'Minds' exec: 'Spinoff is different'

Criminal Minds producer Ed Bernero has insisted that new spinoff Suspect Behaviour is different to its predecessor.

Bernero, who serves as showrunner on both series, told the Futon Critic that the two shows are "almost polar opposites".

"What I realised pretty quickly... is that the biggest core difference is the family at the centre of [the spinoff] and they're so different," he insisted. "I don't even worry anymore about it being the same as the [original show]."

He added that the central characters in Suspect Behaviour are "a little bit more damaged" than their Criminal Minds counterparts.

He said: "You learn a little bit more about everything and how Cooper (Forest Whitaker) is not just helping bad guys come back from the dark, but, in some ways, [is helping] the team as well. They are all projects that he's working on."

Janeane Garofalo, Beau Garrett and Richard Schiff will also star in the spinoff, while Kirsten Vangsness will appear in both shows as technical analyst Penelope Garcia.

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour begins tonight at 10/9c on CBS.