Everything We Know About ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Season 19 So Far — Including That Shocking Cliffhanger
Season 18 of Criminal Minds: Evolution was only about halfway through airing when the series was not only given another season, but also began production on Season 19.
“The BAU is back on the case!” read an official Instagram post announcing the start of filming. “A new season of Criminal Minds: Evolution has officially started filming. 🎬.”
There will be a time jump when we return for Season 19. Showrunner Erica Messer says, “Between Seasons 18 and 19 we’ve stopped everybody. So Season 19 really gets to start fresh. A year has passed story wise and the network is done. A lot of healing has happened in this year away. But there’s still reason to have Elias Voit around.”
Here’s everything we know to date about Season 19 of Criminal Minds: Evolution.
When is the release date of Season 19 of Criminal Minds: Evolution?
Since Season 19 is currently filming, it is most likely that it won’t be released until 2026. The schedule for the previous three seasons on Paramount+ has been all over the calendar, so it’s impossible to predict more accurately than that when it will return.
Is there a trailer for Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19?
It’s way too soon for any trailers, but check back as we will post as soon as one is available.
Who will return for Season 19 of Criminal Minds: Evolution?
Joe Mantegna as David Rossi
Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss
Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia
Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez
Aisha Tyler as Dr. Tara Lewis
Zach Gilford as Elias Jasper Voit
Ryan-James Hatanaka as Tyler Green
Nicole Pacent as Rebecca Wilson
Will Matthew Gray Gubler return for Season 19 of Criminal Minds: Evolution?
It’s hard to say. Gubler was supposed to begin work on his new CBS series Einstein for the 2025-2026 season. But the show was pushed to the 2026-2027, so he may have time to do another guest-star appearance. But the scripts for Season 19, which began filming in May, may already have been written. We’ll have to wait to see if there are any spoilers revealed in this regard.
Will Shemar Moore return for Season 19 of Criminal Minds: Evolution?
For a minute, when S.W.A.T. was canceled by CBS, it looked as if there was hope of a return by Moore to reprise his role as FBI profiler Derek Morgan, but then came the news that Sony had greenlit a 10-episode sequel, S.W.A.T. Exiles, so Moore is back to playing Sgt. Hondo Harrelson, rather than returning to CME.
What happened in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 finale?
In the penultimate episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution, the Disciple (Jordana Spiro) kidnapped Dr. Ochoa (Aimee Garcia) and Voit after killing the staff at the hospital. Her plan is force Voit into killing someone in hopes that that will trigger him into becoming Sicarius once again.
We initially see how Cyrus (Silas Weir Mitchell) kidnapped Tessa (Spiro) and kept her prisoner which eventually led to her becoming the Disciple. Tessa feels that she and Voit are family since they both suffered abuse by Cyrus and since Voit set her free, she feels bonded to him.
In order to get him to kill someone, she uses Dr. Ochoa as bait. One of her minions is about to put lethal spiders down Dr. Ochoa’s mouth, so Voit kills him.
Then Voit pretends to side with the Disciple, but takes her to task for making his serial killer network public. He comes up with a plan for them to escape, using Dr. Ochoa as the fall guy, but to do so, they need to reach out to the rest of the network. He pretends to kill Dr. Ochoa, and the messages sent to the network reveal their whereabouts to Garcia.
The BAU figures out where the Disciple is holding Voit and they prepare to make entry, but all the entrances are set with IEDs. Garcia is able to block the signal, and the BAU enters.
Voit has a gun and he points it at JJ pretending he is going to shoot her, but she knows better and won’t kill him. They arrest Voit and the Disciple.
Back at the BAU, Voit doesn’t trust himself, so he confesses to all of Sicarius’ crimes. He is sent to a supermax prison and when he is on the bus with the other prisoners he has what is either a hallucination or a fantasy about killing one of the men. Is Sicarius back?
Are there any spoilers for the Criminal Minds: Evolution season 19?
Parade spoke to showrunner Erica Messer about what that final scene in the finale means. Is Sicarius back?
“It’s meant to make us wonder if Sicarius is back,” she told us. “I think one of the things that really excited us about exploring this side for Voit was to give Zach that challenge of taking a character who was pretty much irredeemable and making us actually feel for him. And doing that through Aimee Garcia’s character, and Garcia doing aromatherapy with him in this season. He feels like a different person, but he has this crazy set of skills, which could kill somebody. Any way you could imagine he can do it.
“The fact that he’s imagining a scenario in which he would have to kill, because he’s basically going to get attacked on a prison bus, it’s almost like he’s justifying how to use that skill set. Or how to scratch the itch of being a killer.
“Then when we get into Season 19, you’ll get to see that challenge is still there of how do I quiet this beast that’s in here. Because I now have a conscience and it’s wrong to do that.”
Also, Season 19 will have a new chapter ahead for JJ, according to Messer. “She’s preparing for Henry to go away to college, and that’ll be a new journey for her. Garcia is having some fun in the dating world, let’s leave it at that. Alvez has a lot going on this year. I feel like as far as emotional journeys if last season was like JJ and Tara, this year it’s Alvez. He has a lot going on that we’ll allude to in the first episode, but it really comes into light episode two and onward.”
What is the story for Criminal Minds: Evolution season 19?
As always, the story will follow the BAU as it continues to search for and bring to justice serial killers. Knowing that Voit will be a part of it, it isn’t a stretch to say that it will continue to hunt down followers of Sicarius.
Will there be a Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 20?
There’s no official word on that as yet, as Season 18 just ended and Season 19 is being filmed. But the success of the show means it’s a good possibility.
When did Criminal Minds end?
Criminal Minds ended its 15-year run on CBS on Feb. 19, 2020.
