The Darkly Dangerous 'Criminal Minds: Evolutions' Has Just Been Picked Up for a Second Season

Everything we know about the 'Criminal Minds' reboot, including its new name and network.

The Criminal Minds reboot is alive and well and airing exclusively on Paramount+ with its new name: Criminal Minds: Evolution—and today it was revealed that it has been picked up for a second season.

“We’re thrilled to bring even more twisted storylines to our loyal fans of Criminal Minds: Evolution with the order of another season,” Paramount Streaming chief programming officer Tanya Giles said in a statement. “The series has always been a consistent top performer for Paramount+ and fans have quickly embraced this new season with its more serialized elements. There are still many dark twists and turns yet to come for the BAU this season, and we can’t wait for fans to see what’s in store.”

The first year has 10 episodes, which will return with a new episode today and then wrap up the first season on Feb. 9, and explores what the BAU team has been up to since February of 2020, which is the last time we saw them.

"The BAU, like a lot of workplaces, has had some change," showrunner Erica Messer said at the Paramount+ TCA panel for the series. "These past few years have made the team count on one another a lot more. And that is a very good thing, because in the premiere, they're going to discover there's been a prolific killer on the loose since 2005 and he's evolved into legendary status during the pandemic. We're lucky to have Zach Gilford bring this one-of-a-kind unsub to life and have so many familiar BAU agents back on the show."

Is there a trailer for Criminal Minds: Evolution?

Paramount+ just released this darkly dangerous look at the new series with some  chilling moments from it's new serial killer network!

Here's a look at Criminal Minds: Evolution in photos

When did Criminal Minds end?

Criminal Minds ended its 15-year run Feb. 19, 2020.

Related: Criminal Minds Ends With Season 15: See the Cast Through the Years

Is Criminal Minds coming back?

Yes! After more than a year of waiting and wondering, the series is back!

When will new Criminal Minds premiere?

The 10-episode season premiered with two episodes on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, exclusively on Paramount+. Following the premiere, new episodes dropped weekly on Thursdays, until its mid-season finale on Thursday, Dec. 15. The season will return on Thursday, Jan. 12 with all-new episodes dropping weekly through the finale on Thursday, Feb. 9.

Who's in the new Criminal Minds cast?

Joe Mantegna
Kirsten Vangsness
A.J. Cook
Paget Brewster
Aisha Tyler 
Adam Rodriguez
Zach Gilford

The plan is to feature a mix of the characters who remained at the BAU at the end of season 15 along with some fresh faces. So far, and this is subject to closing their deals and availability, the six cast members who were in the season 15 finale who are negotiating their return include Joe Mantegna (David Rossi), Kirsten Vangsness (Penelope Garcia), A.J. Cook (Jennifer Jareau), Paget Brewster (Emily Prentiss), Aisha Tyler (Dr. Tara Lewis),  and Adam Rodriguez (Luke Alvez). That leaves Matthew Gray Gubler (Dr. Spencer Reid), who indicated earlier he was done with the role, and Daniel Henney (Matt Simmons), who stars in The Wheel Of Time which films in Prague, as MIA.

Zach Gilford is set to join the cast as a recurring guest star in a season-long arc. Gilford will play Elias Voit, an operations analyst for a global cyber-security firm who has a dark side and obsession with death.

Also, it will be interesting to see how the return of Vangsness will be handled, because the finale featured a going away party for the tech guru, who was changing jobs to work for a nonprofit but still in the D.C. area.

Erica Messer will also be returning, serving as showrunner, executive producer and writer, so we can count on the same great stories as before.

What will be new about the Criminal Minds reboot?

As CBS did with CSI: Vegas, Paramount+’s reboot of Criminal Minds is expected to be one long case arcing over the season instead of a crime of the week like the series. But it will still follow the profilers who work for the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), analyzing behavior and profiling to track down the criminals, aka UnSubs (Unknown Subjects), who commit federal crimes.

What will be the tone for Criminal Minds: Evolution with its move from broadcast to streaming?

"It has definitely broadened our scope," Messer said. "I'm very aware that teenage kids watch this show. And I'm more aware now because my kids who were born on this show are now high school age. And while they've not watched it, because I think there was like a reaction for them, they knew I wrote something scary, they never wanted to be a part of it, but their friends watch it. And because I'm aware of that, I never wanted us to go into full Rated R extra violence or anything that would suddenly feel like a very different series.

"But we live in the world longer, and so because of that, you get to live and breathe in this space, and it can be disturbing, a disturbing space to live in. So while I don't think you're going to be shocked at the graphics being worse or anything like that, there is some language that I feel is very appropriate even though some might consider it inappropriate. I think that the frustrations that these heroes are living in and dealing with are worthy of a couple of the words that they drop in these first few episodes. Joe's character especially. It just sounds normal. It sounds like what they would have been saying all along. So that part, I'm kind of excited about, because I feel like the dialogue feels more authentic in that sense of law enforcement."

Which characters will have the most personal news to report when the show returns?

“I feel like everybody's got a nice journey this year,” Messer said. “We start in the first two episodes really seeing Rossi in a new light. And when somebody like that, like the core of the team, is not in a good way, there's a ripple effect throughout every relationship that he has.

“We wanted to honor this journey of grief that a lot of people have been through, certainly since we've last seen them, and we put that burden onto Rossi's shoulders. And Joe beyond delivers an emotional roller coaster with Rossi. So, that's kind of how our season starts in terms of who's in the most crisis. I would argue it's Rossi. And then the side effect of that is the whole team is worried and suffering with him and for him.

“Our hope is that the team members that we ended the series with on CBS will be able to come back and play at some point. But everybody does have other projects. And the timing -- we started shooting in August, and we're going to be wrapped in December because it's a ten-episode season. So, there was like a short window to try to get all of our friends to play, and we weren't able to make that commitment.”

Will we get a mention as to what Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Matt Simmons (Daniel Henney) are up to since they are not returning?

“It's a little bit more of a mystery what Reid and Simmons are up to, but they're certainly not forgotten,” Messer said. “I believe Dr. Reid and Matt Simmons' desks are still there, still have stuff on it. Like if any of you went back after March 2020, you still have stuff on that desk that was there for two years. So, we're definitely playing that, that they are not—they are not gone-gone. Let's put it that way.

What happened in the Criminal Minds finale?

The Chameleon was finally killed when the team came up with an intricate plan to blow up their jet with him in it, similar to what John McClane did in Die Hard 2. The good news was that none of the BAU team died in the process. Rossi was injured, but he recovered.

One month later, Rossi hosted a party at his home, which we thought was going to be his retirement party, but instead, it was a going away party for Garcia, who went to work at a nonprofit—and since they were no longer co-workers, Alvez invited her out for dinner—on a date!

Related: From Famous to Philosophical! The 100 Best Quotes from Criminal Minds

Are there any spoilers for the Criminal Minds reboot?

Just in! In the all-new Criminal Minds episodes, the FBI’s elite team of criminal profilers come up against their greatest threat yet, an UnSub who has used the pandemic to build a network of other serial killers. Now, as the world opens back up, the network goes operational, and our team must hunt them down, one murder at a time.

As they do, TVLine reports that Prentiss’ role as team leader will be challenged by a new deputy director who doesn’t quite share her view on how best to run the BAU.

Also, we would hope to see a reveal of what Garcia wrote in the note she left in her office for her replacement in the series finale. At that time, Messer said, “We want that to be whatever you want it to be.” But that was before the reboot was in motion.

Where can I watch old episodes of Criminal Minds?

There are several options. Of course, Paramount+ has all 15 seasons, Netflix has seasons 1-12, and Hulu has seasons 13-15.

Where to watch the new Criminal Minds

The Criminal Minds reboot streams on Paramount+.

Next: Criminal Minds Season 15: Is Criminal Minds Ending in 2020?