‘Criminal Minds’ Star Matthew Gray Gubler Suggests Series Finale Plants Roots to ‘Re-Hatch’ in Near Future

Criminal Minds is coming to an end on Feb. 19 after 15 seasons, but series star Matthew Gray Gubler has hinted that there may be a way for the beloved BAU to return in the future.

“I know that everything has its time and I’m in no way sad that the show is closing, because I feel like we’ve done it beautifully, and I feel like there are roots there for it to re-hatch later,” he told TVLine. “I kind of liken it to if you go to a concert, at a certain point the band has to leave the stage in order to have an encore. It’s just the natural progression.”

Gubler didn’t elaborate on what those roots might be, though with the number of characters and plots Criminal Minds has introduced over the years, it wouldn’t be hard to find somewhere to pick back up.

Wednesday’s series finale will see Gubler’s Dr. Spencer Reid and the team attempt to hunt down one more criminal, the Chameleon, who has a vendetta with David Rossi (Joe Mantegna). While the team grapples with the case, several members are thinking about their futures, with Prentiss (Paget Brewster) contemplating a promotion and JJ (A.J. Cook) debating a move to New Orleans.

“The last two episodes, as all 324 episodes, have been written really beautifully and thoughtfully, and they’re teeing up, I think, something really special,” Gubler said. “It’s a really beautiful ending, but they’re setting up a lot of different avenues of exploration for these heroes that we’ve come to love and have in our homes for so many years. It’s kind if interesting to see how it all will eventually shake out.”

“It’s a really cool finale, a really special one that does a nice little job of closing out this, for lack of a better term, insanely long run, this special thing we’ve been so blessed to be a part of,” he added.

Gubler shared that he was in the final scene that was filmed on the show, which was a full-circle moment for him since he was also in the very first.

“In both instances, I got to operate the camera. They let me press the button and hit Record and everything,” he joked. “I was coming from film school when I was cast on the pilot, so I was trying to impress the crew and let them know that I know how to work a film camera.

“If the show had only gone for six years, it probably would’ve been emotional, but because it’s been such a beautiful presence in our life for 15 years, it wasn’t sad,” he said. “It was kind of beautiful.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Cliff Lipson