In February 2020, the show “Criminal Minds” ended after its successful 15-year run on the CBS Network. Though the show was watched by tons of people, the network decided to cancel it because of the countless cast drama and the fact that they thought that the show was getting a bit dated. After a year, in 2021, the show got picked up by Paramount and announced their 10-episode return in November. 

In November, Paramount Plus debuted the reboot with two episodes, both ranging over 50 minutes. After this, they will release a new episode every Thursday for eight weeks. 

Since the revival aired, only two of the original actresses came back, those being AJ Cook and Kirsten Vangsness. Actors Thomas Gibson, Daniel Henney, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Shemar Moore have not shown any hints that they would be returning. Aside from the originals, actresses Aisha Tyler, Paget Brewster, and Joe Mantagna have come back, creating the whole team.

The plot is about how the pandemic caused a person to bring together a string of serial killers together over the internet and how they have been planning multiple different ways to torture people. Since they connected over a secure network, it was hard for the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), to figure out who’s in charge of it. They can never get any details on is in charge of the whole entire operation from people doing favors for him because they always commit suicide when they get caught. As of the third episode, they seem to be nowhere close to catching the unidentified subject (unsub).

In this season, they seem to have implicated the dangers that social media brings to adults and teenagers both. They go over how anything, even the most secure network can get hacked and reveal personal info about people’s lives. Due to the leaked information it’s easy to take advantage of people and their families.

The world has changed so much in the last two years, so the show had to change as well. In this show, they seem to discuss more mature topics and contain explicit words. They also have their first LGBTQ+ main character, who is not just an unsub. Not only the topics changed though: viewer-beloved character Penelope Garcia did too. She seems to have found her place in the world and what she actually enjoys doing.

The first three episodes go over the bigger unsub, who is sending these toolbox kits out to killers and how the BAU is doing everything in their power to catch the person behind it. Also showing how the team leader, David Rossi, is dealing with the loss of his wife during the team’s time off. 

The atmosphere seems to be a little darker and scarier this season, keeping viewers hooked and waiting for the next episode.