When Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders first hit the schedule, the series seemed in a lot of ways like the more expansive series in the franchise, featuring characters who jet-setted across the globe to save Americans in danger all around the world. During Season 2, Beyond Borders lead Tyler James Williams is promising even bigger and better things for the drama, but also some more combinations of crossovers with the Criminal Minds team. Go ahead, get a little excited. Here's what he had to say:
Our plane is bigger. Our goal is to do two times what we've done. One thing that is really fun and that we're exploring more is the geography of the building---the fact we work in one place. There's a lot of the two teams kind-of working together and seeing how they can bounce off of one another.
If you've been keeping tabs on Criminal Minds and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, you probably already know that Tyler James William's character, Russ Montgomery, often has contact with Criminal Minds character Penelope, played by Kirsten Vangsness. The two have a sort-of playful relationship, although it's one that has so far mostly revolved around the characters bantering and occasionally stealing mugs. The two teams had a full-fledged crossover during Beyond Borders backdoor pilot in an episode of Criminal Minds, but giving the characters from both shows more opportunities to work together can only prove fruitful for the CBS dramas--and for fans.
Crossover events have helped a lot of networks in recent years. NBC has seen ratings get boosted nearly every time the Chicago-set shows do a big crossover event. The CW has had similar success with crossovers on its DC Comics-oriented series. In fact, a crossover between The Flash and Supergirl likely helped the latter series land a new home on the CW earlier this year. So there is a precedent for the Criminal Minds franchise to do something similar.
As for the newer, bigger plane, I'm not sure what to even expect out of that. The Beyond Borders crew's plane is already huge when compared to the smaller plane that the Criminal Minds crew favors. But it's awesome that Beyond Borders even did what other C-Minds spinoffs could not do and landed a second season on CBS. Hopefully, it will stick around on the network for seasons and seasons to come and that characters from both shows will continue to be able to interact with one another.
While Criminal Minds is back in September, the spinoff isn't expected to hit the schedule until midseason on CBS. Hopefully, the original series will use the opportunity to bring in the Beyond Borders cast on occasion before that show returns. Either way, we'll keep you updated and you can check out all the fall TV premiere dates, here.
