‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Stars Tease Matthew Gray Gubler’s Return for ‘Life-Changing Experience’

At some point this season, Criminal Minds: Evolution is briefly getting the gang all back together with the return of Matthew Gray Gubler. Dr. Spencer Reid was still with the BAU when the original Criminal Minds run ended in 2020, but Gubler didn’t return for the revival, with the explanation given that his character’s off on a special assignment. (Such is the case for Daniel Henney‘s Matt Simmons as well.) When TV Insider spoke with cast members recently about the new season, we tried to get teases about his return.

Aisha Tyler (Lewis) and Adam Rodriguez (Alvez) were very cagey when they stopped by our offices (watch the video interview above for a deep dive into Season 18 Episode 2).

“You’ll see him, and I’ll say this, it’s nice to see him. I think everybody will appreciate seeing him and we all enjoyed the time that he was there with us,” shared Rodriguez. “It was good to see him in real life, and it’ll be, I think, nice for the fans to see him pop up as well.” Tyler likened it to “a family reunion.”

Kirsten Vangsness (Garcia) offered a bit more of a preview.

“I think one of the reasons why people love Criminal Minds is that — you come for the gory, scary, spooky horror aspect, sure people come for that, but people also come for the family dynamic and the ride or dies and that community that we’ve built, that we’ve created as people and then these characters have created themselves,” she suggested. “So whenever things happen that tear the environment asunder, for better or for worse, it’s Avengers Assemble in the biggest way we can. So this was definitely a — you need him there to, of course, of course, he would be there for these big, pivotal life-changing experiences. And so it really felt very satisfying and I think it’ll feel really satisfying to the fans just to have his presence there. And I’m sure everybody wants more of it. Who wouldn’t? He’s delightful. But we take what we can get.”

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That was similar to what Paget Brewster (Prentiss) previously told us. “He does come back to the team when he is needed, and that I think is something that the fans are going to be really excited about. I think they’re going to be very happy to see why Reid pops up and how that story plays out,” she hinted.

Our first thought is, of course, the aftermath of JJ’s (A.J. Cook) husband dying, but we’re still early in the season and so much more could happen. After all, the team is still dealing with Voit (Zach Gilford) and his serial killer network, and we can’t help but think that they could really use Reid’s brain for that.

What do you think is going to bring back Matthew Gray Gubler as Reid? What are you hoping to see from that episode? Let us know in the comments section below.

Criminal Minds: Evolution, Thursdays, Paramount+