In a word?

PHEW.

Following a Criminal Minds Season 11 finale that left fans on the edges of their seats, CBS has not waited long to deliver the very good news:

This beloved procedural has been picked up for Season 12.

Viewers had been nervous about the show's fate because it was not included among the network's initial round of pick-ups earlier this year.

Criminal Minds averaged 9 million total viewers over its 22-episode run, a higher figure than fellow CBS drama Hawaii Five-0, NCIS: Los Angeles and The Good Wife.

Its 1.8 rating among 18-49-year olds also ranked third on CBS, behind only The Big Bang theory and NCIS.  

The series stars Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Matthew Gray Gubler, A.J. Cook and Kirsten Vangsness.

Shemar Moore, a member of the original cast, departed the program earlier this season.

According to TV Line, CBS delayed the renewal of Criminal Minds due to a financial issue; it took longer than expected to finalize a less expensive license fee.

The future of Criminal Minds: Beyond Boarders remains unclear at the moment, however.

And other CBS shows still on the bubble include Code Black, Limitless and Supergirl, Life in Pieces and CSI: Cyber.

Scroll around below for a much broader look at shows that have been renewed or canceled for the 2016-2017 season:

2016 Renewals and Cancelations

Start Gallery

Are you glad that Criminal Minds will be coming back next season?

Which bubble show on CBS do you hope joins it?

And is there a single person on the planet watching Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders?

Come on, networks! Give us something original.

If you need to catch up on the show and its AMAZING finale, you can watch Criminal Minds online right here via TV Fanatic.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.