‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Boss on Reid & Simmons’ Assignments: ‘It’ll Come Into Play Next Year’
Most of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is back working the season-long case against UnSub Elias Voit (Zach Gilford) and his network of serial killers in Criminal Minds: Evolution. But two profilers with the team at the end of the series’ original run on CBS (2005-2020) are noticeably absent.
Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Matt Simmons (Daniel Henney) are off on assignments that Deputy Director Bailey (Nicholas D’Agosto) said to Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) in the premiere he wasn’t “at liberty to discuss,” adding, “if and when they return is entirely up to them. Sadly, we don’t have a say.” But how much will we hear about those assignments?
“I can’t talk too much about it,” showrunner Erica Messer recently told TV Insider. “We won’t hear a ton more about what they’re up to this year, but it’ll come into play next year what they’ve been doing.”
It came down to actor availability, she explained. “We wanted them both back, and they both had other projects, and we only had we had a very short window to shoot this year,” she said. (They filmed from August through December.) “It was literally logistics; we just couldn’t get them. But we are all talking regularly, and fingers crossed we can make something work out, but we’re cheering on what Matthew and Daniel are doing when they’re not with us. And so it’s definitely bittersweet that we haven’t been able to have them for the big arc this season.”
That’s also why they’ve been vague about what the missing agents are doing. Besides those initial mentions in the Evolution premiere, we’ve only heard how the others miss them and facts Reid has shared with Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) in the past, as related to the ongoing case.
“We were still hoping there might be a window, and the reality is just other projects that they’re in first position on and all that stuff,” Messer explained. “It was great that everybody’s busy, right? So we have to just celebrate that. But we have definitely missed them.”
Furthermore, the showrunner added the season doesn’t span that long. “When you look at this season as a whole, even though it’s 10 episodes story-wise, I think we only cover about six weeks,” she shared.
Criminal Minds: Evolution, Winter Premiere, Thursday, January 12, 2023, Paramount+
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Who cares since once again they force you to pay a streaming charge. Greedy and ridiculous.!
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This cast is doing very well without them. Enjoying the season-long hunt for one serial killer. It’s Criminal Minds on steroids!
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Totally agree, the price if Spectrum being retired, never watch ever channel and no pay channels, are paying to much for our income.. Love Criminal Minds, but can not to afford to get that channel due to more money that is ridiculous!!
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I so pray Matthew Gray Gubler returns to the role of Dr. Spencer Reid on Criminal Minds.
The current cast members are so weak without him.
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Not sure why people think it is greedy to stream shows. It costs money to hire actors, production teams, create sets and rent time in the studio. That’s just facts. Are they supposed to do all of that plus bring back actors who can command decent wages for free? The cost used to be tied up in cable but most people do not pay for that anymore so now it is streaming. Streaming is simple and flexible. People can wait for the show to come out completely and watch it during the free trial & then cancel. Or they can pay for the length of time they watch everything on the platform and pause making payments when you spend more time on other streaming services. The entire reason they made the show was to bring viewers to their service. That’s what every single streaming service does. Many people just take turns on each streaming service in a rotating cycle. If you don’t want paramount then don’t watch it. Grown adults don’t need to whine about it. Evolution is really good, we hope Reid comes back.
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As a fan who has watched CM from the beginning, I did not bat an eyelash at the show being moved to streaming. This is the wave of the future and a monthly subscription is about the price of a coffee at Starbucks. I'm on a fixed income and pay by the year to save money-- it's not that expensive. There are a few things I'm not crazy about, including the fact that an LGBT+ storyline was shoehorned in for a POC character, or having Garcia fall for a potential suspect, or the serialized story format that only works a little better here than when they attempted it while the show was on CBS in season 11. I also find I miss Daniel Henney's Simmons and Shemar Moore's Morgan 1000 x more than Matthew Gray Gubler's Reid.
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