“Criminal Minds” season 14 has been confirmed to arrive, and once it does, the first story will be the series’ 300th episode. Amazingly, it has been 13 years since the drama debuted on Sept. 22, 2005, on CBS, and when season 13 concluded, it already marked 299 episodes throughout its run.
Now, when “Criminal Minds” season 14 premieres, it will be a very special episode as it will mark an important occasion. Since it’s the 300th episode, the show will be listed as the 18th longest-running primetime series in history.
As showrunner Erica Messer explained, this is a major achievement since it is really difficult to get people to watch a show and make them stick. In fact, most TV programs these days have only managed to stay for a few seasons.
Now, “Criminal Minds” episode 14 is already being filmed and this was tweeted by the series’ producer, Harry Bring. In another social media post, a photo shows the cast celebrating the 300th episode with some champagne.
Spoiler
In season 13, Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) found out the identity of the mole who infiltrated the FBI. They also discovered that the group to which the mole belonged had snatched and held Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) hostage. From here, Messer teased fans that in “Criminal Minds” season 14, two of the show’s aces will be sidelined.
"They feel like two incredibly important pieces to our team, who won't be available if they're held captive. They won't be available to help us solve the case, which is crazy," she said.
"The challenges we're coming up with now are, 'Gosh, if we have two of our MVPs sitting on the sidelines here, what can we do? What clues do they possibly leave behind for us to help find where they're being held or how we help to solve this case without them?” Messer added.
Episodes
“Criminal Minds” season 14 may have fewer episodes than the previous seasons. Usually, the average is 26 episodes per season but it seems that the next, although not confirmed, will have at least 15, TV Line reported. This small number made many fans assume that this could be the show’s final year.
Harry Bring announced on social media that they have scheduled “Criminal Minds” season 14 to premiere on Sept. 26 at 10 p.m. on CBS.