Criminal Minds: All filming locations in the police procedural thriller

One of the highly successful dramas on CBS is Criminal Minds which kept fans engaged through its intriguing crime stories for almost a decade and a half. The crime series began in 2005 and ran for fifteen triumphant seasons on the network.

More than half of the scenes of Criminal Minds were shot in California with significant locations including Santa Clarita, Glendale, Altadena, Los Angeles, and Long Beach.

The filming of Criminal Minds went beyond California as some of its parts were shot in Vancouver, Canada. The crime drama was highly praised for its exceptional story arcs and focus on the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU).

Interestingly, the location of the fictional BAU is Quantico, Virginia, where the FBI and parts of its units are based in real life. These locations added to the authenticity and depth of the crime drama.

Exploring the filming locations of Criminal Minds in California

The original Criminal Minds was majorly filmed in California (Image via Paramount+)

Since all the major scenes of Criminal Minds have been filmed in different parts of California, here's the list you can refer to explore those locations in detail:

1) Glendale

Glendale City Hall was primarily used for shooting the police station and hospital scenes in Criminal Minds. This location provided a wider space, allowing the makers to capture the environment and utilize the same place for many episodes.

2) Santa Clarita

While the exact episode titles filmed at Santa Clarita are unknown, the location was best used for capturing outdoor scenes. The landscape of the place served as a key factor in filming such parts of the crime series.

3) Altadena

The crime drama is still popular among fans (Image via Paramount+)

Another prominent location in California used to film episodes highlighting St. Louis, Missouri was Altadena. This location helped in filming all the episodes featuring St. Louis while focusing on the missing children in the show.

Altadena's impressive environment and appealing neighborhood significantly contributed to Criminal Minds's visuals.

4) Long Beach

Criminal events are the focus of the CBS series and many of the episodes involving criminal or illegal activities were filmed at Long Beach. From brutal attacks to dramatic moments, this location was essential in capturing the essence of each story.

5) Los Angeles

If you're curious to explore Universal Studios Hollywood or Griffith Observatory and even the location where some of the characters of Criminal Minds lived, then Los Angeles would be the place to visit.

Additionally, the BAU often visited Los Angeles while solving their cases, and the Vietnam scenes were also shot at Palos Verdes Peninsula, making Los Angeles one of the most crucial locations for the show.

Criminal Minds was also filmed in Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver, Canada was the location used to film the pilot of season one, titled 'Extreme Aggressor', and the city's appealing outlook worked impressively well in featuring Stanley Park, West Georgia Street, Simon Fraser University, Iron Mountain Store, and Hastings Streets.

Each location in California and Vancouver where Criminal Minds episodes were filmed, highlights the show's remarkable success throughout its decade-long run.

Quixote Studios served as the primary production studio for Criminal Minds

Quixote Studios is situated on North Fuller Avenue in West Hollywood, California where the custom-built sets were created. The studio provided the series to film the offices of the characters or the BAU.

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Fans can take a virtual tour through YouTube, shared by TV Guide in which you will see Kirsten Vangsness (who plays Penelope) taking us to the sets of Criminal Minds and sharing her experience of filming the crime drama.

Why was Criminal Minds cancelled after season 15?

The original Criminal Minds ended in 2020 with season 15. One of the main reasons why the crime drama ended despite being highly popular was the departure of some of the most-liked actors including Shemar Moore who played Derek, Mandy Patinkin as Jason, Matthew Gray Gubler as Spencer, and a few more cast members.

However, within two years of the original show's cancellation, Paramount+ gave a new life to the crime series on the streamer with a reboot titled Criminal Minds: Evolution. It allowed dedicated fans to relive their favorite show and even brought some of the cast members from the original series.

The reboot was well-received by fans and viewers and following its success, Paramount+ has renewed the show for season 3 which will continue the story from where Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 ended.