The future ofCriminal Minds: Evolutionin both the short and long term has been set. The continuation of the long-running police procedural willmake good on the promise of more seasons, as Paramount+ has renewed it for Season 4, the 19th season overall counting the original run on CBS. Before that, however, the date has been set for the Behavioral Analysis Unit’s return for Season 18. New episodes will begin airing on the streamer Thursdays, starting on May 8, picking up a full six months after the cliffhanger ending that left the fate of the notorious Sicarius Killer in the balance.
Season 17 concluded with Elias Voit (Zach Gilford) being attacked by prison inmates after his identity was exposed, potentially taking the killer out of commission. Series showrunnerErica Messerpreviously confirmed to Collider, however,that the show wasn’t done with him yet. In the aftermath of the assault, his followers on the dark web begin causing chaos around the country, forcing the BAU to step in and stop the criminals from harming more innocent people. To get a handle on the situation though, they’re forced to work with a Voit who is growing increasingly unpredictable and may be playing them for his own agenda.
‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Season 18 Will Get a “Clean Break” From the Gold Star Program
Evolutionis officially leavingthe Gold Star Program storylinebehind with Season 18, with Messer teasing a “clean break” as the series looks to move forward. To do so, however, the show is also reflecting on its past bybringing back a fan favorite inMatthew Gray Gubler. Per reports late last year, Gubler was tapped to reprise his role as Dr. Spencer Reid for an episode, welcoming him back for the first time since the originalCriminal Mindscame to an end in 2020. He’ll rejoin a group that features the aforementioned Gilford, alongsideJoe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, RJ Hatanaka, Adam Rodriguez, andPaget Brewsteramong its core cast.
There are still some remaining threads to pull from Season 18 beyond Voit. The end of Gold Star promisesa fresh start for several of the BAU’s members, as Tyler pursues a future at Quantico andRebecca and Tara begin dating again, among other things. Still, Messer found it important to get a fresh start that will leave some of the characters directly involved in that storyline behind. She told Collider’sChristina Radishabout how the show is planning to mark a clear separation from those events, something made even easier thanks to the six-month time jump.
“We wanted to be clear that the Gold Star investigation is complete.There won’t be anything dangling from that, and those three characters are so heavily tied to that storyline. Right now, we’re not seeing bringing them back, but I would never say never. And like I said, we’re not done with the season break yet. It feels complicated to say, on one hand, ‘Gold Star is over,’ and then, ‘By the way, here are some Gold Stars.’ That’s where we are right now. It just feels like we wanna have a clean break.”
Criminal Minds: Evolutionreturns for Season 18 on May 8 with new episodes every Thursday on Paramount+. Stay tuned here at Collider for more as further updates come out.
