‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ gets surprise renewal with a ‘Heated Rivalry’ star appearing in Season 19
'Criminal Minds' carved out a niche for itself during its 15-season run on CBS. Although the original show ended in 2020, the reboot, 'Criminal Minds: Evolution,' shows no signs of slowing down. In a way, CBS considers 'Criminal Minds: Evolution' a natural continuation of the original show, and, in an interesting turn of events, Paramount+ has renewed the reboot for a landmark 20th season, which is set to arrive sometime in 2027. Meanwhile, the upcoming nineteenth season of the show is supposed to premiere on May 28.
As reported by Variety magazine, 'Heated Rivalry' star Connor Storrie has been roped in to play a guest role in the upcoming season 19 of the CBS show. Storrie's breakthrough role on the HBO Max show received praise from all quarters, and he's still riding on the waves of his success. Although the star's performance in an emotionally driven love story earned him his stripes, this would be his first time appearing in a law enforcement procedural. Paramount+ further released a first look at the upcoming Season 19, which will once again feature the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit getting assigned to solve the mysterious death of a young woman. Upon further investigation of the crime scene, it does become apparent that the mysterious death bears a strange resemblance to a 30-year-old case.
The regular cast of the show is expected to return with Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Zach Gilford, RJ Hatanaka, Adam Rodriguez, Kirsten Vangsness, Paget Brewster, and Aisha Tyler reprising their roles. In addition to the regular cast, a comprehensive list of guest stars has also been announced, including Justin Kirk, Yvette Nicole Brown, Clark Gregg, Paul F. Tompkins, Cress Williams, Jeri Ryan, Rob Yang, Nicholas Gonzalez, Inny Clemons, Nicole Pacent, Dash Mihok, Kofi Siriboe, Lyndon Smith, Richard Cabral, Cara Jade Myers and Joseph Cross.
'Criminal Minds: Evolution' has been subject to early renewals ever since its inception. Season 17 of the show was greenlit while the network was still airing new episodes of Season 16. Similarly, the show was renewed for Season 18 just a day before the Season 17 premiere. Keeping the string of early renewals unbroken, Season 19 was greenlit two months preceding the premiere of Season 18. Given the past release schedule, one might speculate that Season 20 will arrive sometime in the first half of 2027. An official announcement has yet to be made in this regard. 'Criminal Minds: Evolution' is produced by CBS Studios and 20th Television. Erica Messer serves as the showrunner and also executive produces the show in association with Chris Barbour, Glenn Kershaw, Mark Gordon, and Breen Frazier.
