See the ‘Evolution’ of the ‘Criminal Minds’ Cast, Then & Now (PHOTOS)
The Evolution will be televised. Only two and a half years after Criminal Minds ended its 15-season run on CBS, most of the Behavior Analysis Unit from that final season is coming back for Criminal Minds: Evolution.
The 10-episode Paramount+ revival will reunite the BAU as they hunt down an UnSub tougher than any they’ve had to profile before, according to Zach Gilford, who’s playing big bad Elias Voit.
As Gilford told TV Insider this month, Voit is a “master manipulator” who has a network of serial killers at his beck and call. “He’s incredibly sophisticated,” the actor added. “He spent a lifetime developing a system that keeps him protected from detection. It’s really gonna take this entire team’s ability to tease this guy out and figure out what makes him tick and expose him, and it’s gonna be incredibly taxing for all of them emotionally, physically, intellectually.”
Unfortunately, the after a years-long pandemic, the BAU team is plenty taxed as it is. Read on to see the returning Criminal Minds stars in the original series and in Evolution — and to read about how each of their characters have evolved.
Criminal Minds: Evolution, Series Premiere, Thursday, November 24, Paramount+
Joe Mantegna as David Rossi then
The Tony Award-winning actor joined Criminal Minds in the Season 3 episode “About Face,” filling the void left by Jason Gideon’s (Mandy Patinkin) departure.
Joe Mantegna as David Rossi now
“I live by the motto everybody has a story and nobody gets a free ride, and this is one of those instances,” Mantagna told TV Insider, reflecting on his character’s Evolution arc. “Rossi’s had some trauma in his life and that’s where we pick it up.”
Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss then
Seen here in the Season 3 episode “Doubt,” Brewster linked up with Criminal Minds in Season 2 following the exit of Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini).
Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss now
“[Emily is] trying to go to bat with the FBI director to make sure the BAU has the resources it needs in order to operate effectively, but she’s being shut down over and over again because of budget cuts,” Brewster said of her character’s Evolution-ary status, talking to Entertainment Weekly in September. “So, she’s in a really tricky position because she recognizes the help that the BAU needs, but how can she do it?”
A.J. Cook as Jennifer “JJ” Jareau then
Though she was a Criminal Minds series regular since Season 1, Cook — seen here in the episode “Doubt” with costar Matthew Gray Gubler — Cook’s first appearance as JJ came in the series’ second installment.
A.J. Cook as Jennifer “JJ” Jareau now
“The pandemic has been really hard on a lot of our characters,” Cook told EW. “We’re going to see some things that are heartbreaking but very relatable. We’ve all been through the ringer through quarantine and COVID. We really wanted to pay homage to that.”
Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia then
Pictured here with Patinkin in the Season 1 installment “Riding the Lightning,” Vangsness appeared in 321 Criminal Minds episodes and is thus the show’s longest-serving cast member returning for Evolution (unless Gubler makes a surprise reappearance, that is).
Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia now
“We’re acknowledging that during [the pandemic], all of us had our own very unique experience, some way more harrowing than others, that people changed,” Vangsness told TV Insider. “Some people armored themselves more and some people dropped armor that they had.”
Aisha Tyler as Tara Lewis then
Though she wasn’t yet a Criminal Minds series regular, Tyler appeared in all but four of Season 11’s episodes, starting with “The Job,” seen here. By Season 12, she was on the full-time payroll.
Aisha Tyler as Tara Lewis now
“When you meet her, she hasn’t cut her hair since the beginning of COVID. It’s really just been about the work for her,” Tyler revealed to TV Insider. “And so what you’re gonna see is a tougher, more battle-hardened, more devoted kind of field agent out of Tara.”
Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez then
Rodriguez hit the Criminal Minds call sheet starting with the Season 12 premiere, “The Crimson King,” as his character helped the BAU team track a serial killer.
Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez now
“[Luke] has delved deeper into his work and the routine that gives him,” Rodriguez told EW, giving a pandemic-era update on his character. “He’s spent the time trying to hone his craft. They’ve all been obviously separated and doing the things they’ve gone on to do, but there has been this longing to reform the group.”
