Felicity Huffman Returns to TV in Her First Major Series Since College Scandal

Felicity Huffman

Emmy-winning actress Felicity Huffman will join Criminal Minds: Evolution as a guest star for the series’ second season on Paramount+.

The role will mark her first major network series hiring since the reveal of her part in a college admissions scandal in 2019. It was reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

The Desperate Housewives alum will play “Dr. Jill Gideon, a brilliant biological psychiatrist, who agrees to help the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit investigate a murderous conspiracy theory. Jill is reluctant to return to the bureau’s elite team given her complicated history with David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) and her dead ex-husband, Jason Gideon (previously played by original series star Mandy Patinkin), but soon realizes her specific skill set could help them uncover another clue to the elusive Gold Star mystery.”

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Criminal Minds: Evolution began filming Season 2 in mid-January; a premiere date has not yet been set.

Returning for Season 2 will be Mantegna, Paget Brewster (Prentiss), A.J. Cook (JJ), Kirsten Vangsness (Garcia), Aisha Tyler (Tara) and Adam Rodriguez (Luke), and last season’s Big Bad Zach Gilford as serial killer Elias Voit.

Related: Criminal Minds: Evolution Says Goodbye to a Cast Member

Missing from the cast will be recurring player Josh Stewart, who shared on X in January that “sadly, my days of playing Will LaMontagne Jr. [JJ’s husband] are over.”

Huffman went to prison for paying college fixer Rick Singer $15,000 to falsify her daughter’s SAT score and in 2019 was incarcerated for 14 days, paid a $30,000 fine and 250 hours of community service.

She previously told NBC News she is left with “undying shame” about the incident.

Criminal Minds: Evolution, the spinoff of Criminal Minds (2005-20200 premiered on Paramount+ in 2022.

Next, There's a New Big Bad When Criminal Minds: Evolution Returns for Season 2