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Based in Quantico, Virginia, the Behavioral Analysis Unit (B.A.U.) is a subsection of the F.B.I. Called in by local Police departments to assist in solving crimes of a serial and/or extremely violent nature where the perpetrator is unknown (referred to by the Unit as the unknown subject or "unsub" for short), the B.A.U. uses the controversial scientific art of profiling to track and apprehend the unsub. Profiling entails coming up with basic characteristics of the unsub and the victims (referred to as the victimology), using evidence from the case and matching that information to historic precedents and psychological analyses as a means to solve the case. Because of the nature of the work conducted by the B.A.U. - the work being time consuming and psychologically demanding - its members are fiercely loyal to the Unit and to its other members. Also because of the work's overall demanding nature, not many members of the B.A.U. have been able to maintain a happy or stable family life.

AMERICAN GOTHIC centers on a prominent Boston family reeling in the wake of the chilling discovery that someone in their midst is linked to an infamous string of murders. As shocking secrets from the past and present are revealed, their mounting suspicion and paranoia that one of them is a killer threatens to tear the family apart.

Nash (Don Johnson) is a smart-alecky police inspector, who's seen fighting crime on the streets of San Francisco, California, while driving around in his screaming yellow 1970ish Plymouth Hemi Barracuda. He's the typical super-cop on the beat, who always wins in the end. Unfortunately, his personal relationships leave much to be desired. He has two ex-wives, a sixteen-year-old daughter needing a lot of supervision, and a father with Alzheimer's disease who keeps getting kicked out of retirement homes and dropping by to visit.

As any detective can tell you, investigating missing property or deaths is comparatively easy compared to elusive missing people. However in New York City, there is a special unit of the FBI that is designed to find them. Using the vast resources of their bureau, the team, lead by Agent Jack Malone, race against time in the tight 72 hour window after a disappearance while hope for a recovery is still typically possible.

Former CIA operative is lured back to his old life when the NYPD needs his help to stop a serial killer. Dr. Dylan Reinhart (Alan Cumming) is a gifted author and university professor living a quiet life teaching psychopathic behavior to packed classes of adoring students. But when top NYPD detective Lizzie Needham (Bojana Novakovic) appeals to him to help her catch a serial murderer who is using Dylan's first book as a tutorial, Dylan is compelled by the case, comes out of retirement and taps into his old skill set. Though Dylan and Lizzie initially clash, when it comes to catching killers, they realize they will make an ideal team if they both trust their instincts. Based on the James Patterson book.

Special agent Avery Ryan works to solve crimes as a CyberPsychologist for the FBI.

In the Los Angeles office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Special Agent Don Eppes and his team investigate critical and baffling crimes with a special edge. That advantage is Don's brother, Charles Eppes, a brilliant universalist mathematician who uses the science of mathematics with its complex equations to ferret out the most tricky criminals. With this team, the forces of evil learn their number is up.

Malcolm Bright, one of the best criminal psychologists around, uses his twisted genius to help the NYPD solve crimes.

Housewife and mother

On the streets of San Francisco a team of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Behavioral Analysis Unit use profiling to catch some of the most horrific serial killers and unidentifiable subjects.

Carrie Wells, a former police detective, has a rare ability to remember virtually everything she experiences including detailed visual recall. She returns to police work and uses her ability to solve crimes.

Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, formerly Atlanta police officer and CIA-trained interrogator, is given the opportunity to run her own division of elite officers of the Los Angeles Police Department. Her unusual procedure for obtaining confessions, blatant disregard for politics, and southern accent make her a marked woman. However, with all the bluster and bravado, she still maintains her title, The Closer.

An angel offers a jaded Oklahoma City police detective the chance to redeem her life.

CBS's successful CSI franchise gets transplanted to the Big Apple. Cases involving sewer rats as witnesses, a victim whose head was slammed in a pizzeria oven, and murders of commodities traders, and--of course--a Red Sox fan. CSI: NY is a bleaker, grimmer version of its Las Vegas and Miami cousins. The team is made up of a pleasantly New Yawk but indistinct cast of characters. The teams leader Detective Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise), is a former Marine from Chicago. Mac is a veteran of the NYPD who lost his wife on 9/11, and as such must work to rebuild his personal life while supervising his team. He is organized, efficient, dedicated, and very proper in his management style. His second in command for the first 6 seasons is Detective Stella Bonasera (Melina Kanakaredes), Stella is half-Greek, half-Italian, and entirely New York City. She helped Mac through the impact of his wife's death and has been by his side ever since. She is a savvy investigator, yet she often speaks before she thinks. Stella leaves New York to head a crime lab in New Orleans and is replaced by Detective Jo Danville (Sela Ward). Jo is a former FBI criminalist and an experienced psychological profiler. She and Mac quickly form a strong friendship and an even stronger working rapport. Jo is still haunted by her ousting from the FBI after blowing the whistle on improper lab procedure, so she works to regain her professional reputation. Joining them is younger CSIs Danny Messer (Carmine Giovinazzo), Aiden Burn (Vanessa Ferlito, who has since left the show), Aiden's replacement Lindsay Monroe (Anna Belknap) and medical examiner turned CSI Sheldon Hawkes (Hill Harper). Rounding out the cast is the teams legal muscle Homicide Detective Don Flack (Eddie Cahill), Medical Examiner Sid Hammerback, M.D. (Robert Joy) and lab tech Adam Ross (A. J. Buckley).

A homicide detective, a medical examiner, a newspaper reporter and a young assistant district attorney work together to solve homicide investigations.

Having lost her medical license in the aftermath of a family tragedy, Megan Hunt M.D. joined the medical examiners and proved herself a forensic genius. Yet even diplomatic Medico-legal Investigator Pete Dunlop can't prevent her arrogant attitude and total disregard for any authority or social norm to cause grave aggravation all around. Still, as long as the perpetrators suffer most, the bulldozer approach pays off on the balance.

Dr. Cal Lightman teaches a course in body language and makes an honest fortune exploiting it. He's employed by various public authorities in various investigations, doing more when the police etc. fail to go the extra mile. So he can afford to constitute a team of his own, which like clients and others has to put up with his mind-games.

This "Closer" spinoff follows cases handled by the Major Crimes division of the LA Police Department. The 7-member team is headed by Capt. Sharon Raydor, whose intellectual smarts combined with a calm, even temperament help a team of experts solve high-profile murder cases. In addition to running the show, Raydor helps guide and protect her teenage charge, a witness in a horrific crime, who finds a safe refuge among members of the major-case squad.