Summary

• Shows like Criminal Minds took the police procedural genre to new heights with their focus on profiling criminals and delving into their minds.
• Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders is a spin-off worth watching for fans of the original, as it takes the show to new international locations.
• Dexter offers a unique twist on the serial killer narrative by featuring a protagonist who works for the police and targets criminals.

Shows like Criminal Minds flooded broadcast television for the last two decades. Even before it premiered, police procedurals had been one of the most popular genres since the advent of television. While there were several hit cop shows on TV, from Columbo and Kojak to Miami Vice and Hill Street Blues, it seems the shows that started in the 1990s and continue to this very day took things a step further than any that came before. These shows often pull stories from the headlines and feature just as many sad endings as exciting save-the-day finales.

Criminal Minds premiered in 2005 and followed the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as they profiled crimes and unknown subjects (called unsubs) and tried to stop criminals and often save innocents in danger. Unlike similar shows like Criminal Minds, this didn't bother as much with police officers racing to catch criminals, and instead had the agents delve into the minds of the criminals and attempt to figure out who they were and why they were doing this to find a way to catch them before they could commit yet another crime. After 15 seasons, CBS ended the show, although it returned for a 16th season in 2022 as Criminal Minds: Evolution. With a gap in the schedule, many fans might want to know what to watch if they like Criminal Minds.

15 Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (2016-2017)

Buy now on Apple TV & Prime Video

It's rare for sequels and spin-off shows to live up to the original. This is true in everything from books to movies and, of course, television shows. But even though Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders wasn't nearly as popular as the original, only running for two seasons, it's still worth a watch for those who love shows like Criminal Minds. This particular spin-off takes on a similar premise, but it takes it a step further by stripping the show of borders and sending the characters on exciting hunts away from home. Starring Gary Sinise and Alana De La Garza, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders remained just different enough for fans of the original.

14 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2015)

Stream now on Hulu & Paramount+

There are certain shows that manage to establish themselves as classics right off the bat. Criminal Minds did it, to the extent of lasting for over a dozen seasons. But five years before the show reached screens, another one was garnering that classic and iconic status - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The show lasted for an impressive fifteen years, was nominated for six Golden Globes, and spanned a series of spin-offs. If smart crime mysteries are what a person likes about shows like Criminal Minds, and especially those that have over 300 episodes to satisfy their thirst for suspense, then CSI fits that description.

13 Numb3rs (2005-2010)

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Numb3rs is one of the shows like Criminal Minds that a lot of people seemed to miss when it was airing between 2005 and 2010. Even though the series enjoyed mild success and ran for six seasons, it still doesn't receive the same attention as similar shows in the genre. If a viewer enjoys premises that involve outsiders with outstanding talents joining FBI investigations, then Numb3rs is for you. It follows a mathematician that uses mathematical equations to help the Bureau solve several crimes. It's like nothing seen before in the realm of police procedurals.

12 Lie To Me (2009-2011)

Stream now on Hulu

On a similar note to shows like Criminal Minds, Lie To Me is all about behavior. Tim Roth stars as Dr. Cal Lightman, the leading expert on body language and facial expressions, a knowledge he uses to help solve cases. He works outside the police department, for a company called The Lightman Group, where he takes on assignments from everyone, including the police, to assist in investigations. The show aired for three seasons and was inspired by the work of Paul Ekman, who did the same work in real life for police departments and anti-terrorist groups.

11 Castle (2009-2016)

Stream now on Hulu

Castle brought together a famous mystery novel writer with an NYPD detective. This is much more light-hearted than most shows like Criminal Minds, but it does share much in common when it comes to the cast chemistry and the relationships building as they solve cases each week. There are also eight seasons ready to binge-watch with plenty of gruesome and interesting crimes, often paired up with conspiracies and corruption. The banter between Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, the actors behind the main characters, makes the show more than worth the watch.

10 The Blacklist (2013-2023)

Stream now on Netflix

The Blacklist takes the ideas from shows like Criminal Minds and adds an interesting twist. While both shows are about stopping the worst criminals that society has to offer and solving crimes before innocent lives are lost, The Blacklist does so by teaming a career criminal with the FBI. James Spader stars as Red Reddington, a former high-profile criminal who agrees to help the FBI capture and arrest dangerous criminals from his "Blacklist" in exchange for his freedom and the chance to work with a rookie agent named Elizabeth Keen. The big difference is that there is an overlying mystery under the hood, on top of the case of the week stories.

9 Dexter (2006-2013)

Stream now on Fubo & Showtime

One of the most alluring things about shows like Criminal Minds is going inside and seeing the inner workings of a serial killer's brain in action. It's terrifying and disturbing, but that's half of what makes it so interesting. If that's the case, a perfect companion series is Dexter, featuring one of the most prominent serial killers on TV. However, what makes this show unique is that the serial killer works for the police, and his victims are criminals who seem even worse than he is. The story led to his eventual downfall, but getting there was what made the show fun.

8 NCIS (2003- )

Stream now on Paramount+ & Netflix

NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service takes the police procedural and narrows it down to one specific target - cases involving the Navy. It also doesn't really go into great detail into the minds of the killers, but instead sets itself up as a mystery that the team has to solve, which is where the similarities lie. It was always more popular than Criminal Minds, garnering several NCIS spinoffs and lasting for 20 seasons and counting, but part of that was the less intense adventures. For people who like shows like Criminal Minds, but want something more akin to comfort food, NCIS is the way to go.

7 Without A Trace (2002-2009)

Buy on AppleTV and Google Play

The FBI isn't comprised solely of the BAU, and Without A Trace has another group that is just as important. Just as suspenseful and uncomfortable as shows like Criminal Minds, this series focuses on a unit of the FBI that specializes in missing-person investigations. While Criminal Minds is about hunting down the bad guys, this team is more about finding the missing people and bringing them back home alive. With seven seasons originally airing from 2002 to 2009, it shows a completely different side of the spectrum when it comes to investigative work.

6 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999- )

Stream now on Peacock & Hulu

Law & Order was an extremely popular show that resulted in a number of equally successful spin-offs. However, its first major spinoff, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, ended up not only being more popular but remains the most successful police procedural show in history, with over 24 seasons. The show has been acclaimed for years for its depiction of the justice system. It's not a happy show, and it's not meant to be. It's an accurate series of tales that tell the tragic stories of victims of the worst kinds of crimes. As in shows like Criminal Minds, it delivers a hard-hitting, relentlessly gritty side of the criminal justice system.

5 Cold Case (2003-2010)

Stream now on Max

Cold Case is a show that always leaves the viewer with a bad taste, in the best possible sense. On the one hand, witnessing the unit solving murders that happened 10, 20, and sometimes even 50 years ago, is extremely exciting. On the other hand, it's extremely uncomfortable learning about the ins and outs of these awful crimes - and knowing there is no one to save. It has the same team spirit as shows like Criminal Minds and the same eerie feel throughout the entire show. Even though the formulas are far from similar, it's still a great series to watch for anyone truly into being enveloped by mystery.

4 The Following (2013-2015)

Buy on AppleTV and Vudu

Anyone who wants to get deeper into the mind of a serial killer in an attempt to understand them should watch The Following. On shows like Criminal Minds, there are often overarching cases where a killer is tormenting or taunting one or more of the FBI agents. In The Following, that is the entire premise of the story. Kevin Bacon is Ryan Hardy, a former FBI agent who captured a professor turned cult leader serial killer named Joe Carroll years before. When the killer escapes prison, the FBI asks Ryan to return to help capture him again, and the cat-and-mouse game begins anew.

3 Luther (2010-2019)

Stream now on Brit Box & Hoopla

Idris Elba plays the part of a brilliant detective who has an unlikely and unnerving friendship with a killer. The show has undertones of Mindhunter running all the way through it. It plays similar to shows like Criminal Minds, but it takes the story to the United Kingdom and the Serious Crime Unit, rather than the FBI in the United States. Fans will revel in the main character's obsession with his work, and even more in the relationship he establishes with a serial killer, and Luther's own life constantly being consumed by the darkness around him.

2 Dark (2017-2020)

Stream now on Netflix

Dark might be a strange choice when compared to shows like Criminal Minds when it comes to the formula. Instead of a police procedural about FBI agents hunting down dangerous criminals, it is a sci-fi adventure about time travel. However, there are similarities that will attract both audiences, including horrifying murders, missing children, and an everlasting sense of doom. The German television show was one of the best international offerings on Netflix for three seasons. While it is not about serial killers, it's still grimy, scary, and filled with suspense, all with an overarching mystery the characters need to solve.

1 Mindhunter (2017-2019)

Stream now on Netflix

There is nothing better to watch for fans of shows like Criminal Minds than the Netflix original series Mindhunter. That is because this is a show based on the creation of the BAU from its inception. This is the show that reveals the original cases and why this behavioral science group became such an important FBI unit decades into the future. Most of the events and serial killers on Mindhunter are from real-life events. With cases even more bone-chilling (and a setting even more depressing and gray) than on Criminal Minds, this is the perfect series to binge-watch for anyone looking to fulfill their desperate need for more serial killers and FBI action.