Criminal Minds went off the air in 2020 and returned with a new look in 2022. Now streaming on Paramount+ (rather than its old home at CBS), Criminal Minds: Evolution took a serialized approach to the storytelling rather than the case-of-the-week format that the broadcast version typically followed. That’s “serialized” as in “a season that tells one overarching story,” not to be confused with the serialized murders that the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit is famous for solving. Turns out, the series is pretty successful both ways, as Criminal Minds: Evolution was renewed for a second season, which premieres June 6 on Paramount+.
Last season, the BAU investigated a whole network of serial killers, led by a murderer known as “Sicarius.” The team eventually tracked down this ultimate murderer, real name Elias Voit (Zach Glford), and managed to put him behind bars. The second/17th season “picks up as the FBI’s elite team of profilers investigates the deadly mystery of GOLD STAR,” per a synopsis. “As the conspiracy unfolds, the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is met with an unexpected complication when serial killer Elias Voit negotiates a deal that transfers him to federal custody in the BAU’s own backyard. The team faces its biggest threat yet and cannot emerge unscathed from the mind-bending consequences.”
As a new trailer demonstrates, Voit is still messing with the team’s minds, but he also might be the key to unlocking the latest mystery. The BAU’s new unsub is “a killer trained by the government,” theorizes Prentiss (Paget Brewster). But Voit is the one who sees the connection between the victims, hinting that the motive behind the killings is vengeance. There are a lot of powerful people trying to take advantage of Voit’s twisted expertise, including the apparent FBI director played by Clark Gregg.
In addition to Gregg (who honed his government agent skills over at Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), the new season also features guest stars Felicity Huffman, Paul F. Tompkins, Tuc Watkins, and Brian White. That’s on top of series regulars Brewster, Gilford, Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, Ryan-James Hatanaka, and Adam Rodriguez. Paramount+ will drop two episodes on June 6, with the rest of the 10-episode season premiering weekly every Thursday.