The Gimmick

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.

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.

The everyday trials and tribulations of Detroit's homicide unit.

Mary Shannon is a U.S. Marshal in the witness protection program who spends her time relocating federal witnesses.. Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Mary works with her partner, Marshall Mann, to place criminals and innocent witnesses into new lives. When not putting her life on the line to protect federal witnesses, Mary attempts to manage her dysfunctional family, including overly dependent mother, Jinx, and younger sister, Brandi, both of whom live with her. Between work and family, Mary has little time for boyfriend Raphael Ramirez who plays minor league baseball.

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.

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.

Lilly Rush is a Philadelphia police detective working for the department's homicide squad and being assigned "cold cases": crimes that were committed many years before and have not been solved. Lilly must try to re-think the crime scenes and interview other people involved with the victims to find a link to solving the cases.

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

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.

Brilliant, but socially inept, forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperence Brennan works at the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington DC. After consulting for him on a FBI case, she is approached by cocky yet charming Former Army Ranger turned Special Agent, Seeley Booth to help the Bureau solve crimes by identifying human remains that are too far gone for standard FBI forensic investigations. Brennan's empirical, literal view of the world causes friction with Booths emotive, instinctive attitude creating a volatile relationship. However as their case load increases the symbiotic partnership produces results and with the support of Brennan's Squint Squad, murderers, past and present should be on the look out.

Richard "Rick" Castle is a millionaire playboy who recently killed off his main character when a serial killer starts killing people like he does in his books. He teams up with New York police detective Kate Beckett to solve the case. He finds inspiration in Detective Beckett and starts shadowing her for his next book.

Dr. Daniel Pierce is an eccentric neuropsychiatrist who uses his unique outlook to help the federal government solve complex criminal cases.

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.

Detective Jane Rizzoli and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles team up to solve crimes in Boston.

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.

After the unsolved murder of his wife, Trudy, Adrian Monk develops obsessive-compulsive disorder, which includes his terror of germs and contamination. His condition costs him his job as a prominent homicide detective in the San Francisco Police Department, but he continues to solve crimes with the help of his assistant and his former boss.

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.