'Criminal Minds' is returning, for real this time, with most of the cast to Paramount+
After being reportedly dead in the water, the reboot of 'Criminal Minds' is back on.
TV News: Criminal Minds: Evolution is returning — for real this time and with most of the cast — to Paramount+
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Zach Gilford joins 'Criminal Minds' cast in new revival series
'Criminal Minds' is back! Zach Gilford has joined the cast as the mysterious Elias Volt in Paramount+'s upcoming revival of the beloved crime drama.
Is Paget Brewster returning?
Brewster has some nice titties.
Paramount+ sets 'Criminal Minds' premiere date for new revival
'Criminal Minds: Evolution' will premiere on Paramount+ with two new episodes on Thanksgiving Day.
Happy feasting, Criminal Minds fans: Paramount+ sets Thanksgiving premiere date for new revival
Criminal Minds: Evolution will debut with two new episodes Nov. 24.
By Jessica WangSeptember 21, 2022 at 12:40 PM EDT
BAU hive, prepare to feast: At long last, Paramount+ has set a premiere date for its upcoming Criminal Minds revival.
Criminal Minds: Evolution will premiere with two episodes on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, showrunner, executive producer, and writer Erica Messer revealed during Paramount+'s virtual Television Critics Association presentation on Wednesday. Following the debut, new episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays until the midseason finale on Dec. 15. The 10-episode season will then return Jan. 12 with new episodes weekly until the big finale Feb. 9.
Set during the COVID-19 pandemic, the revival brings back original and beloved criminal profilers David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler), Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), JJ Jareau ( A.J. Cook), and Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez) as they come up against their greatest threat yet: an unsub who has used the virus to build a network of serial killers.
Aisha Tyler, A.J. Cook, Adam Rodriguez, Kirsten Vangsness, Paget Brewster, and Joe Mantegna in the new 'Criminal Minds' revival
| CREDIT: MICHAEL YARISH /PARAMOUNT+
As the world opens back up and the network goes operational, it's up to the BAU to hunt them down.
"Everybody's in a very different place," Messer teased of Evolution in EW's Fall Preview. "We've got Prentiss, who has now been promoted outside of the BAU unit chief. Rossi has taken her place as unit chief, but he's going through a big thing, so he's kind of in all five stages of grief when we meet him in the first two episodes. Alvez has been trying to help out raw scenes, sort of stay local for a while and handle those cases, while JJ and Lewis have answered every single consultant call that they've gotten in the last year, which means plenty of nights away from home."
"The word from above, the bureaucrats, is, 'Do more with less,'" she continued. "I think we can all relate to that as well. Our teams have been downsized and everybody's still got the same amount of work to do."
Joe Mantegna in the 'Criminal Minds' revival
| CREDIT: MONTY BRINTON /PARAMOUNT+
And while notable faves — including Matthew Gray Gubler's Spencer Reid, Shemar Moore's Derek Morgan, and Mandy Patinkin's Jason Gideon — will be absent from the series, Messer promised that "they haven't gone away."
"Their desks will still have stuff on them," the showrunner said. "I don't know if any of you have gone back to the office, but it's a weird experience because whatever was important to you in March 2020 is still sitting on that desk and must not have been that important because it's still sitting on that desk, so we want that connection still with Dr. Reid... but if and when they return, it's up to them. It's dependent on their schedules. I can't promise anything right now. But it's the hope."
Criminal Minds: Evolution premieres Nov. 24 on Paramount+.
Paramount+ sets 'Criminal Minds' premiere date for new revival
'Criminal Minds: Evolution' will premiere on Paramount+ with two new episodes on Thanksgiving Day.
Happy feasting, Criminal Minds fans: Paramount+ sets Thanksgiving premiere date for new revival
Criminal Minds: Evolution will debut with two new episodes Nov. 24.
By Jessica WangSeptember 21, 2022 at 12:40 PM EDT
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BAU hive, prepare to feast: At long last, Paramount+ has set a premiere date for its upcoming Criminal Minds revival.
Criminal Minds: Evolution will premiere with two episodes on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, showrunner, executive producer, and writer Erica Messer revealed during Paramount+'s virtual Television Critics Association presentation on Wednesday. Following the debut, new episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays until the midseason finale on Dec. 15. The 10-episode season will then return Jan. 12 with new episodes weekly until the big finale Feb. 9.
Set during the COVID-19 pandemic, the revival brings back original and beloved criminal profilers David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler), Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), JJ Jareau ( A.J. Cook), and Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez) as they come up against their greatest threat yet: an unsub who has used the virus to build a network of serial killers.
Aisha Tyler, A.J. Cook, Adam Rodriguez, Kirsten Vangsness, Paget Brewster, and Joe Mantegna in the new 'Criminal Minds' revival
| CREDIT: MICHAEL YARISH /PARAMOUNT+
As the world opens back up and the network goes operational, it's up to the BAU to hunt them down.
"Everybody's in a very different place," Messer teased of Evolution in EW's Fall Preview. "We've got Prentiss, who has now been promoted outside of the BAU unit chief. Rossi has taken her place as unit chief, but he's going through a big thing, so he's kind of in all five stages of grief when we meet him in the first two episodes. Alvez has been trying to help out raw scenes, sort of stay local for a while and handle those cases, while JJ and Lewis have answered every single consultant call that they've gotten in the last year, which means plenty of nights away from home."
"The word from above, the bureaucrats, is, 'Do more with less,'" she continued. "I think we can all relate to that as well. Our teams have been downsized and everybody's still got the same amount of work to do."
Joe Mantegna in the 'Criminal Minds' revival
| CREDIT: MONTY BRINTON /PARAMOUNT+
And while notable faves — including Matthew Gray Gubler's Spencer Reid, Shemar Moore's Derek Morgan, and Mandy Patinkin's Jason Gideon — will be absent from the series, Messer promised that "they haven't gone away."
"Their desks will still have stuff on them," the showrunner said. "I don't know if any of you have gone back to the office, but it's a weird experience because whatever was important to you in March 2020 is still sitting on that desk and must not have been that important because it's still sitting on that desk, so we want that connection still with Dr. Reid... but if and when they return, it's up to them. It's dependent on their schedules. I can't promise anything right now. But it's the hope."
Criminal Minds: Evolution premieres Nov. 24 on Paramount+.
A dormant serial killer network becomes active again in 'Criminal Minds: Evolution' sneak peek
A dormant network of serial killers goes operational once again in EW's exclusive first look at episode 1 of 'Criminal Minds: Evolution.'
A dormant serial killer network becomes active again in Criminal Minds: Evolution sneak peek
EW's exclusive first look at episode 1 reveals the gory origins of the network.
By Jessica WangNovember 22, 2022 at 09:00 AM EST
A dormant network of serial killers becomes active once again in EW's exclusive sneak peek at the forthcoming Criminal Minds revival.
Set in a COVID-19 world, Criminal Minds: Evolution reunites original stars Joe Mantegna, Paget Brewster, Aisha Tyler, Kirsten Vangsness, A.J. Cook, and Adam Rodriguez as they go up against their biggest threat yet: an unsub who used the pandemic to build said network of killers. As the world opens back up, the network goes operational — and it's up to the team to hunt them down.
EW's first look reveals the origins of the network traces back decades before the pandemic. In Washington State circa 2005, an unsub kidnaps a young teen and murders him inside of a storage container. A time jump takes viewers to Maryland. It's now 2022, and another unsub breaks into a home, kills the parents, and targets their daughter.
"We start asking and looking at things a little bit differently than we would in a normal Criminal Minds," showrunner Erica Messer previously told EW of the series' new big bad. "What's great about telling this over 10 episodes is what the audience is used to, which is like, 'Well, why are they the way they are?' We're going to be showing you that over stretches of episodes."
"Why they do what they do is always going to be the heart of Criminal Minds, but you are going to be trying to understand — because you get to know him better — this guy's ability to compartmentalize his life," she teased. "Does he have anything normal in his world? One of his little rules is: No body, no crime. So why is he doing that?"
Along with the sneak peek, EW has a first look at new key art.
'Criminal Minds: Evolution' key art
| CREDIT: COURTESY PARAMOUNT+
The first two episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution debut Nov. 24 on Paramount+. New episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays.
The 'Criminal Minds' revival's new big bad says Penelope will meet her match this season
'Criminal Minds: Evolution' star Zach Gilford breaks down his revival villain and teases episode 3.
The 'Criminal Minds' revival's new big bad says Penelope will meet her match this season
'Criminal Minds: Evolution' star Zach Gilford breaks down his revival villain and teases episode 3.
'Criminal Minds: Evolution' is grotesque and upsetting — fans will love it
'Criminal Minds' revival 'Criminal Minds: Evolution' premieres Thanksgiving Day on Paramount+. Read our review.
'Criminal Minds' showrunner previews season 2, from a Penelope love triangle to Gold Star
'Criminal Minds: Evolution' showrunner Erica Messer discusses the finale and teases season 2 — from a Penelope/Luke/Tyler love triangle to Elias' big return to Will's health scare.
Penelope love triangle! Gold Star! Hannibal Lecter! Criminal Minds: Evolution boss previews season 2
Showrunner and executive producer Erica Messer speaks to EW about that explosive finale and plans for season 2.
By Jessica WangFebruary 09, 2023 at 02:10 PM EST
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WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the Criminal Minds: Evolution season 1 finale.
Good news: Rossi is alive, Elias Voit has been apprehended, and the BAU has not been disbanded. But also… bad news: Penelope and Tyler (and possibly Rebecca and Tara) are no more, Bailey is dead, and we still have no idea what Gold Star is.
The BAU might have at long last identified Voit (series newcomer Zach Gilford) as the mastermind behind this season's network of COVID pandemic serial killers in Thursday's finale of Criminal Minds: Evolution, but several questions remain unanswered.
Below, showrunner and executive producer Erica Messer discusses that explosive finale and teases season 2. Spoiler alert: this isn't the last we've seen of Voit — or Tyler. Yes, Penelope and Luke fans: a possible love triangle is on the horizon.
Joe Mantegna as Rossi on 'Criminal Minds: Evolution'
| CREDIT: MICHAEL YARISH/PARAMOUNT+
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Rossi had a close call in the penultimate episode. We're in the age of TV where showrunners have no problem killing off major characters. Was his demise ever seriously considered in the writers room?
ERICA MESSER: In that way that you just said it, like, "You know what'd be insane, if we actually did that?" We said it because we had to say it. But we love Joe [Mantegna] way too much to ever do that. But if Joe had said to us, "Look, I want to come back and I just want to do a year and I want to leave," I'm sure he would've been all good with going out like that. But yeah, we only mentioned it, we didn't actually consider it.
We have a hard time ever killing any of our heroes. I mean, with Gideon [played by Mandy Patinkin], it was season 10 that we did that and people were upset. It was like, he's long gone, he's never coming back, and they were still very upset about it. So it's not a path we like to take very often because these are our friends at this point. This team is really like family, so we don't want to do anything unnecessarily to hurt them.
Elias Voit has at last been found out, but there are still a lot of lingering questions. What can you tease about Gold Star?
So Gold Star obviously has a power behind it because it was something that got Bailey's attention and then ultimately got Bailey killed. And Voit is going to use it to negotiate his way to a lesser sentence. The plan is to have Voit back next season almost as our Hannibal Lecter. And when things come up regarding Gold Star is when we have to go get his help. We don't want to because we did just fine without that guy, but he holds answers to something unique and we have to talk to him every once in a while. So he is involved in a way that we weren't expecting when we first created Voit.
When Zach became Voit, we absolutely fell in love with his portrayal of this guy — this complicated creature. By the time the season ended we were like, "Can we keep playing with him? Is there a world where he's in the next season? What does that look like?" So we have plans to do that. That's a testament to who Zach is and what he brought to this role, because this could have had a really neat ending [where] he's caught and we're moving on to something else, but instead we're moving on with him involved.
Zach Gilford as Elias Voit on 'Criminal Minds: Evolution'
| CREDIT: BILL INOSHITA/PARAMOUNT+
It's clear Rebecca [played by Nicole Pacent] knows a great deal about what Gold Star is. What can you tease about how that will impact her relationship with Tara moving forward?
We love Tara and Rebecca and we are rooting for them even in the writers room. It's a little twist that Tara knew some stuff that ultimately hurt Rebecca and their trust got broken, and now Rebecca knows something that we want to know. And Rebecca, when she says, "I didn't want any of this!" I totally believe her. "I was fine just going along living my life over here and now I know something that got somebody killed and I don't want to know any of this." So we really want Nicole to be able to come back next year and keep on this path with us of not only being the voice and representing the AG's office, but exploring that relationship between Rebecca and Tara and how complicated and messy things have gotten. Is there a way out of that? Is there a way forward for them? We want to believe there is. We would love nothing more than for that to work out, but it won't be easy.
Speaking of relationships, Penelope and Tyler [Ryan-James Hatanaka] develop an unexpected but delightful one, but they don't get their happy ending. Is this the last we'll see of Tyler?
You will get to see more of Tyler at some point in the season. I can't say too much about it right now, but it was one of those things that we really consulted with Kirsten [Vangsness] about because it was a big betrayal to Garcia. And Garcia's done so much work on herself since 2020, that we said to Kirsten, "Look, we love RJ. We want to keep Tyler Green around. But it feels a little not like Garcia anymore, to go visit him in the hospital and be like, "It's okay, we're fine. Let's keep dating." That didn't feel true to who she is now.
And so Kirsten was happy that we didn't go that route and was a huge collaborator on what that scene would sound like. But we all hoped it wasn't goodbye forever, it was goodbye for now. That's what we're counting on for next season: that it was just a goodbye for now and he'll be back. And then that will bring a complication to — we didn't really get to play [with it] a lot — the triangle because Alvez, [who] didn't even find out about [the relationship]. He might have suspected, he suspected for sure in episode eight, but in episode nine when he and Garcia had that scene and he knows for sure, it's like, "No way!"
So now if Tyler Green's around a lot more, we'll get to play more of the triangle on the screen.
Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope and Ryan-James Hatanaka as Tyler on 'Criminal Minds: Evolution'
| CREDIT: MICHAEL YARISH/PARAMOUNT+
Yes, the fanbase is devoted to Penelope and Luke, but we get that flashback date scene where they determine they're better as friends. Tell me more about the decision to introduce that Penelope and Tyler dynamic.
I think everybody wondered what happened on that date that was promised in the CBS finale; and we didn't give you that date until episode nine. But, there's something so incredible about their dynamic. It's not who Garcia was with Morgan [Shemar Moore], it's its own thing. And it's such an important ingredient to the show. They bring levity and just a breath of fresh air when they're together. So we didn't want to lose that by messing it up with a relationship. But, we've always loved when Garcia's in a relationship. It's been a long time. And we felt like, let's make it with the person who's least likely to be in a relationship with Penelope Garcia. And the whole introduction of Tyler was, oh, these two are never going to get together. They can't even be in a room together, let alone anything romantic happening. So to earn that and to see those tiny little things that changed how they thought about one another, it was rewarding for us. I think Kirsten and RJ both really loved that they had this arc that started as enemies. It's sort of like they even skipped the friend part and went to lovers, which was fast in some ways, but also believable.
There are some theories that the introduction of Will's health scare could possibly pave the way for a Spencer Reid [Matthew Gray Gubler] return. I'm sure you're tired of this question, but what can you tease about any cast returns?
I wish that there was some promise that I could make to everybody, but it's not my promise to keep. Everybody has other projects and other things they're doing, and because we are only doing 10 episodes again, it's such a short window that we shoot, if they're off doing something else....
But in terms of Will, we really wanted to play this in real time . . . we've talked about it in the writers room, and it's playing the health scare. At a certain age these things can just — well, they can happen at any age, but — you're going along with your life, you're thinking, "I'm in my 40s, everything's fine," [but then your] blood work comes back funky, that's not good. . . we wanted to present that as, "These things can happen." Thankfully right now, Will's going to be okay. He's got to go to the doctor every six months, but for now, he's okay, but it doesn't mean you're forever okay. It's that introduction to, "I'm not invincible and I feel invincible."
Aisha Tyler as Dr. Tara Lewis, A.J. Cook as Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau, Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia, Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez, Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss and Joe Mantegna as David Rossi
| CREDIT: MICHAEL YARISH/PARAMOUNT +
Where are we with season 2 right now?
We're just early days in the writers room. And then hopefully we'll be shooting in the spring, but we don't have an exact date yet.
What are you most excited to explore in the new season?
We're just loving the serialized storytelling, because it's something we really got to do for the first time last year. To know that we can play with all of our same heroes really makes us excited.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity. The first season of Criminal Minds: Evolution is now streaming on Paramount+.
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