Drama. Mystery. Thriller. My top three favorite genres of all time when it comes to entertainment, and combined together into one show, it’s nearly perfect. Criminal Minds captures all three of these genres which makes the show my favorite show of all time. The show is the right mix of intrigue and suspense.

An elite group of FBI profilers from the BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) analyze the minds and behaviors of the country’s most devious criminals to stop them before they strike again. The show has 15 seasons and 316 episodes, each around 42 minutes, while solving a different case. That’s a whopping 13,272 minutes of binge watching in your future. 

The main characters : 

Jason Gideon, a Senior Supervisory Special Agent and unit chief of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. He has been in the BAU the longest and knows the most about the criminals behavior.

  Aaron Hotchner, who goes by Hotch, is a Supervisory Special Agent. He is good at interrogations (he is so scary even the criminals open up to him) and the agents count on him to give orders when Gideon is not around.

  Derek Morgan is a special agent that specializes in fixations and obsessive behaviors. He is one of my favorite characters because his back story is so sad, and touches me in a different way. 

 Another one of my favorite characters, Elle Greenaway, the only female in their team that actually attends their raids, is proficient with firearms, and specializes in profiling sexual offenders. Throughout the seasons that she’s in she always uplifts women and I love it.

 Doctor Spencer Reid is the youngest but smartest out of the team, having an IQ of 187. He knows anything and everything, which is extremely helpful when they try to profile their criminal. 

 Jennifer Jareau acts as the team’s liaison with the media and local police stations but in later seasons begins to attend raids. In earlier seasons all she does is work with the media, but in later seasons, man, she handles her business. 

Last but definitely not least is Penelope Garcia, the teams technical analyst. She was actually caught and recruited by the F.B.I when she hacked into their programs. She helps the team track down criminals by tracking their locations from phone calls or being able to search up an address.

Now I have always been interested in the topic of crime and serial killers. I try my best to find shows that will satisfy my needs for the knowledge of different serial killers and what drives them to do what they do. Others always recommended that I watched Criminal Minds and when I finally did it I was hooked on the first episode. That resulted in me binge watching the entire thing in only a couple of weeks.

Each episode in Criminal Minds is detailed so excellently that viewers are never left bored during the duration of the show. Each moment viewers discover something new and get closer to finding out the case, leaving them shocked with the end results. Audiences are either gasping through the entire episode or clenching onto a pillow with suspense there is no in between.

Although almost each episode focuses on a new case, it isn’t just about the agents solving cases all the time. The characters have back stories, and they go through different conflicts within their lives due to the hardships they have to endure through their job as they go through traumatic experiences. I like that because as an audience I get to connect with the characters and understand why certain things they do make sense.       

I prefer the earlier seasons rather than the later seasons because over time, certain characters that I began to admire left the show and new ones are brought in, and it’s just not the same. That is one of the reasons why Seasons one and two are my favorites out of the entire 15 seasons to choose from.

My favorite episode out of the entire show is season one episode 14, “Riding The Lightning”, where Gideon is convinced a woman ,who goes by Sarah Jean, is innocent days before her and her husband’s execution day. 

I’m not going to give any spoilers but this episode had me crying hours after it ended. It will score on your heart and make you feel every type of emotion possible. I highly recommend, if you are trying to get into the show, to watch that episode.If you enjoy the topic of serial killers and crime, this show is definitely for you. It goes into detail about the cases, some horrid but addicting, and others emotional and heart-warming. Criminal Minds offers the best type of entertainment for everyone.