Criminal Minds gets bland, xenophobic Beyond Borders

The success of CBS’ Criminal Minds, now in its 11th season, makes complete sense if you don’t think about it for too long. It’s a by-the-books procedural that focuses more on the behavior psychology behind criminals (a truly fascinating subject) rather than on the simpler hunt, chase, and arrest that exists in so many other crime procedurals. The series emphasizes real fears, occasionally employs longer arcs that actually feature some character development, and it’s easy to find yourself absently watching eight episodes in a row without realizing eight hours have passed. Following the natural progression of popular procedurals, Criminal Minds produced a spin-off in 2011 with Suspect Behavior, which was led by Forest Whitaker and only lasted one short season. Five years later and Criminal Minds is trying once again, this time with Beyond Borders—but the series still hasn’t quite gotten it right.
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders takes the same basic idea of the original series—a diverse group of FBI agents/criminal profilers who work together to solve horrific crimes—but goes overseas, focusing on crimes affecting Americans on international soil. Already, this introduces an inherent problem: By design, this premise means that Americans will always be the innocent victims in need of rescuing and foreigners will always be the evil villains, harming those who come to their country. There is a strange and uncomfortable xenophobic theme that runs through the two episodes screened for critics, a fault that the series doesn’t seem like it wants to correct.