Fans get their first look at the upcoming second season of Criminal Minds: Evolution, as well as the premiere date for Season 2.
New set photos from the second season of Criminal Minds: Evolution have arrived. Among tense looks at the cast are also some rare moments of levity for the high-stakes procedural.
Courtesy of TVLine, fans can get several glimpses at the upcoming 10-episode second season of Criminal Minds: Evolution. Featured in the images are returning cast members Paget Brewster, Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, and Adam Rodriguez, all of whom are set to take center stage at some point in the second season’s search for answers regarding the enigmatic “Gold Star.” A Season 2 premiere date of June 6 was also confirmed.
Criminal Minds premiered on CBS back in 2005. Centered on a group of FBI agents and profilers within the bureau’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, the series’ ensemble cast starred Hollywood icon Mandy Patinkin as Senior Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon and Thomas Gibson as Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner. The original series also starred Lola Glaudini, Shemar Moore, and Matthew Gray Gubler, all of whom have since made their exit from the series.
Since Criminal Minds’ debut, the series has branched off with two spinoffs comprised of 2011’s Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior and 2015’s Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, each of which lasted one and two seasons, respectively. While the original series ran for fifteen seasons from 2005 to 2020, it was rebranded as Criminal Minds: Evolution for the 16th season, which premiered in 2022. Rather than following the relatively self-structured killer-of-the-week formula that the series is known for, the first season of Criminal Minds: Evolution followed the team’s ongoing efforts to track down Zach Gilford’s Elias Voit, a prolific serial killer who amassed his own cult of followers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first season of Criminal Minds: Evolution also left behind a dire mystery revolving around something known as the “Gold Star.” Although there aren’t many clues as to who or what this refers to, fans saw that the “Gold Star” is somehow tied to the series’ Attorney General, FBI, and Department of Justice, as evidenced during Criminal Minds: Evolution’s first season finale in which its mention elicits fearful and panicked reactions from both Nicolas D’Agosto’s Deputy Director Doug Bailey and Monnae Michaell’s A.G. Louise Davis.
All 15 seasons of Criminal Minds are streaming on Hulu and Paramount+. Criminal Minds: Evolution is now streaming on Paramount+, with Season 2 premiering June 6.
