Wheels up in May, profilers! We're returning to the round table room in the FBI: Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) building to solve more twisted cases and tackle life head-on. Entertainment Weekly surprised Criminal Minds fans on April 10 by releasing multiple updates for season 18.
Criminal Minds: Evolution boss Erica Messer dropped some teasers we may not expect. We received a season teaser video, photos, and storyline updates from Voit to Spencer Reid. I'm not kidding when I say they surprised us. Criminal Minds rarely releases updates, besides an occasional Paget Brewster tweet slip. Other than that, fans don't know much until close to release.
Matthew Gray Gubler reprises his role as Spencer Reid
Along with Voit and the BAU team returning, Matthew Gray Gubler's anticipated return is finally happening. I'm a Spencer Reid fan, and I'll be glad to see him, but I can already feel my heart breaking for what he's possibly going to endure. At least he'll be with his friends again.
With every new update, fans have asked where Spencer Reid is. Again, he's missing from the latest season teaser, but he's still reprising his boy genius role, making hearts swell everywhere. By the way the cast and boss speak about the show, they love their people a lot, and to see them come back is a dream come true. But that doesn't mean it's always peachy. While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Erica Messer teased:
"Without spoiling anything, when you really need your friends, it's usually big life things are happening. And so I will say that the big life thing is happening and we get to see Spencer."
My mind immediately turns to Reid's mother's health scares. At the end of the original Criminal Minds' 15-season run, Mrs. Reid's health improved, and she was in good spirits. She and Spencer were bonding while he was recovering in the hospital. I'm worried he's returning to the safety of his friends because he lost his mom. I'm not sure I can bear the thought of a grief-stricken Reid, but that's the most likely reason I can think of. Another possibility could be that he's considering leaving the FBI. If that comes true, I can see the pitchforks coming now. Either way, we aren't truly ready for his return.
Criminal Minds: Evolution drops teaser trailer and photos
Although the trailer doesn't show the most anticipated part of the season, there's still a lot to digest. The teaser opens with a stern voiceover from Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) with backgrounds going in and out of various crime scene photos and landscapes. Finally, it reveals Prentiss sitting on the jet talking to FBI consultant, Tyler Green (Ryan-James Hatanaka).
I can assume he's asked about what their job entails, and she's setting the record straight. Toward the end, we see Tyler in an FBI vest with Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez) and Prentiss walking closely behind him. We'll see Tyler in a more commanding role this season, as Voit is still a threat. The good news is "Garcia and Tyler have found a pretty good groove to be exes who are working together," Erica Messer added about Tyler's role, layering on a new dynamic.
Tyler and Voit's roles are the dynamic shift that challenges our heroes this season. Messer clues fans in by saying that the BAU will still be working with Voit, but they really wanted to explore how the teams' feelings could change towards him, by Voit becoming "much more vulnerable position this season in a way we haven’t seen before."
Check out the teaser below!
Fans can expect our favorite characters to return: Joe Mantegna (David Rossi), Paget Brewster (Emily Prentiss), A.J. Cook (Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau), Ryan-James Hatanaka (Tyler Green), Aisha Tyler (Dr. Tara Lewis), and Adam Rodriguez (Luke Alvez).
Criminal Minds: Evolution season 18 teaser photos look intense with serious game faces on every BAU team member. There's no mistaking that the revival seasons are darker and more in-depth than the original episodes that aired on CBS. Since the new seasons are only streaming on Paramount+, they have a little more wiggle room, and it looks like the writers and cast are taking advantage of that aspect. Yes, it's still the show we've loved since 2005, but it's also more aggressive and raises the stakes. For goodness' sake, the team is posing with a murder victim at nightfall on a beach. They look great doing it—our heroes without capes.
Erica Messer also teased that we'll see a lot of "growth from our heroes in the gray areas" this season, where the real magic happens. We'll have to wait and see until May 8, when episodes start dropping every Thursday on Paramount+.
All seasons of Criminal Minds are streaming on Paramount+.