‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Season 18: UnSub Details & Premiere Date Revealed

Meredith Jacobs March 7, 2025, 5:35 pm

Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez, A.J. Cook as Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau, Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss, Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia and Aisha Tyler as Dr. Tara Lewis in 'Criminal Minds: Evolution' Season 17 Episode 5 'Conspiracy vs. Theory' — Michael Yarish / Paramount+

If there’s one thing that now 17 seasons of watching the profilers of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) hunting down serial killers and the like has taught us, it’s that there’s no shortage of UnSubs out there.

Criminal Minds, after running 15 seasons on CBS (2005-2020), returned with a new iteration, Evolution, in 2022 on Paramount+. In this revival, the BAU continues to do what they do best, but as the first two seasons have shown, there’s also one major UnSub they’re searching for (Zach Gilford‘s Elias Voit in the first, Gold Star in the second). A third season of Evolution and 18th overall of Criminal Minds was picked up by Paramount+ on June 5, one day ahead of the second and 17th (depending on how you count) premiering.

But what do we know about Season 18 of the Paramount+ drama? Read on for what we know about the cast, plot, and more, and keep checking back for updates.

How did Season 17 set up next season?

Season 16 ended with Voit teeing up the Gold Star mystery, but as showrunner Erica Messer had told TV Insider (and now we’ve seen), Season 17 left off with “more of a, ‘uh-oh, now what?’ cliffhanger.” Voit was stabbed in prison, with his fate unknown when the finale ended.

Who will star in Season 18?

All the series regulars will be back, Messer told TV Insider. That means: Joe Mantegna (David Rossi), A.J. Cook (JJ Jareau), Kirsten Vangsness (Penelope Garcia), Aisha Tyler (Dr. Tara Lewis), Zach Gilford (Elias Voit), and RJ Hatanaka (Tyler Green), with Adam Rodriguez (Luke Alvez) and Paget Brewster (Emily Prentiss). Gilford and Hatanaka joined the series for the revival, with the rest part of its original run.

Will Matthew Gray Gubler return as Reid?

The answer to that is (finally) yes! Matthew Gray Gubler is set to reprise his role as Dr. Spencer Reid in a Season 18 episode. No other details have been released.

Prior to this, Messer had told us, Gubler and Daniel Henney‘s (Matt Simmons) absences have been down to scheduling; that’s also why both their characters have been off on an assignment we know nothing about. Speculation began ahead of Season 17 that Gubler was returning because of a photo of Reid’s nameplate on social media, but Messer explained to us, “I’m keeping that desk there and I’m keeping that nameplate there. It’s always staying there as far as I’m concerned. So that’s why you saw it. You’ll see it throughout the show. It’s like, there’s his desk.” (His nameplate did appear on the show when Voit visited the BAU.)

What’s going on with Reid and Simmons remained vague. “Once we know we could have them, then we can play with whatever. But it’s like, until we know, it’s hard to say,” the showrunner said. Now that Gubler will appear, hopefully we’ll get at least something about that special assignment.

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Is Voit alive? How much will Zach Gilford appear in Season 18?

“I can promise you that we will see Voit all season,” Messer told TV Insider after the Season 17 finale. Furthermore, expect a changing dynamic between Rossi and Voit. Yes, Rossi did have some closure to hallucination Voit by the end of Season 17 (with Garcia’s door closing on him), “but it really does open the door for a whole ‘nother Voit-Rossi relationship in the next season,” the EP shared. The season description (below) confirms Voit’s alive as well.

Who will be at the center of Season 18?

Season 16 focused on Rossi’s trauma, while Season 17 was mostly about Prentiss (with some stuff for Rossi and JJ as well). Looking ahead, “It’s everybody, I would say right now. We’ve not fully broken this season yet, but JJ and Lewis have really big stories this season,” Messer revealed to TV Insider in August 2024.

Could other past characters return?

A return from Henney will likely continue to remain up in the air due to scheduling.

Season 18 could see a return from Josh Stewart as JJ’s husband, Will. Prior to Season 17, he wrote on social media that his days of playing the character were “over.” But that doesn’t necessarily mean for good. “We’ll figure out what that means for future seasons. But for this year, the timing, none of it worked,” according to Messer, ahead of the Season 17 premiere (and renewal).

And Messer hasn’t ruled out a return from Felicity Huffman, who recurred as Dr. Jill Gideon, Jason’s ex-wife, in Season 17. The “work part” of her character was wrapped up with the end of the Gold Star case, “but she’s part of our world and it doesn’t mean we can’t bring her back in the personal setting,” the showrunner told TV Insider.

Who is Criminal Minds: Evolution‘s Season 18 UnSub?

Since the series premiered on Paramount+, there has been a through line of each season. Season 16 introduced Voit. Season 17 was about Gold Star (and Voit). And now, Season 18 is turning the focus back to Voit and his network of killers, the description from Paramount+ reveals: It “picks up six months after prisoners attack the notorious Sicarius Killer, Elias Voit, leading his restless followers on the dark web to begin wreaking havoc all over the country. In order to stop this nefarious group from killing more innocents, the BAU is forced to work alongside an increasingly unpredictable Voit who has his own agenda.”