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Criminal Minds was going strong for 15 seasons when it ended in 2020. But fans couldn’t get enough of the high-stakes investigations going on at the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit. 

The show is getting a revival just a few short years after it ended. Criminal Minds: Evolution will bring back a lot of the old gang, although not everyone. It will also give fans a closer look at some of the agents’ personal lives. 

'Criminal Minds: Evolution' actor A.J. Cook as Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau
A.J. Cook as Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau in ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ | Michael Yarish /Paramount+

‘Criminal Minds’ was too good to go 

The new Criminal Minds installation is currently releasing on Paramount+, not CBS, according to TV Line. But the format and cast of the show won’t change all that much. The gang is still facing a twisted and outrageous unsub. In this season, Criminal Minds: Evolution will tie in current events. 

Like everyone, this season’s first UnSub was affected by the pandemic. But instead of using the lockdown to learn how to make a sourdough starter, the UnSub spent his time amassing an army of serial killers. The season promises to have lots of twists and turns and lots of UnSubs to find. 

It isn’t clear if the format of the new show will differ at all from the original Criminal Minds. Star Aisha Tyler claims that the new episodes are more “authentic” but doesn’t indicate that there will be any major differences between Criminal Minds: Evolution and the old Criminal Minds that fans know and love. 

In fact, according to TV Line, showrunners have promised that cliffhangers left at the end of Criminal Minds season 15 will be resolved in the first episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution. 

JJ and Will were in a weird spot at the end of ‘Criminal Minds’ 

Unfortunately for fans, the last episode of Criminal Minds was full of cliffhangers. JJ told Reid that she loved him, even though she’s married (and supposedly happily married) to Will. Luke and Garcia had agreed to go on a date and explore a potential relationship. Fans never got to see the outcome of these romantic beginnings on Criminal Minds. 

Luckily for fans, showrunners promise there will be some kind of resolution to the romantic cliffhangers left at the end of Criminal Minds. In Criminal Minds: Evolution, fans will learn what happened on that date between Garcia and Luke, and they will get a closer look at JJ and Will’s marriage. The showrunners told TV Line that:

“What you will find, at least in the early episodes of the Paramount+ revival, is that we spend more time exploring the BAU agents’ interior lives. Meaning, with regards to JJ, you’ll be privy to more of her and husband Will’s home (and sex) life than ever before.”

But fans may not find out exactly what happened between Reid and JJ after her confession. That’s because Reid will not be back for the new Criminal Minds: Evolution, at least not this season. 

Who else will return for ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’?

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‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’: Joe Mantegna Says Paramount+ Revival Is a ‘Blessing’

Showrunners are not closing the book on Reid, but he won’t be in the first season of Criminal Minds: Evolution. He’ll still be working for the BAU, but the new season was filmed in a short amount of time, and Matthew Gray Gubler (the actor who plays Reid) was not available for filming.

Showrunners were clear that he could be back in the future, and hopefully, he will be. Another agent who will be missing from the new episodes is Matt Simmons. His situation will be similar to Reid’s.

Daniel Henney, the actor who plays Simmons, was not available to film, but he could be back in future seasons. Aside from those two characters, fans can look forward to seeing all their favorites from Criminal Minds in the new Criminal Minds: Evolution. 

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