Why Paramount+ Is Reviving ‘Criminal Minds’ – Just One Year After CBS Cancellation

Paramount+ is bringing back “Criminal Minds,” both the original series and an expanding fact-based franchise, in a big way. The streamer now known as CBS All Access is developing a “Criminal Minds” revival and even a complimentary docuseries, “The Real Criminal Minds,” for its post-rebrand days, which are just one week away. Doubling down on a show that was canceled just last year after an impressive 15-season run may seem like an unusual strategy, but “Criminal Minds” found an even better home after CBS. It found Netflix. CBS All Access, which will turn into Paramount+ on March 4, currently has Seasons 13-15 of “Criminal Minds” available for subscribers. Seasons 1-12 are licensed to Netflix in a shared arrangement expected to continue into next year, a person with knowledge of the split-rights deal told TheWrap. During Wednesday’s ViacomCBS Streaming Investor Day, executives said that Paramount+ will carry all 15 seasons of “Criminal Minds.” Timing and exclusivity were not discussed, but you can bet your bottom dollar (and all the billions of dollars being invested into Paramount+) Netflix doesn’t want to lose your dad’s favorite procedural. On Thursday, Nielsen revealed that “Criminal Minds” reruns on Netflix were the most-watched show across the major streaming platforms it measures: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Hulu. For the final week of January, which is as up-to-date as the ratings currency company is with its streaming measurement, Netflix’s 297-episode collection of “Criminal Minds” was streamed for a combined 984 million minutes, or 48 million more minutes than the runner-up, “Bridgerton.” (Rounding out the Top 5: “Fate: The Winx Saga” with 918 million minutes streamed, “Grey’s Anatomy” with 841 million and the Spanish-language hit “Mariposa de Barrio” with 692 million.) Representatives for Paramount+ have not responded to TheWrap’s question about the service’s long-term future plans, rights-wise, for the original “Criminal Minds” series. A spokesperson for Netflix did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on this story. The timing for Paramount+’s March 4 launch could not be better. Jan. 25 to Jan. 31, 2021 was the first time “Criminal Minds” finished No. 1 outright on Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming shows. But it’s been the most-streamed acquired show on Netflix since Peacock reclaimed “The Office” for NBCUniversal on Jan. 1. “Criminal Minds” was a successful show during its CBS run, but not to that level — otherwise it would have never ended. In its final run on CBS, “Criminal Minds” averaged a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 and 8 million viewers. Those numbers are inclusive of one week of delayed (mostly DVR) viewing, and they placed Season 15 outside of broadcast’s Top 50 entertainment shows during the 2019-20 season.