Criminal Minds is one of the most loved procedural dramas on television -- but for some reason every attempt to recreate it simply tanked. CBS tried to turn it their popular series into a franchise more than once, with the first spinoff being Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. Yet unlike the NCIS spinoffs, this one didn't attract viewers and lasted just a single season.
The original Criminal Minds was novel upon its debut for being particularly intellectual, as it followed the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit that was responsible for tracking down serial killers. The show had an impressive 15-season run, and has remained so popular since its 2020 finale that Paramount+ has ordered a revival series. So with a fan base that massive, why could Suspect Behavior barely get off the ground?
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior premiered in 2011, and producers expected it to be a big hit. Its premise centered around a newly-formed team within the BAU, whose responsibility would be to investigate cases that mainly involved human trafficking and attempted assassination. The cast was completely fresh, except for Kirsten Vangsness, who was pulling double duty as her fan-favorite character of Penelope Garcia. However, it had some name recognition with Forest Whitaker as the team leader alongside Janeane Garofalo, and it also starred Matt Ryan before he became known as John Constantine.
The lineup had potential, but the series didn't actually focus on the aforementioned trafficking or assassination-type cases. It just ended up being a typical season of usual Criminal Minds "unsubs" -- without the cast that fans already loved. CBS tried to make the Suspect Behavior characters as eclectic as possible (including an ex-convict, a British marksman and a chaotic good rebel leader) but they just couldn't hold a candle to the original cast. And when viewers were getting the same kind of stories on the original show, the spinoff had nothing new to offer them.
Low ratings proved that die-hard Criminal Minds fans felt quite bored with the first season of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. Not only were the cases not as advertised and the characters not as engaging, the show came onto the scene at a time when procedurals weren't seen as whole blocks of programming. NCIS had only one spinoff on the air in 2011, and the One Chicago franchise hadn't even started yet.
As such, spinoffs were being compared to their predecessors rather than looked at as extensions of them -- and Suspect Behavior lagged behind the original series. It started out strong with over 13 million people watching the first episode, but that had dropped down to 7.25 million by the season (series) finale. Losing slightly under half its initial audience was bad news, and CBS cancelled the series, leaving it with an unresolved cliffhanger involving Garofalo's character Beth Griffith.
This was the first time CBS tried to establish a franchise out of Criminal Minds, but it wouldn't be the last. Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders arrived in 2016, but met a similar fate to Suspect Behavior, ending after two seasons instead of one. What makes Criminal Minds so popular is the original cast lineup and overall aesthetic of the foundational series, and CBS learned that the hard way.
Source: Trendz OH
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