‘Criminal Minds’ renewed for season 9 thanks to Kirsten Vangsness, A.J. Cook deals

“Criminal Minds” fans, there is no longer a reason to worry about a criminal sort of cancellation: CBS has finally done the right thing, and given everyone the money they deserve so that the series can go on without frequent bouts of fan-panic.

In news first reported by Deadline, all of the show’s major cast members that needed to sign new deals to stay on the show have, and thus, a ninth season for the crime drama is official. The final two holdouts were reportedly Kirsten Vangsness and A.J. Cook, who wanted significant raises so that their salaries were closer to their male co-stars. While they did not get 100% of what they were hoping for, they were at least successful in getting a larger piece of what we are pretty sure is a pretty big money pie.

There is even better news to go along with this in that we probably aren’t going to go through as elaborate or dramatic of an ordeal when CBS wants to renew the show for a tenth season. (Yes, we said “when”: We don’t believe in jinxes.) All of the show’s stars up this time signed two-year deals, which puts almost everyone under contract through May 2015. While there will still need to be some negotiating next year, it should not be nearly as insane. (Thank our lucky stars for that.)

In case you have been living under a rock today (or have spent your time actually watching TV rather than reading about it), some good news: The CW has also picked up some shows for additional seasons today, and NBC has went all Dexter Morgan on some shows that really needed to end up on his table.

Photo: CBS