Criminal Minds: Evolution’s Dangerous New Main Villain Teased By Season 19 Showrunner

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FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit has a new big unsub in Criminal Minds season 19.

Originally a network television show on CBS for 15 years, Criminal Minds has found new life as a popular crime series on Paramount+. Even after ending in 2020 – with a memorable departure for fan-favorite character Penelope Garcia – the show remained popular due to its availability for streaming. This led Paramount+ to revive the series with a new ‘Evolution’ branding, offering a grittier version of the original premise.

The current Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) team, headed by Emily Prentiss, includes both long-time members and newer additions. The team has primarily been investigating the crimes of Elias Voit and dismantling the Sicarius Network, considered one of the most dangerous threats in the show’s history. Because of this high-stakes storyline, finding a new team member is a challenge. However, showrunner Erica Messer and her writers appear to have found the right fit.

In a recent conversation with ScreenRant, the showrunner of Criminal Minds hinted at the types of criminals the BAU team will be investigating in the new season. It seems the impact of the villain Voit will still be felt, as the team now faces copycat criminals. This could lead to a team-up with the original villain from the show Evolution. Here’s the showrunner’s complete statement:

For season 19, we wanted to explore the idea of copycat killers – something common in the real world of serial crime, but we hadn’t fully delved into before. The season centers around the BAU’s complicated relationship with a particular killer, and Tara Lewis takes the lead in interviewing him. It’s a bit ironic, because interviewing serial killers is really the core of what the BAU does, and we wanted to make that a central theme throughout the entire season. We felt the timing was right with Elias Voit – we had him as a character, so we wanted to fully utilize that. We also enjoyed the dynamic between Voit and Rossi, and brought that back by having Rossi appear as a hallucination in Voit’s mind, mirroring Voit’s previous hallucinations in Rossi’s mind. It was a fun way to keep actors Joe Mantegna and Zach Gilford working together, and keep their characters connected without repeating old storylines.

The promotion for season 19 of Criminal Minds: Evolution hints that the character Voit will continue to work on becoming a better person. Now that he seems to be recovering, the BAU team can use him as a helpful source of information. However, it makes you wonder if the show always intended to give Voit a chance at redemption. It’s a surprising direction for the series, especially considering the many different serial killers they’ve dealt with over the years. The main question Criminal Minds will eventually need to answer is whether Voit will truly be reformed.

Like past seasons, the new season of Criminal Minds will feature a variety of guest stars. Some will appear as standalone criminals-of-the-week, similar to the original series, while others will be part of larger storylines that unfold throughout the 10 episodes. The confirmed new cast members include Connor Storrie (Heated Rivalry), Justin Kirk (Angels in America), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), Cress Williams (Black Lightning), Kofi Siriboe (Queen Sugar), Lyndon Smith (Step Sisters), Richard Cabral (Mayans), Jeri Ryan (Star Trek Voyager), Rob Yang (The Menu), Nicholas Gonzalez (The Good Doctor), Inny Clemons (Judging Amy), Nicole Pacent (Westworld), Dash Mihok (Ray Donovan), Joseph Cross (Big Little Lies), and Cara Jade Myers (Killers of the Flower Moon). However, Paramount+ hasn’t yet revealed what roles these actors will play.

Even before season 19 began, Paramount+ renewed Criminal Minds for season 20, showing their strong commitment to the show. This early renewal gives the writers the freedom to develop storylines knowing they’ll have the time to wrap things up properly in the future.

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2026-05-27 15:20