'Criminal Minds: Evolution Sets June Return; Felicity Huffman To Guest Star

 

CSI: Vegas and NCIS: Hawai’i might be canceled by CBS after strike-shortened seasons, but there’s still one other legacy procedural extension waiting for its return, and it’s just under five weeks away. Criminal Minds: Evolution will premiere its next season on Thursday, June 6 on Paramount+ with two episodes.

With a ten-episode season, further episodes will roll out weekly on subsequent Thursdays, meaning the season will likely end on August 8. This positioning also indicates that it is tagging in following the May 30 conclusion of Star Trek: Discovery’s fifth and final season to be the prestigious eye-catching original drama. Just this past Thursday, the streamer seemed to signal its imminent return by putting the first Evolution-branded season up for free on their YouTube channel. It’s a practice they’ve done frequently, so much that they had just done so for Evil, which returns two weeks sooner on May 23.

It was previously reported that Operation: Varsity Blues college admissions scandal perpetrator Felicity Huffman, otherwise known for starring in Desperate Housewives, has been cast as Dr. Jill Gideon, an accomplished biological psychiatrist who assists the Behavioral Analysis Unit investigate a murderous conspiracy theory. The surname is probably familiar to longtime viewers as her late ex-husband is Jason Gideon, original BAU team leader played by Mandy Patinkin, who left and was succeeded by David Rossi played by Joe Mantegna who of course continues with the show to this day. Jill has complicated histories with both men but she realizes that her skills are useful in uncovering more clues to the elusive Gold Star mystery as it continues into this season. 

Also continuing is the looming threat of Elias Voit, played by Zach Gilford. He negotiates a transfer him back to federal custody in the BAU's territory. The team will also face "its biggest threat yet and cannot emerge unscathed from the mind-bending consequences.” Nust two weeks will have have passed since Voit’s capture, showrunner Erica Messer shared in February. giving Paget Brewster’s Emily Prentiss, not a lot of time to “figure out what’s going on” with this Gold Star mystery she thinks is part of what’s going on with FBI Deputy Director Doug Bailey’s death. And she’s struggling with survivors’ guilt over it In addition to Gilford, Brewster and Mantegna, the season also stars A.J. Cook as JJ Jarreau, Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia, Aisha Tyler as Dr. Tara Lewis, Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez and the newly-promoted Ryan-James Hatanaka as Tyler Green. 

Entertainment Weekly has more first look images in the link.

Sources: Entertainment Weekly, TVLine