The procedural series Criminal Minds: Evolution resurrected the original show after a short stint off the air, and now it is set to return for season 3. Continuing the success of Criminal Minds which ran from 2005 until 2020, Evolution follows the familiar FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit team as they try to crack the touch case of the Gold Star killer. Unlike the original series, which was a pure procedural and featured an episodic format, Evolution shifted toward a serialized narrative involving one long ongoing storyline that has carried over between its two seasons thus far.
Welcomed back by fans with open arms, Criminal Minds: Evolution was an unsurprising hit and was swiftly green-lit for a second season on Paramount+. In Evolution‘s second season, the team continues to hunt for the elusive Gold Star, while being forced to get help from another notorious criminal who has vexed them for years. The serialized nature of the newest seasons has been a refreshing change of pace, and helps set Criminal Minds: Evolution apart from the plethora of other procedurals in TV history. All this sets the stage for an explosive season 3, and Paramount+ has already renewed.
Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3 Latest News
Paget Brewster Offers An Update On Season 4
With principal photography wrapped in December 2024, the latest news arrives in the form of a status update for Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3 from star Paget Brewster. While spreading the word about her Audible Original Podcast, The Signal, Brewster took some time to discuss the status of Evolution season 3, and even expressed her hopes for a fourth season too. “I know the episodes are done, and they’re ready to air, but I don’t know when they’re going to air them,” said Brewster, before adding “our fingers are crossed that we get Paramount+ Season 4 for Evolution.“
Read Brewster’s comments here:
It is a long-running show. We completed 10 more episodes in December that haven’t aired yet, but we don’t know when they’re going to air, and we are hoping to get a pick-up for Season 19. We’re hoping, fingers crossed, that they’ll pick us up again. There are two seasons of Criminal Minds: Evolution on Paramount+. The third season is ready to air. I just did additional dialogue in our studio here with the broken arm. I hobbled on down into the garage to do the ADR, so I know the episodes are done, and they’re ready to air, but I don’t know when they’re going to air them.
To answer your question, we know how lucky we are, and we’re so thankful that we get to shoot the show again now and that we get to shoot it in Los Angeles and give people jobs when so many jobs have left town. So, our fingers are crossed that we get Paramount+ Season 4 for Evolution. And I’m so glad you like the show! I’m so glad.
Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3 Is Confirmed
Paramount+ Swiftly Renewed The Series
With the news breaking a day before the second season was set to begin airing, Paramount+ has renewed Criminal Minds: Evolution for a third season. The decision is anything but surprising, and the recognizable procedural has continued to be popular despite the passage of time and the original show’s cancelation in 2020. No details about the new season are known yet, but it wrapped filming in December 2024.
Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 concluded on August 1, 2024.
The decision to rush the show back into production was a prudent one, and Evolution was one of many shows that were delayed due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes. Fortunately, the success of the franchise all but guarantees that the second season would be a hit, even if fans had to wait longer for new episodes. With filming starting back up promptly in fall 2024, it signals that Paramount+ wants the show on a yearly schedule.
Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3 Cast
Which BAU Team Members Will Return?
As the ending of Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 proved, the new serialized version of the procedural is not afraid to put main characters in danger. With that in mind, the cast of season 3 is anything but certain, and Elias Voit (Zach Gilford) was left hanging by a thread after his prison attack. However, its certain that the BAU team will be on hand to reprise their roles including Joe Mantegna as the stalwart leader, David Rossi. Furthermore, veterans like Paget Brewster and Kirsten Vangsness should also be expected back as Prentiss and Garcia, respectively.
Matthew Gray Gubler (Dr. Spencer Reid) revealed he has shot new scenes for Criminal Minds, and he’ll appear in a single episode in season 3.
The cast of season 3 has already begun to grow with the addition of Aimee Garcia (Lucifer) as Dr. Julia Ochoa in a multi-episode arc. The character is a brilliant neuropsychiatrist who is expected to clash with Alvez over her unorthodox methods. Matthew Gray Gubler (Dr. Spencer Reid) revealed he has shot new scenes for Criminal Minds, and he’ll appear in a single episode in season 3.
The prospective cast of Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3 includes:
Actor | Criminal Minds Role | |
|---|---|---|
Joe Mantegna | David Rossi | 
|
Paget Brewster | Emily Prentiss | 
|
Kirsten Vangsness | Penelope Garcia | 
|
AJ Cook | Jennifer “JJ” Jareau | 
|
Aisha Tyler | Dr. Tara Lewis | 
|
Ryan-James Hatanaka | Tyler Green | 
|
Adam Rodriguez | Luke Alvarez | 
|
Zach Gilford | Elias Voit | 
|
Aimee Garcia | Dr. Julia Ochoa | 
|
Matthew Gray Gubler | Dr. Spencer Reid | 
|
Will Reid & Morgan Return In Season 3?
The Original Series Stars Were Not In Seasons 1 & 2
Perhaps the most discussed aspect of Criminal Minds: Evolution has been the absence of original series actors Matthew Gray Gubler as Dr. Spencer Reid and Shemar Moore as Derek Morgan. Gubler starred in all 15 seasons of the original series, while Moore departed in season 11. Both have been sorely missed in the rebooted series thus far, but their returns have potentially left open. Gubler’s Reid is still employed by the FBI in the show’s universe, and he is simply away on another assignment.
Related
Why Shemar Moore Left Criminal Minds During Season 11
Derek Morgan was on the Criminal Minds team from season 1 until season 11. Here’s why Shemar Moore left Criminal Minds, and if he’ll return.
Morgan’s return is a bit less open, and when he departed the series, his character also departed the FBI entirely. However, with Moore’s other series, S.W.A.T. potentially ending soon, he could return somehow. Likewise, Gubler mentioned in December 2024 that he had shot a new episode of Criminal Minds, and will now appear in a single installment of season 3.
Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3 Story Details
Did Voit Survive The Attack?
Season 2 of Evolution wrapped up the Gold Star storyline but left plenty of cliffhangers for season 3 to resolve. First and foremost, Elias Voit’s identity was leaked, which led to a dangerous attack in prison. Voit’s fate is left up in the air, though actor Zach Gilford is confirmed to return in season 3. Even if Gold Star has been solved, there is clearly a bigger conspiracy afoot which could pull the team into another mind-bending journey in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 3 and beyond.
Criminal Minds: Evolution
- Release Date
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November 24, 2022
- Showrunner
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Erica Messer
- Writers
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Erica Messer
