How Many Episodes Of Criminal Minds Are Set In Minnesota?
If you are a crime show junkie like me, you've definitely seen Criminal Minds. The long-running CBS show follows a group of elite FBI profilers who take down the worst of the worst. The show is returning to streaming services this month so I thought I would take a walk down memory lane.
I was also inspired to do so based on some other shows I have been watching as of late. I watch a show called 9-1-1. It airs on FOX and it features a character from Minnesota. The actor who plays said character is also from Minnesota.
That means there are a lot of jokes about our state throughout the show. I always laugh because it is all in good fun, plus it is cool that of all places, Minnesota gets some love - even if it is tough love at times. Ha!
This isn't the first time something like this has happened on the silver screen either. Years ago, Grey's Anatomy also had a story arc in which one of the doctors went for residency at the famous Mayo Clinic. Many jokes and exaggerations about Minnesota were seen week after week.
It has happened a few times on Criminal Minds as well. However, they didn't so much make fun of us as just set a few of their episodes in Minnesota! With a show that went on for fifteen years and fifteen seasons, the show pretty much had to take place everywhere.
So how many times has Criminal Minds taken place in Minnesota? The answer is two! That is according to a website that tracks that kind of thing. I have seen every single episode and knew there was at least one but that's all I remember. (Fifteen years is a long time to remember that type of thing!)
The first episode that takes place in Minnesota is called The Gathering and is part of season eight, episode seventeen. It aired in March of 2013. In this particular episode, the profilers head to Saint Paul. There is snow on the ground, of course.
The synopsis of the episode is as follows: someone is hunting down people who have been posting their whereabouts often on social media, from their "personal lives" to their "inner desires" in life. It is a pretty gruesome episode!
The second of the two episodes filmed in Minnesota comes a bit later in the show, this time in season twelve. It is episode number five of the season and is called The Anti-Terror Squad. This episode takes them to the small town of Winona.
The show was set to end after season fifteen but thankfully for loyal fans of the show, it is coming back to Paramount+ on November 24th! I am not sure if it will be set in one place or all over the place but you know you'll hear from me if there is a new episode set in Minnesota.