Season 19 of Criminal Minds got off to a rough start when a beloved character was killed in the premiere.
During the Thursday, May 28, return of the hit Paramount+ series, Luke (Adam Rodriguez) was mourning a personal loss while helping the BAU solve a case. It wasn’t until the end of the two-episode premiere that viewers found out his dog, Roxy, had to be put down.
“I don’t think we can ever be prepared anytime anything has ever happened with a beloved character — whether they’re four-legged or not,” showrunner Erica Messer exclusively told Us Weekly. “If you don’t have a pet, you certainly know someone who has a pet.”
Messer knew the reveal would hurt for viewers.
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“It’s a loss of a family member. And for those who did watch the show in the before times [when it was on CBS], you definitely met Roxy when you first meet Luke early on,” she noted. “It was devastating for all of us to break that story. We all really felt the loss.”
She continued: “I had to warn Adam ahead of time that this is the story where we’re sending your way and it’s going to be really hard. I would say there’s probably not a dry eye when we were doing the read through for it and when we were shooting it and certainly in the screening. Everybody was very moved by that. So I would imagine our audience will feel as moved as the rest of us did.”
Criminal Minds, which premiered in 2005, follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit. The crime drama explores different fictional cases and shows how behavioral analysis helps the team locate their unknown subjects.
Over the years, the show has faced its fair share of onscreen character deaths. Season 18 shocked viewers when Josh Stewart left after playing the role of Will since 2007. At the time, Rodriguez weighed in on the surprise twist.
“It’s not somebody you want to see die,” he told Us in May 2025. “It gave [his onscreen wife] A. J. [Cook] a chance to really demonstrate the level of talent that she has. Because I think she’s a great actress and having this to play really gave her an opportunity to sink her teeth into something substantial.”
Rodriguez acknowledged that not all fans would be pleased by the decision.
“Her character — and fans of the show — are tough. This was an opportunity to let JJ’s guard down. Obviously, she has to be strong for her family, but you really get to see that vulnerable side of her,” he continued. “She’s had an opportunity to get some great stuff to do and I’m glad people are getting to see that.”
The actor also teased how Criminal Minds would continue to raise the stakes.
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“You never want to turn the page [and find out that your character was killed off]. But I will say that thanks to our boss and leader on the show, [showrunner] Erica Messer, no one would be surprised by that. You would definitely get a call long before that was going to happen,” Rodriguez told Us. “You would be given a heads up, I can say for sure. But nobody wants to get that call.”
Rodriguez praised Criminal Minds for being a positive environment, adding, “We love being there. This is such a dream job. It is just such a wonderful place to show up and go to work every day. Nobody wants it to be over and nobody wants to leave. So hopefully we get to do the show for a long time.”
He continued: “Hopefully nobody gets sacrificed for the sake of good television and we find some other people that we can build enough merit. Will ended up serving that purpose this year. But I think it just brings something else to the show that fans can enjoy and suffer through with us.”
Looking ahead at the rest of season 19, Messer teased the vision for the story.
“It is this idea of new beginnings. It’s been a year in our story world,” the screenwriter noted to Us. “So there are new challenges that they’re faced with — but there’s also a little bit of hope in that. It has the potential for better things to come.”
New episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution air Thursdays on Paramount+.
