10 Longest TV Procedurals — Where Does ‘Criminal Minds’ Rank? (PHOTOS)
10. Hawaii Five-0: 10 seasons (and counting)
Lost alums Daniel Dae Kim and Jorge Garcia didn’t have to leave the Aloha State to star in this CBS procedural, which has aired since 2010.
9. NCIS: Los Angeles: 11 seasons (and counting)
This CBS procedural—a spinoff of NCIS, which itself was a spinoff—nearly had a spinoff of its own, the 2013 CBS pilot NCIS: Red. In any case, the L.A.-set series has been airing since 2009.
8. Bones: 12 seasons
Fox’s sole entry on this ranking, Bones ran from 2005 to 2017 and inspired a short-lived spinoff, Fox’s The Finder.
7. NYPD Blue: 12 seasons
ABC’s sole entry on this ranking, NYPD Blue aired from 1993 to 2005 and reigned as the network’s longest-running primetime hour-long series until Grey’s Anatomy broke the record in 2016.
6. Hawaii Five-O: 12 seasons
The current Hawaii Five-0 has a good chance of catching up to its source material—another CBS show which ran between 1968 and 1980—distinguishable by having an “O” in its title instead of a “0.”
5. Criminal Minds: 15 seasons
The CBS drama about criminal profilers just finished its 15-year run, with cast members Matthew Gray Gubler and Kirsten Vangsness credited for almost every episode.
4. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: 15 seasons
CBS’ forensics drama aired between 2000 and 2015, airing 13 more episodes than Criminal Minds. A CSI event series revival is in the works, but it won’t help the show surpass…
3. NCIS: 17 seasons (and counting)
This CBS procedural got its start in 2003 as a spinoff of JAG, which aired for an impressive 10 seasons.
2. Law & Order: 20 seasons
Dick Wolf’s original claim to fame aired between 1990 and 2010 on NBC, tying Gunsmoke as the longest-running dramatic show in American TV history until the record was broken by…
1. Law & Order: SVU: 21 seasons (and counting)
The second (and currently last remaining) entry in the Law & Order franchise premiered on NBC in 1999.
Criminal Minds ended its 15-season run on February 19, ranking as one of American TV’s longest procedurals. In fact, CBS claims a total of six series in the top 10 — which isn’t entirely surprising, given the procedural format “has become hard-wired into CBS’s identity,” as Ad Age once observed.
That said, the Eye Network can’t claim the top two spots in the ranking. Click through the gallery above to see the 10 longest-running primetime procedurals, ordered by their season counts and — in the event of a tie — their episode counts.
