Criminal Minds Fans Just Got The Best News About The Revival

It has barely been off the airwaves for two full years, but it seems that "Criminal Minds" is ready to make a comeback via a revival series. 

After spending 15 seasons as a primetime anchor for CBS, the haunting procedural about a crack team of FBI profilers and the often horrifying killers they hunt aired its finale in February 2020. Whether or not longtime fans were entirely happy with the "Criminal Minds" finale, many likely saw it as a fond farewell to a small screen friend — even if that friend likely induced a nightmare or two over the years. 

After a teary goodbye, those fans were no doubt elated when, less than a year after its cancellation, CBS announced "Criminal Minds" would return via a streaming series on Paramount+ (per TV Line). Unfortunately, the revival series seemed dead in the water just a few months later, with original series star Paget Brewster offering the bad news via a July 21, 2021 Twitter interaction stating, "Sadly, we think it's dead. I'll let you know if there is any progress, but it seems unlikely. Which is a bummer." 

But despite Brewster's grim '21 forecast, it seems the "Criminal Minds" revival may have a pulse after all.

Indeed, it seems Paget Brewster was well off the mark in her prediction that the "Criminal Minds" revival was dead as Chief Programming Officer for ViacomCBS Streaming Tanya Gills now claims the series is still very much part of their Paramount+ plans. As reported by TV Line, Gillis offered that news during the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, stating, "We are still very much in development on 'Criminal Minds,'" and further offering, "We'll have more to share soon on that, but it is alive and well."

It's obviously impossible to say exactly what changed since Brewster speculated that the revival was likely dead, but we'd guess that the show's continued success in syndication and on streaming has something to do with it. And given its enduring popularity, we can only imagine "Criminal Minds" is also performing well on Paramount+, where its entire 15-season run is now streaming. As for what the new season of "Criminal Minds" will look like, it's tough to say as it's still "in development." TV Line noted in 2021, however, the new "Criminal Minds" was set to pair series regulars like Brewster, Joe Mantegna, Matthew Gray Gubler, and A.J. Cook with new BAU faces, and send them on a season-long chase to catch a killer. 

As it is, we'll just have to wait a little longer to see what the "Criminal Minds" gang is cooking up for the revival.