CBS is going to try again to launch a spin-off from Criminal Minds. A new team will be introduced in a planted pilot episode later this season.
The new team in the series will be an FBI division that helps Americans when they run into trouble abroad. Entertainment Weekly reports that the show is expected to have a completely new cast, although that’s not set in stone yet.
The pilot will not be filmed until February, but will still be ready to air before the end of the current 10th season of Criminal Minds. Series showrunner Erica Messer is writing the pilot. She will be an executive producer with Mark Gordon and Nick Pepper.
While CBS has had incredible success launching spin-offs from CSI and NCIS, its only previous attempt to launch a spin-off from Criminal Minds failed. Back in 2010, the network developed Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, which only ran for one season before getting cancelled.
Criminal Minds reached its 200th episode in February and recently welcomed Jennifer Love Hewitt to the cast. Other stars on the show include Shemar Moore, Matthew Gray Gubler, A.J. Cook, Thomas Gibson, Joe Mantegna and Kirsten Vangsness.
image of Thomas Gibson courtesy of INFevents.com