For fifteen seasons, Criminal Minds was one of the most popular procedural shows on television. The series followed the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit as they travel across the country, catching serial killers through building criminal profiles. The Criminal Minds cases were mostly episodic, so the success of the narratives and the ability to hold long-term audiences largely depended on the characters within the BAU.
Over the show's fifteen years, the team's line-up changed frequently due to fake deaths, job opportunities, and actors wishing to pursue other projects. But each new team member brought with them skills that were essential to the BAU's success.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault.
10 Luke Alvez Had A Massive Role To Fill
Luke Alvez was introduced in the twelfth season, following the departure of fan-favorite Derek Morgan. Initially, Alvez was a member of an FBI Fugitive Task Force and assisted the BAU in the capture of the thirteen serial killers who escaped in the prison breaks of season eleven. Promised the opportunity to hunt down the remaining escapees, he accepted a full-time role at the BAU and officially joined the team. Although not initially a profiler, Alvez trained and proved himself an important part of the team for the last four seasons.
9 Alex Blake Had A Lot Of Potential
Alex Blake had big shoes to fill when she replaced Emily Prentiss after her departure in the season seven finale. However, she quickly proved she was fit to join the team. An experienced linguistics expert, Blake frequently worked with Dr. Reid on the more academic aspects of cases but still managed to hold her own in the field. Despite only appearing in two seasons, Blake made an impact on Criminal Minds and definitely would have remained an asset to the team had she not resigned to continue teaching.
8 Tara Lewis Brought New Skills To The BAU
Dr. Tara Lewis, a forensic psychologist for the FBI, joined the team in season eleven after the departure of Agent Callahan. Although her background was not in profiling, in her interview, Tara informed Hotch "For twelve years, I've studied these men after they were caught. Now I want to catch them." Dr. Lewis remained with the team up to the final season, using her skill to earn her place as an agent. In season twelve when Reid was falsely imprisoned, Tara played an essential role, acting as Reid's psychiatrist and giving him the cognitive interview that eventually helped them find their unsub.
7 Jennifer Jareau Grew From Media Liaison
Jennifer Jareau began season one as the communications liaison for the BAU, assisting the team but remaining in the background of their investigations. However, JJ left the team at the beginning of the sixth season to work for a task force in the Middle East.
When JJ returned in season seven, she came back as a profiler. Despite having less experience in the role than other members of the team, JJ came into her own as a profiler during the last few seasons – especially when it came to cases surrounding children and family dynamics.
6 Derek Morgan's Heartbreaking Backstory Motivated Him
Derek Morgan was a supervisory special agent with the BAU from the first season until the end of the eleventh when his wife gave birth to a son, and he chose to prioritize his family. Morgan was a brilliant profiler, skilled in combat, and an excellent shooter. Morgan had a difficult childhood, witnessing his father's murder and being sexually abused by someone he previously considered a father figure. Morgan often noticed he shared experiences with unsubs and worried that he too could be triggered to become like them. In the end, Morgan's experiences only drove him to become a better agent and protect people from ever having to go through what he did.
5 David Rossi Had Decades Of Experience
When Rossi joined the team in season three, he already had quite the career behind him. He served in the Marine Corps, was a published author, and one of the FBI's founding members of the BAU, alongside Gideon. Rossi had a lot of experience, and he knew it, initially believing himself to be a superior agent to many of the younger members. However, Rossi eventually became something of a father figure to his friends on the team. In time, Rossi grew more compassionate, especially when he discovered that he had an adult daughter from his second wife. This helped him empathize with victims and made him a better profiler.
4 Spencer Reid's Intelligence Was Invaluable
Spencer Reid was inarguably the most academically intelligent member of the team. The four BAs and three PhDs he achieved by his early twenties, paired with his photographic memory, armed him with a vast array of knowledge. These, coupled with his ability to read 20,000 words a minute, made him an essential asset to the team when memorizing case files, previous criminal behavior patterns, and knowledge about the unsubs. His ability to read suspects' micro-expressions frequently helped the team out of seemingly impossible situations. Reid was only let down by his difficulty communicating, which prevented him from interrogating unsubs confidently.
3 Emily Prentiss Was Not Underestimated For Long
SSA Emily Prentiss joined the BAU in the second season, replacing Agent Elle Greenaway after she resigned from the team. Prentiss was calm, controlled, and professional with skills centered on interrogation, working with children, and her ability to speak many languages. Prentiss made temporary departures from the team, once when she faked her death to protect herself from Ian Doyle and again when she left to join Interpol. When Aaron Hotchner resigned in season twelve, Prentiss's skills and leadership abilities led to her being promoted to Unit Chief of the BAU, a position she held until the end of Criminal Minds.
2 Jason Gideon Left Too Soon
Jason Gideon was a senior supervisory special agent with the team until his abrupt exit at the beginning of the third season, due to actor Mandy Patinkin's request to depart the show. During his short run on the show, he displayed skills and knowledge that were decades beyond the abilities of the younger team members.
Gideon was an expert at constructing profiles and using that information to spot criminal behavior in the field, as memorably shown in the episode "Extreme Aggressor." The only reason fans don't consider him one of the team's best, if not the best profiler, was simply because he wasn't in the show long enough.
1 Aaron Hotchner Led The Team From The First Season
Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner was the former Unit Chief of the BAU and appeared from the first to the twelfth season. Hotch led his team with skill, staying on top of current cases and matching up new evidence with previous cases and unsubs. Famously displayed in the season 3 episode "Tabula Rasa" when he profiled an attorney in court, Hotch could read a person and form a behavioral profile with unmatched speed and precision. Feeling very much like a father figure to the team, he knew how to use their unique skills in the best possible way to get results.