Criminal Minds: Evolution cast: Who’s in the revival series?
By Sabrina Reed
The BAU is back! Criminal Minds: Evolution, the revival series on Paramount+, premiered Nov. 24 with two episodes, arriving just in time for Thanksgiving.
In the 10 episode first season, the elite FBI team will be tracking down a network of serial killers that formed during the pandemic and have now gone operational. This ring of murderers was organized by an UnSub who’s being dubbed the greatest threat the unit has faced to date.
Criminal Minds: Evolution will stream from Nov. 24, 2022-Feb. 9, 2023. There will be a break after episode 5 premieres Dec. 15 that’ll last until Jan. 12 when the show resumes releasing episodes on Thursdays.
As this is a revival, fans of the original series can anticipate most of their beloved characters making a return as a good portion of the Criminal Minds cast has signed on to reprise their roles. However, there are notable absences. Keep reading for the cast list and who won’t be a part of the show…yet.
Criminal Minds: Evolution cast
- Joe Mantegna as David Rossi
- A.J. Cook as Jennifer Jareau
- Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia
- Aisha Tyler as Dr. Tara Lewis
- Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez
- Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss
- Zach Gilford as Elias Voit
Gilford is credited as a recurring guest star who will have a season long arc. Elias Voit is an operational analyst who works for a global cyber-security firm. He has a dark side and an obsession with death. Given the premise of the revival series, we think its safe to say that Gilford’s role will be one that’s unsettling and central to the plot.
As you can see, there are some familiar names missing from the cast list above. It’s been confirmed that Matthew Gray Gubler and Daniel Henney won’t be reprising their roles as Dr. Spencer Reid and Matt Simmons, respectively.
While Shemar Moore hasn’t been ruled out as a possible cameo, it’s unlikely that he’ll return as Derek Morgan this season. Cheat Sheet reports that when asked about a possible return to the Criminal Minds world, the star had the following to say to Entertainment Tonight:
"“Would I go back to Criminal Minds and flirt with my Baby Girl and chase down Unsubs? Sure, alright,” he said, but there’s one problem: “Hondo kinda busy.”"
Hondo, of course, is his leading role on CBS’ S.W.A.T. which is on its sixth season.
Showrunner Erica Messer also weighed in on possible returns for the characters down the road in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:
"So their desks will still have stuff on them. They haven’t gone away. Shemar’s character went away when his son was born. He stepped away from the FBI, so his desk has been empty for a while. But Dr. Reed’s desk still has all of his books on it and all of his belongings. Almost that same time capsule that… 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. Reed and Matt Simmons (Daniel Henney), who is on another assignment as well. It’s something we can’t really discuss. 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."
So we wouldn’t count out cameos in the future but for now, we’d keep our expectations on returns low.
Next. Criminal Minds: Evolution cast on the revival series. dark
Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more Criminal Minds: Evolution news and coverage! We’ll be recapping the first season through its run on Paramount+.