Criminal Minds: Evolution Renewal Keeps the Crime-Solving Train Rolling

Looks like the BAU team will be staying on the case for a bit longer. Criminal Minds: Evolution has officially been renewed for another season on Paramount+.

According to Tanya Giles, chief programming officer of Paramount Streaming, the show is a "franchise that we are very, very partial to." And it's not just the network that's partial, it seems the fans are too. Criminal Minds: Evolution has become one of Paramount+'s "top five original series" and has even driven the franchise as a whole to see a nearly six times increase in month-over-month viewership.

The crime drama's dedicated fans are surely excited to see more of the elite profilers taking on their toughest threat yet, the enigmatic Elias Voit. The team, made up of Criminal Minds veterans Paget Brewster, Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, and Adam Rodriguez, and Friday Night Lights alum Zach Gilford as the villainous Elias, is currently dropping new episodes every Thursday with the season finale set to release on February 9th.

Production for the next season is expected to begin in 2023, and according to Giles, fans can expect even more twisted storylines.

But as with any long-running series, there are always mixed reactions from fans. Some are holding out hope for the return of Thomas Gibson as Hotch, while others have written off the possibility due to Gibson's past on-set behavior. Others are looking forward to the new season, excited to see what "dark twists and turns" the BAU team will encounter next, and hoping for some old questions answered: for example, what happened to Elle Greenaway after she left, or what's Ashley Seaver is up to now.

And, of course, the biggest question of all: where is Spencer Reed?

All in all, Criminal Minds fans can look forward to more thrilling crime-solving action in the future. Let's just hope the show will keep the quality high enough and won't become another long-running series that overstays its welcome.