Criminal Minds is heading towards a tremendous milestone: its 300th episode. As viewers will see when Season 14 premieres, the show will be taking that number into account when it comes to the UnSub the team will be profiling in the episode. When asked about the potential of running out of criminals for the series to explore, Criminal Minds showrunner Erica Messer responded by revealing the 300th episode will feature one of the series' most active killers yet. Messer said:
You know what's crazy is that there are, truthfully, countless bad deeds out there in the world, and we aren't coming up with anything that's crazier than happens in real life. It was one of those things when the show first started, we kind of had our 13 ideas because we knew of 13 serial killers -- or, you know, certainly the 'household name' serial killers that everyone had heard of. And here we are, 300 episodes in, and I'm still learning about these bad people in the world. Our premiere deals with somebody who has killed 300 people...
Yes, you read that correctly. The murderer featured in the 300th episode will have killed as many people as there have been episodes of Criminal Minds. That is a lot of deranged "criminal minds" to have explored. With the series moving forward beyond Episode 300, it may lead one to wonder if the show could be facing a supply shortage when it comes to criminals. Well, Criminal Minds showrunner, Erica Messer has assured TVLine there is no scarcity when it comes to discovering real-life atrocities.
Just in case you thought that television might be blowing things out of proportion, the 300th episode's killer proves otherwise. As her quote indicates, the serial murderer featured in the season premiere of Criminal Minds is based on a real-life figure, who is believed to have murdered more than 300 people.
That may mean there will not be much dramatic license at play when it comes to their kill rate. Erica Messer expressed how she was skeptical about a murderer having taken 300 lives before learning more. She continued, saying:
And I thought, 'Is this bonkers? Like, has anyone ever killed 300 people?' And it turns out yep. Indeed, they have. I looked up this Monster of the Andes who is believed to have killed in excess of 300 people and is currently missing. No one knows where this guy is. So there's that. Just when you think, 'Oh, certainly we've done everything,' it's like, 'Nope!'
You read that last bit correctly. The whereabouts of the murderer known as the Monster of the Andes are currently unconfirmed. While Criminal Minds is basing its character on this real-life serial murderer, the episode is unlikely to end without the fictionalized version's reign of terror having been brought to an end.
The 300th episode's killer was not the only disturbing thing Erica Messer talked about in her interview. When asked about the number of serial killers currently active in the United States, Messer shared that, statistically speaking, contacts within the FBI have said there are at least 50 open cases at a time. That is an unsettling number, to say the least.
It is an indicator that Criminal Minds can only scrape the surface of unsettling case files to base its killers on. For viewers of Criminal Minds and other crime procedurals, the idea of actually catching a killer and ending the potential for future victims is undoubtedly a silver lining watching the show holds. Despite the disturbing nature of the events that surround them, Criminal Minds' showrunner has promised a reprieve via some romance.
Find out how the team tracks down the latest killer when the 300th episode and fourteenth season premiere of Criminal Minds premieres Wednesday, October 3 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. The crime procedural will be joined by a ton of new programming set to arrive on CBS, along with other series coming this fall.
