him to audition, and he ended up on screen as Intern #1.

What kind of show is The Real Criminal Minds, ordered by Paramount+ alongside Evolution?

A true-crime docuseries: The Real Criminal Minds was ordered in 2022 to have a former FBI profiler walk through real cases, illustrated with clips from the fictional series.

Spencer Reid's walking cane on Criminal Minds was written in after Matthew Gray Gubler hurt his knee doing what?

Dancing did it: Gubler dislocated his knee on a night out in 2009 and needed three operations, so the writers put Reid on a cane for most of a year.

Which kind of memory lets Spencer Reid of Criminal Minds recall almost everything he has ever read?

Eidetic recall covers what Reid reads, but he is patchier with what he hears: he once admitted he could not remember Garcia's name.

Which everyday greeting does Spencer Reid of Criminal Minds refuse to give when he is first introduced to someone?

A handshake is the one courtesy Reid skips after an introduction, and Matthew Gray Gubler has said the character is germaphobic.

Which board game does Jason Gideon almost always win against Spencer Reid in the first two seasons of Criminal Minds?

Chess is where Gideon keeps outplaying his protégé; the one game Reid wins comes on his own birthday.

What does Jason Gideon leave behind in his cabin for Spencer Reid to find when he quits Criminal Minds' BAU?

A farewell letter, addressed to Reid alone, sat beside the gun and badge Gideon left; Reid later tells Prentiss his own father walked out the same way.

Before illness ended her career, Spencer Reid's mother was a university professor of which subject on Criminal Minds?

Literature was her field, and much of the time mother and son had together as he grew up was spent with her reading to him.

In the Criminal Minds episode 'Memoriam', JJ asks Spencer Reid to take which role in her newborn son's life?

Godfather is the job JJ gives him, in the same episode in which his estranged father is cleared of suspicion over a Las Vegas boy's murder.

In the Criminal Minds episode 'Derailed', which skill does Spencer Reid use to fool a gunman holding a train?

Sleight of hand lets Reid appear to cut out the microchip a delusional gunman believes is implanted in his arm, a trick he fumbles in rehearsal first.

In Criminal Minds' 'Amplification', Spencer Reid locks Derek Morgan out of a lab after being exposed to which agent?

Anthrax, in a modified strain that had already killed a dozen people in a Maryland park, infects Reid; the cure turns up hidden in the attacker's inhaler.

In 'Elephant's Memory', Spencer Reid of Criminal Minds says school bullies once stripped him and tied him to what?

A goalpost was where they left him, and he got home to find his mother, in the grip of an episode, had not noticed he was late.

In the Criminal Minds episode 'A Thousand Words', what covers the body of the killer who phones in his own confession?

Tattoos explain the title, a play on the saying about what a picture is worth; the man is dead before the BAU arrives, with one captive still missing.

Which Breaking Bad star plays a local detective in the Criminal Minds season five episode 'A Thousand Words'?

Dean Norris, Breaking Bad's DEA agent Hank Schrader, plays Detective John Barton; the same episode features Holland Roden before her own breakout role.

The Criminal Minds episode 'A Thousand Words' sends the BAU to which state capital after a killer's 911 confession?

Tallahassee police take the call: a man confesses to murder and then kills himself, leaving evidence of women killed across ten years.

In the Criminal Minds episode 'The Tribe', which relative of Aaron Hotchner turns up at the BAU and quarrels with him?

His brother Sean has dropped his plan to study law in favour of a job in a New York restaurant, and the two argue about it in front of the team.

The pack killing of five college students in the Criminal Minds episode 'The Tribe' takes place in which state?

New Mexico is the setting, where the killers imitate the war rituals of several Native American nations in the hope of setting two communities against each other.

John Blackwolf, the reservation police officer who aids the BAU in Criminal Minds' 'The Tribe', belongs to which nation?

Apache officer Blackwolf sees at once that the killers are outsiders: they mix the harshest methods of several nations, which no one people ever used together.

Which real cult leader's followers are the model for the pack of killers in the Criminal Minds episode 'The Tribe'?

Charles Manson hoped his followers' murders would spark a race war, the same aim the episode gives its leader, who calls himself Grandfather.

Which Seinfeld star directed Criminal Minds' 'Conflicted' months after guest-starring as a killer in 'Masterpiece'?

Jason Alexander played Henry Grace, a murderer obsessed with the Fibonacci sequence, then came back behind the camera later in season four.

Which future American Horror Story star plays long-missing Charlie in the Criminal Minds episode 'Mosley Lane'?

Evan Peters plays a boy abducted eight years earlier by a couple who took twelve children, in an episode directed by Matthew Gray Gubler.

Which Bush frontman plays a rock star suspected of murder in the Criminal Minds episode 'The Performer'?

Gavin Rossdale plays a musician with a vampire-like stage persona called Dante, whose fans keep turning up drained of blood; his manager proves to be behind the killings.

How does the proxy killer known as Mr. Scratch die in 'Wheels Up', the Criminal Minds season 13 premiere?

A fall from a building ends his run once the team corners him, but not before the truck crash he staged has killed one of their own.

Which Scream actor returns as cannibal Floyd Feylinn Ferell in the Criminal Minds season 13 episode 'Lucky Strikes'?

Jamie Kennedy first played the killer a decade earlier in season three; this time the BAU must work out whether he or a copycat is behind new murders.

In Criminal Minds season 13, what does Emily Prentiss arrange for Spencer Reid to do during his enforced breaks?

Teach seminars to new agents: Reid is reinstated after prison only on condition that he takes thirty days away for every hundred on the job.

Which FBI assistant director suspends Emily Prentiss and tries to restructure the BAU in season 13 of Criminal Minds?

Linda Barnes, played by Kim Rhodes, takes charge of the team herself for one case while Prentiss is suspended, and Reid refuses to work without his chief.

In the Criminal Minds season 13 episode 'The Capilanos', a boy says the man who killed his father was dressed as what?

A circus clown is the seven-year-old's story, and the BAU has to decide whether to believe it; Matthew Gray Gubler directed what was billed as the season's spookiest hour.

In the Criminal Minds season 13 episode 'Miasma', the killer behind a cemetery mass grave sees himself as a modern what?

Plague doctor is the role he gives himself, and the title is the old word for the foul air once blamed for spreading disease.

Which late comedian's daughter guest-stars as a young podcaster in the Criminal Minds season 13 episode 'False Flag'?

Robin Williams's daughter Zelda plays Melissa Miller, a podcaster tied to a conspiracy group whom Tara Lewis struggles to stay calm while questioning.

In Criminal Minds' season 13 episode 'All You Can Eat', a parole case reunites Penelope Garcia with which relative?

Her stepbrother Carlos returns when the man responsible for their parents' deaths becomes eligible for parole.

The Criminal Minds season 13 episode 'Killer App' opens with a deadly shooting at what kind of Silicon Valley workplace?

A video game company loses three employees in the attack, and the BAU is brought in to work out why those three were targeted.

In 'Believer', the Criminal Minds season 13 finale, what nickname does a disgraced agent give the killer he warns of?

The Strangler is the name Reid hears from a former VICAP agent he finds locked in a storage unit, a discovery that upends what the team thought it knew.

Which Ghost Whisperer star spent one season of Criminal Minds as an agent raising her orphaned niece?

Jennifer Love Hewitt stayed for season ten alone, leaving because of her own second pregnancy, and then took three years away from acting.

Which baseball team's gear fills David Rossi's office on Criminal Minds, despite his Long Island upbringing?

The Cubs it is, though Rossi grew up in Commack, New York, where a boyhood friend of his went on to become a local mobster.

Before they began dating on Criminal Minds, how did Derek Morgan and his future wife Savannah know each other?

As neighbors, and things changed when she approached him while he was low over a case that had ended badly.

What was serial killer Elias Voit's day job before the BAU caught up with him in Criminal Minds: Evolution?

Network security analyst was the cover, and his skill with encryption let him run a nationwide web of killers behind an ordinary family life.

How does the Replicator kill the BAU's section chief in the Criminal Minds season eight finale?

Poisoned wine is forced on her at gunpoint, and she dies in Hotchner's arms after begging him not to leave her alone.

Joy Struthers, the daughter David Rossi learns of in season ten of Criminal Minds, works in which field?

Journalism is her trade, and she grew up believing her mother's second husband was her father until he told her the truth before he died.

On a coded signal from Aaron Hotchner, where does his young son hide from a killer in Criminal Minds' 100th episode?

In a trunk in his father's office is where the boy stays hidden; years later the threat of another stalker sends father and son into witness protection.

Whose murder by Elias Voit sets Army veteran Tyler Green on the killer's trail in Criminal Minds: Evolution?

His sister's death turned the discharged soldier into a vigilante who slipped in among Voit's own recruits and fed the BAU tips anonymously.

Ashley Seaver's serial-killer father on Criminal Minds escaped execution because he was convicted in which state?

North Dakota has no death penalty, so he got life after killing 25 women across a decade; his daughter has never visited him, yet admits she cannot hate him.

Profiler David Rossi of Criminal Minds was named after a policeman who testified at whose 1990s trial?

O. J. Simpson's murder trial heard from an officer whose name the show borrowed, as the actor behind Rossi has explained.

How did David Rossi fill his years of early retirement before returning to the BAU on Criminal Minds?

Writing books and lecturing about them kept him busy, and he still takes leave each year for a cross-country signing tour.

What does David Rossi carry as a reminder of the unsolved case that draws him back to Criminal Minds' BAU?

A charm bracelet bears the names of three children who found their parents murdered; once the case was solved twenty years on, Rossi gave them the family home he had bought.

In which martial art does Derek Morgan of Criminal Minds, who runs FBI self-defense classes, hold a black belt?

Judo is Morgan's discipline; as a boy he picked up a juvenile record for fighting after his father died when he was ten.

Tara Lewis, a profiler on Criminal Minds, was bullied as a child while her military family lived in which country?

Germany was one stop in a childhood shaped by her father's military service and her mother's death from cancer.

With which elite Army regiment did Luke Alvez serve in Iraq before joining the FBI on Criminal Minds?

The Rangers came first, then the FBI's Fugitive Task Force, where Alvez chased the killers who broke out of prison at the end of season 11.

Damon Gupton, who played Criminal Minds profiler Stephen Walker, has a second career as what?

Orchestra conductor Gupton has led the Cleveland Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony as a guest, and was assistant conductor of the Kansas City Symphony in 2006.

In Criminal Minds' 'Blood Hungry', what does Jason Gideon claim caused the leg injury keeping him out of the field?

A skydiving accident is his story, and working from base on crutches he drives Garcia to distraction without even knowing her name.

On Criminal Minds, which skill does veteran profiler David Rossi claim to be the leading authority on?

Hostage negotiation is his claimed specialty, and he takes over the talks himself when Reid and Prentiss are trapped inside a sect's compound in season four.

On Criminal Minds, David Rossi recognises a young killer's alias as the name of a character from which hit game?

Grand Theft Auto IV supplied the name, Niko Bellic, and Rossi's catch is one of several hints that the old-school profiler plays in his spare time.

Before Criminal Minds, Matthew Gray Gubler interned for which film director, who then put him in a movie?

Wes Anderson urged his intern to audition for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and Gubler won the part of Nico, also known as Intern #1.