Criminal Minds: Evolution age rating: Why is the show TV-MA?

Criminal Minds: Evolution premiered Thursday, Nov. 24 on Paramount+. The revival, which serves as a sixteenth season for the popular procedural drama, sees the team coming together after the pandemic.

The case at the center of the series is the biggest threat the BAU has ever faced. It involves a network of serial killers that formed when the public was sheltering in place for the safety of their communities. The move to help stop the spread of COVID, along with precautions taken to limit gatherings, also interrupted the kill patterns of murderous individuals.

Now that the country has re-opened and citizens are settling into previous routines and habits, the network has gone operational. As a result, a string of murders that at first seemed unconnected is revealed to the BAU as they realize the kind of horror they’re dealing with. We’re talking a seasoned serial killer helping predators like himself to become more efficient and skillful in their hunting and murders. The stakes are incredibly high, but the team has this even if they’re doing it with less resources and interference that could spell the end of the unit.

For its 15 season run on TV, Criminal Minds was rated TV-14, however, the revival has been bumped up to TV-MA. Why is that? Here’s what we know!

Criminal Minds: Evolution age rating explained

The move from television to streaming has freed Criminal Minds: Evolution from having to adhere to broadcasting rules that curb what kind of content the networks can air even in the primetime slot. This means, outside of premium channels like HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc., the highest rating a show or single episode is allowed to have is TV-14.

Streaming doesn’t have that issue. As such, the revival can be as brutal as the other procedural and crime dramas that have found a home online. Viewers should expect more graphic depictions of violence and crime scenes. There’s also more coarse language.

In the first two episodes alone there’s a lot of blood shown, a locker full of preserved corpses that had been experimented on using differing methods, and non-consensual surgical procedures. Considering the premise of season 16, and the show being rated for mature audiences, the revival will only be getting darker from here.

Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more Criminal Minds: Evolution news and coverage! We’ll be recapping the season through its run on Paramount+. Read the recap for episode 1, here.