‘Criminal Minds’ Showrunner Addresses Chances of More Onscreen Deaths After Surprise Character Loss (Exclusive)

After Criminal Minds kicked off its new season with a surprising loss, showrunner Erica Messer addressed if there would be more onscreen deaths.

During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Messer weighed in on possible cameos from original Criminal Minds cast members, saying, “I always feel like it’s got to be a big important reason to have those cameos [like a funeral] and right now we don’t have anything that we’re leaning in that direction for this season. No more funerals.”

Messer’s update came after the Thursday, May 28, return of the hit Paramount+ series, showed Luke (Adam Rodriguez) mourning a personal loss while helping the BAU solve a case. It wasn’t until the end of the two-episode premiere that viewers found out his dog, Roxy, had to be put down.

“I don’t think we can ever be prepared anytime anything has ever happened with a beloved character — whether they’re four-legged or not,” Messer explained. “If you don’t have a pet, you certainly know someone who has a pet.”

Messer knew the reveal would hurt for viewers.

“It’s a loss of a family member. And for those who did watch the show in the before times [when it was on CBS], you definitely met Roxy when you first meet Luke early on,” she noted. “It was devastating for all of us to break that story. We all really felt the loss.”

She continued: “I had to warn Adam ahead of time that this is the story where we’re sending your way and it’s going to be really hard. I would say there’s probably not a dry eye when we were doing the read through for it and when we were shooting it and certainly in the screening. Everybody was very moved by that. So I would imagine our audience will feel as moved as the rest of us did.”

Criminal Minds, which premiered in 2005, follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit. The crime drama explores different fictional cases and shows how behavioral analysis helps the team locate their unknown subjects.

Over the years, the show has faced its fair share of onscreen character deaths. Season 18 shocked viewers when Josh Stewart left after playing the role of Will since 2007.

Looking ahead at the rest of season 19, Messer teased the vision for this season.

“It is this idea of new beginnings. It’s been a year in our story world,” the screenwriter noted to Us. “So there are new challenges that they’re faced with — but there’s also a little bit of hope in that. It has the potential for better things to come.”

New episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution air Thursdays on Paramount+.