Criminal Minds Celebrates 300 Episodes: Behind-the-Scenes Hang Out Secrets Revealed

The stars of the CBS drama reveal their strong bonds that include some "hot tub wine machine" time.

By Chris Harnick Oct 03, 2018 8:53 PMTags
Watch: "Criminal Minds" Cast Celebrates 300th Episode Milestone

Criminal Minds is celebrating 300 episodes with the season 14 premiere, appropriately titled "300." Not many shows have made it to this milestone, and it's safe to say not many shows are like Criminal Minds—nor are many casts like the group of people playing together on this CBS drama.

"We genuinely hang out on weekends and we have giant text chains and email chains," Paget Brewster told E! News at the show's 300th episode celebration. "We genuinely enjoy each other."

Brewster and Joe Mantegna even have vacation homes near each other, Mantegna said.

"It's been years. We trust each other, we're around each other all time...All of our families know each other," Brewster said.

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"You can't make that happen," Mantegna said. "That's chemistry. That's the indefinable aspect."

In fact, the ladies of Criminal Minds—Brewster, A.J. Cook, Aisha Tyler and Kirsten Vangsness—have "hot tub wine machine time." As Tyler describes it, it's the four of them sitting in Vangsness' hot tub, drinking wine and talking. "It's one of the closest, most supportive groups I've ever worked with," Tyler revealed.

That's what happens with 300-plus episodes produced. Could there be 300 more?

"I would do 499 more," Matthew Gray Gubler told us.

"You know what's amazing? I could see this show going another 300 episodes," executive producer Erica Messer told us. Messer also wrote the script to the 300th episode. "It is a world that has endless stories because it's based on the psychology of human behavior—that's endless...As long as we have heroes who want to keep chasing the bad guys I feel like we could keep going, and going, and going."

Watch the video above for more.

Criminal Minds' 300th episode airs Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 10 p.m. on CBS.