‘Criminal Minds’: A Master List of All the Cast-Directed Episodes — MGG, A.J. Cook, and More
The stars of Criminal Minds are very versatile. When they aren’t profiling serial killers on-screen, many of them are behind the cameras, directing their fellow cast members. Over the years, Criminal Minds has aired more than 30 episodes directed by cast members. That includes Matthew Gray Gubler, A.J. Cook, Joe Mantegna, and more. Here’s a complete list of episodes directed by the stars.
‘Criminal Minds’ episodes directed by Adam Rodriguez
Adam Rodriguez joined the cast of Criminal Minds as Luke Alvez in season 12. Not long after his debut on the series, Rodriguez put his past directing experience to use by taking the lead on two episodes. Then, when Criminal Minds returned for the revival (a.k.a. season 16), he directed another episode. Here are the episodes Rodriguez helmed:
- Season 13 episode 16: “Last Gap”
- Season 14 episode 8: “Ashley”
- Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 1 Episode 4: “Pay-Per-View”
In an interview with TVLine, Rodriguez said his favorite part of directing is “knowing the rules of the game, and then seeing how creative you can be within those rules.”
‘Criminal Minds’ episodes directed by Aisha Tyler
Aisha Tyler began playing Dr. Tara Lewis on Criminal Minds in season 11. A few seasons later, she directed her first episode of the series. That wasn’t her first time behind the cameras, though, as she previously directed episodes of The Walking Dead franchise, The Wonder Years, and more. These are the Criminal Minds episodes directed by Tyler:
- Season 13 episode 6: “The Bunker”
- Season 14 episode 9: “Broken Wing”
- Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 1 Episode 7: “What Doesn’t Kill Us”
Speaking to Screen Rant, Tyler said the biggest difference between directing Criminal Minds on CBS and directing it on Paramount+ is having “fewer limits.”
“When we were directing for broadcast television, we were limited just with the amount of time because of commercial breaks, and also you know there was a practice of what we could do, what we could say, what we could show,” she said. “Now we’re on streaming, and honestly the streaming world is much more expansive.”
‘Criminal Minds’ episodes directed by A.J. Cook
A.J. Cook has played Jennifer “JJ” Jareau on Criminal Minds since the show’s beginning. However, she didn’t make her directorial debut until season 14. She revealed that it was a “lifelong goal” of hers to direct. Cook received another chance to helm an episode when Criminal Minds returned for the revival. Here are the two episodes she directed:
- Season 14 Episode 13: “Chameleon”
- Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 1 Episode 8: “Forget Me Knots”
‘Criminal Minds’ episodes directed by Joe Mantegna
Joe Mantegna joined the cast of Criminal Minds as David Rossi in season 3. However, it was several years before he directed his first episode of the series. From there, he went on to direct nine more, including one episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution. Mantegna had previously directed a film called Lifeboat and some episodes of QuickBite. He directed the following episodes of Criminal Minds:
- Season 9 episode 13: “The Road Home”
- Season 10 episode 12: “Anonymous”
- Season 11 episode 3: “Til Death Do Us Part”
- Season 11 episode 17: “The Sandman”
- Season 12 episode 7: “Mirror Image”
- Season 12 episode 19: “True North”
- Season 13 episode 9: “False Flag”
- Season 13 episode 18: “The Dance of Love”
- Season 14 episode 6: “Luke”
- Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 1 Episode 3: “Moose”
‘Criminal Minds’ episodes directed by MGG
Matthew Gray Gubler, who played Spencer Reid in all 15 seasons of the original series, holds the record for the most Criminal Minds episodes directed by a cast member. He has lent his unique directorial eye to 12 episodes in total. Many of these, listed below, are considered the most disturbing Criminal Minds episodes of all time.
- Season 5 episode 16: “Mosley Lane”
- Season 6 episode 18: “Lauren”
- Season 7 episode 19: “Heathridge Manor”
- Season 8 episode 10: “The Lesson”
- Season 8 episode 20: “Alchemy”
- Season 9 episode 7: “Gatekeeper”
- Season 9 episode 20: “Blood Relations”
- Season 10 episode 21: “Mr. Scratch”
- Season 11 episode 18: “A Beautiful Disaster”
- Season 12 episode 6: “Elliot’s Pond”
- Season 13 episode 7: “The Capilanos”
- Season 14 episode 5: “The Tall Man”
Gubler once told TVLine that the secret to “good, spooky filmmaking” is to show “a bit of restraint.”
“People will always be the most scared of what they can’t see, so doing that will always make these episodes extra creepy,” he said.
‘Criminal Minds’ episodes directed by Thomas Gibson
Thoms Gibson, one of the original stars of Criminal Minds, was fired from the show in 2016 due to a physical altercation with a producer. However, before his exit, he got the chance to direct several episodes. Here are the six installments that Gibson directed:
- Season 8 episode 14: “All That Remains”
- Season 9 episode 16: “Gabby”
- Season 10 episode 5: “Boxed In”
- Season 10 episode 16: “Lockdown”
- Season 11 episode 5: “The Night Watch”
- Season 11 episode 16: “Derek”
Fans can find these cast-directed episodes of Criminal Minds and more on Paramount+.
