‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Boss on Reid & Simmons Updates, Plus Who’s Returning for Season 17
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 16 finale, “Dead End.”]
Criminal Minds: Evolution might have ended its 16th season with the FBI suffering a loss — Deputy Director Bailey (Nicholas D’Agosto), we were just starting to like you! — but every member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) — David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), Jennifer “J.J.” Jareau (A.J. Cook), Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), Dr. Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler), and Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez) — survived. And the good news is they’ll all be back for Season 17 (picked up in January).
“The main cast members are all coming back,” showrunner Erica Messer confirms to TV Insider. “And then deals are still being made for some of the other faces you saw this year.”
But what about the two profilers with the BAU at the end of the original run (2005-2020 on CBS) we didn’t see but only heard tidbits about in Season 16, Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Matt Simmons (Daniel Henney)?
“I really can’t say anything because we don’t exactly know when we’re shooting this. And the problem with a 10-episode season is you have such a short window to shoot it, and Daniel and Matthew are doing their other projects, and so I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to get them back,” Messer shares. “I would love to say we could have them back, but I can’t promise that.”
Michael Yarish /Paramount+
In the Season 16 premiere, Bailey told Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) he wasn’t “at liberty to discuss” Reid and Simmons’ assignments, adding, “if and when they return is entirely up to them. Sadly, we don’t have a say.” We barely heard about either character after that.
“I also feel like until I know that, I don’t really wanna bring up their secret missions because I just don’t want to promise something that we can’t deliver,” Messer admits.
The showrunner had said earlier this season that those assignments could come into play next year, so might they be tied to Gold Star, the mystery introduced in the finale? “That would be a dream if we could do that,” she says.
We don’t know much about Gold Star other than just the utterance of those words got UnSub Elias Voit/Sicarius (Zach Gilford) first a face-to-face with Bailey (which ended with him killing the deputy director) and then, once he was in FBI custody, the BAU floor cleared out so someone could join him in an interrogation room. We’ll have to wait until the beginning of Season 17 to find out who that person is, why Voit knows about Gold Star, what it is, and pretty much everything else related to those two words.
So while Reid and Simmons returning to work with the BAU on whatever Gold Star and the mix of a recurring UnSub and standalone cases might be up in the air, what about anyone else from the original run coming back? “I’ll never say never, but there’s nothing in the works right now for that,” according to Messer.
For now, let’s just be glad the BAU survived (Round 1 of?) Voit.
Criminal Minds: Evolution, Season 17, TBA, Paramount+
Conversation31 Comments
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G
Bring back Morgan!!! And Reid!!!
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G
How you going to bring back Morgan and he is on S .W.A.T
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C
I don't care what the show runner says. For all things Criminal Minds.... PLEASE CBS GODS... LET IT BE HOTCH BEHIND THAT DOOR.
I don't care what writer he hit, Give the guy a padded suit and tell him to toughen up! 🤣
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R
right i was thinking the same thing or im like gold star golden child reid please.... give us something someone
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O
wasn’t the actor for hotch fired because he was constantly violent on set and literally had a physical altercation with one of the writers over “creative differences” personally i don’t like seeing bad people play roles, sooo i hope it’s not hotch because he lost his job for a reason.
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R
I absolutely hate hate hate these shortened seasons! You get three months of new episodes (which coincidentally is same length of time summer reruns were aired) then at least nine months of nothing. I dropped watching several shows because of this. I don't understand the rationale of this new programming.
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C
Been watching since season 1. And this was the shortest season ever!! Some seasons are 22 episodes.
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C
I think it’s Reid… he would be the only intellectual that lee/voit would even consider talking with.
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C
Bring back Hotch please!
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O
i’d be so disappointed if they bring him back after he was fired for his violence…
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Ya it would be a good intro for it to be Reid
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I would love love the original bau back Reid Morgan and yes Hotch that series is awesome JJ Emily Rossi and Penelope the best series ever
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O
I'm 80 years old and this is the 2nd time I have watched the entire series of Criminal Minds,and I can honestly say the writing of this show is amazing,this is the only show I have ever seen where it starts out scaring the hell out of me and ends up where I am in tears for for the bad guy,now don't get me wrong because there is no excuse for their murderous ways but it breaks my heart how another person miss treats another and they just follow what they saw.
But mostly I love most of the Quotes at the beginning and end of each episode,I have Written down alot of these Quotes and they have helped me to cope better even at 80
Thank you for such incredible writing and acting
Sincerely Mike Virchinsky
Chicago
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098 I have been watching all the reruns for months
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I like voit I'm cheering for him don't know why.
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He is strangely likable 😂
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C
swat series has ended
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C
Since swat has ended for good please bring back Morgan
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How are you gonna get rid of Emily? she’s an og and honestly a lot of the show centers around her it just wouldn’t be the same plus she’s an amazing actress
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He's an amazing villain, well written and masterfullly acted.
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I've read otherwise.
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I like the idea of Will getting more space and development. Always liked hin and JJ
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B
I've read quite a few of these articles and I've never read anything about him getting into a physical altercation only a verbal one
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P
I agree with the both of you he's such an awesome actor did anyone know that Voits wife in the series is actually His wife in real life
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It could happen its not uncommon for actors to work 2 projects or maybe he leaving SWAT
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G
Its Will, they been showing him so much all way through, first I thought to kill him off, but now makes sense. Plus comments about him and JJ working together
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G
Agree, to drag it 10 episodes is a bit much. Shows lack of storylines
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098 O let’s not forget Kevin
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C
That was a big let down for a season finale. I'm sick of this Zacharias story.
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agree, terrible ending!
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Who cares about Simmons, bring back hotch and get rid of Brewster, she is terrible
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