‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Star Ryan-James Hatanaka Upped to Series Regular For Season 2

Fans will get to see a lot more of Tyler Green in the second season of Criminal Minds: Evolution as Ryan-James Hatanaka has been promoted from recurring to series regular.

The news was first reported by Deadline, which notes production for Season 2 of the Paramount+ series is currently in production. Hatanaka will now star as a regular alongside Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez, Paget Brewster, and Zach Gilford.

Green is a former military intelligence officer who served two tours in Afghanistan. However, after several reprimands for drug use and refusal to follow orders, he was dishonorably discharged after posting videos of the aftermath of drone strikes online.

In previous episodes, viewers learned that Green’s sister went missing, and he eventually determined she was killed by a serial killer known as Sicarius. Green later infiltrated the serial killer network created by Elias Voit (Gilford) to try and track down the man who killed his sister.

According to Deadline, this season, the BAU recruits Green as a consultant, utilizing his psychological operations training on their latest season-long investigation.

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Before joining Criminal Minds: Evolution, Hatanaka was best known as a regular on Hallmark’s When Hope Calls, where he played Gabriel Kinslow. His previous credits include Nancy Drew, Nurses, Chicago P.D., Mr. D, and Eye Candy. He was also a lead in the independent film I Can I Will I Did.

Criminal Minds: Evolution premiered in November 2022 and is both a revival and sequel of the original Criminal Minds television series. It follows members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as they are faced with a network of serial killers built during the pandemic.

The show is produced by ABC Signature and CBS Studios, with Erica Messer serving as showrunner and executive producer. Breen Frazier, Chris Barbour, Glenn Kershaw, and Mark Gordon also serve as executive producers.

Speaking on Hatanaka’s role last season, Messer said, “He and Garcia (Vangsness) obviously have started out on the wrong foot because you don’t want to trick her in any way or lure her back to something that she was OK to be away from. So she has a lot of emotional stake in this new relationship with this guy.”

Fans are now set to see more of the dynamic between Green and Garcia in the upcoming second season.

Criminal Minds: Evolution, New Season, TBA, Paramount+