'Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior' Preview - As Good as the Original?

Another CBS drama spinoff is premiering soon. Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior will be debuting Wednesday, February 16th, at 10PM after the original.

 

Just like other CBS spinoffs before it (NCIS from JAG, NCIS: Los Angeles from NCIS), the characters of the spinoff were introduced in a Criminal Minds episode, “The Fight,” last season.

The series is going to star Forest Whitaker leading a team made up of Beau Garrett, Michael Kelly, Matt Ryan and Janeane Garofalo, with Kirsten Vangsness pulling double duty as Penelope Garcia for both shows. It helps that she spends almost all the time giving the team information from her office and only rarely travels with them for cases.

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior Preview

CBS has posted a preview of the new series (below). It shows clips of unsubs and cases this BAU team will have to solve. This team is nothing like Hotch’s (Thomas Gibson). They don’t seem to be working out of the office (and this was shown in “The Fight” when Hotch met up with Whitaker’s Sam Cooper in a gym, then later on when Sam and Strauss had a few words). But this doesn’t mean they’re not as successful at solving cases.

The second half of the preview shows the profilers doing what they do best: analyze the victimology and the unsubs. Of course, they have to be thrown a few times and realize the unsub has changed something, meaning they must redo the profile.

The characters

Sam Cooper leads the team, and he doesnÂ’t really care about bureaucracy.

Garofalo plays Beth Griffith. SheÂ’s a new face, and it sounds like she doesnÂ’t exactly get along with everyone else (at least at first).

Ryan plays Mick Rawson, and if you remember from “The Fight,” he’s good on roofs and seems to be one of the best snipers.

Garrett plays Gina LaSalle. As she explains in the preview, the team “studies the way people act,” looking for clues.

Kelly plays Jonathan “Prophet” Simms with his own prison history. This is where the awkward silence comes in during the preview. He got his nickname in prison, and Beth asks, “What’d you do, kill someone?”

Will it be just as good as Criminal Minds?

Suspect Behavior definitely appears to have a completely different feel than the original, while still sticking to the basics: itÂ’s about a team from the Behavioral Analysis Unit, using their skills as profilers to catch the bad guys.

The spinoff will have Garcia around, so that fact alone may cause some people to tune in. Each week will feature a new case to draw in the procedural crime drama fans.

But will it hold your attention like Criminal Minds does, now in its sixth season? It might. It was entertaining watching both teams in “The Fight,” and Forest Whitaker is leading the cast. That’s impressive in and of itself.

It should also help that it will be airing directly after its original. That seems to be working for NCIS: Los Angeles, and both that series and NCIS have been consistently bringing in high ratings this season.

One thing is for certain: if youÂ’re a fan of the procedural cop drama, CBS is the place for you Tuesday and Wednesday nights, featuring double blocks of NCIS and Criminal Minds, respectively.

Will you tune in to Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior?

Photo Source: FlickR

© Meredith Jacobs 2011

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