Kirsten Vangsness, A.J. Cook, Joe Mantegna, Aisha Tyler

There's a New Big Bad When 'Criminal Minds: Evolution' Returns for Season 2— and the Premiere Date Is Soon

The BAU is officially coming back with new episodes of 'Criminal Minds: Evolution' Season 2 on Paramount+. Here's everything we know so far.

Author:
Paulette Cohn
Updated:
May 22, 2024

When Criminal Minds: Evolution premiered on Paramount+ on Thanksgiving Day in November 2022, not only the title had evolved, but so had the series. Instead of the original series’ case-of-the-week format, the 10-episode season focused on one case: the hunt for the biggest, baddest serial killer the show has had to date, Sicarius, who was revealed to be a man named Elias Jasper Voit (Zach Gilford). What made Sicarius especially lethal was the fact that during the COVID-19 lockdown, he had organized a network of serial killers.

Despite the fact that Voit was finally apprehended, when the season wrapped, fans were left with the scary thought: What will happen now that Sicarius may be involved in something more sinister named Gold Star? And that will be pursued when the series returns.

Season 2 is shaping up to continue the season-long case format. Per showrunner Erica Messer in an interview with EW, "We're just loving the serialized storytelling, because it's something we really got to do for the first time last year. To know that we can play with all of our same heroes really makes us excited."

Following is everything we know about Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2, including its cast, release date, spoilers and more.

When will Criminal Minds: Evolution premiere for Season 2?

Criminal Minds was picked up for its second season back in January 2023, but like so many of the scripted series intended to premiere last fall, it got pushed to 2024 due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. We can now tell you that it will premiere its second season on Thursday, June 6. The 10-episode new season will premiere with the first two episodes available to stream at launch with subsequent new episodes dropping weekly on Thursdays.

According to Paget Brewster, who posted on X: "We start filming mid January at a break neck pace to get episodes to you ASAP! We all hope you will watch and love them!"

Is there a trailer for Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2?

Watch as the BAU's team of profilers investigates the deadly mystery of GOLD STAR and the surprise return of serial killer Elias Voit to aid in the investigation.

Who will return for season 2 of Criminal Minds: Evolution?

Joe Mantegna as David Rossi

Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss

A.J. Cook as Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau

Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia

Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez

Aisha Tyler as Dr. Tara Lewis

Will Zach Gilford return as Elias Jasper Voit, aka Sicarius, in season 2 of Criminal Minds: Evolution?

That is a definite yes per showrunner Erica Messer. He may be in jail, but he will be aiding the BAU in solving the Gold Star case much like Hannibal Lecter did in The Silence of the Lambs. It's Voit's Plan B for negotiating a lighter sentence.

Which Desperate Housewives star will guest star on season 2 of Criminal Minds: Evolution?

Emmy-winning actress Felicity Huffman will join Criminal Minds: Evolution as a guest star for the series’ second season on Paramount+. The role will mark her first major network series hiring since the reveal of her part in a college admissions scandal in 2019.

The Desperate Housewives alum will play “Dr. Jill Gideon, a brilliant biological psychiatrist, who agrees to help the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit investigate a murderous conspiracy theory. Jill is reluctant to return to the bureau’s elite team given her complicated history with David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) and her dead ex-husband, Jason Gideon (previously played by original series star Mandy Patinkin), but soon realizes her specific skill set could help them uncover another clue to the elusive Gold Star mystery.”

Who will be joining the cast of Criminal Minds: Evolution in season 2?

According to TVLine, Clark Gregg, Brian White and Tuc Watkins will be joining the cast.

Clark Gregg as FBI Director Ray Madison

According to TV Line, Madison brokers a deal with Elias Voit to assist with the Gold Star investigation. The BAU is tasked with overseeing Voit and his contacts, while keeping him in line.

Brian White as Vincent Orlov, Elias Voit’s shady attorney.

Orlov will negotiate the deal with Madison. When it comes to Voit, the serial killer utilizes Orlov as his “cat’s paw” to gain footing against the BAU while he’s locked in an isolation cell.

Tuc Watkins as Frank Church

Watkins will recur as Church, a presumed advocate for kids who may not be as up and up as he first appears when the BAU investigates him.

Who will leave Criminal Minds: Evolution in season 2?

Josh Stewart, who recurred in the role of New Orleans Police Department detective William LaMontagne Jr. and JJ's husband, announced on X that "sadly, my days of playing Will LaMontagne Jr. are over. You guys have been the absolute best."

While Stewart didn't explain his exit from the role, in Evolution's first season, Will had a a cancer scare. It turned out he only had a treatable, inflamed thyroid, but Messer hinted at that time that he wasn't completely out of the woods. So, the character's exit may be for health reasons and JJ could be a widow with two young sons, or it could be something else entirely.

Paramount+ has yet to confirm this news.

Will Ryan-James Hatanaka return as Tyler Green in season 2 of Criminal Minds: Evolution?

It has now been confirmed that Hatanaka will be joining the series as a regular for Season 2.

Earlier Messer told Variety, "Yes, there’s a very great chance that we will be seeing Tyler. We loved Tyler. We love RJ. We thought that relationship would do exactly what it did this season, but we really liked giving Garcia that messy relationship. We just completely bought that she would break up with him after that betrayal, but that maybe it isn’t over. Maybe this is her person. We want to keep exploring that, so it’s gonna get a little more complicated next year because he’s going to be around still, sort of consulting, and where it gets messy now is Alvez knows about it. So there can be a little bit more of a triangle than we’ve ever really done on the show, in terms of the members being in relationships. It felt like now’s the time to do it. We also didn’t want to deny Garcia and Tyler this bond because it does feel special and real."