Criminal Minds Showrunner Finally Addresses Reid's Return: ‘We Can Make It Happen’

On June 6, the second season of Criminal Minds: Evolution was released on Paramount+. And although fans hoped until the very end that this time Dr. Spencer Reid, played by Matthew Gray Gubler, would return to the project, at least as a guest star, this did not happen.

At the same time, many viewers admit that the main storyline of the second season, the Gold Star case, would have been an excellent reason for Dr. Reid's return. This is perhaps the most complicated investigation in the history of Criminal Minds, confusing not only the viewers, but also the members of the BAU team themselves. And the help of a genius like Reid would have come in handy more than ever.

Showrunner Discussed Reid's Return

Evolution showrunner Erica Messer recently revealed the reason why Gubler was unable to join the project and whether it will be possible in the future:

“It’s been really tricky because the first season, he couldn’t do it because he had his own projects. Then, we probably could have done it, but the strikes happened, and then we fell back into that same pattern where we just weren’t gonna be able to get him for Season 17. [...] It’s a matter of all the stars aligning, so that we can make it happen.”

Matthew Gray Gubler Might Be Back For More Than Just Acting

It should be noted that Matthew Gray Gubler played a much larger role in Criminal Minds than just being an actor. TV stars often direct episodes of their TV shows: Joe Mantegna directed nine episodes of Criminal Minds, Thomas Gibson – six, but the episodes directed by Gubler – as much as twelve of them – were rewarded with the greatest attention from fans.

The actor, whose character has difficulty expressing emotions in communication with people, has developed a unique way of working with familiar material, thanks to which both the tragic motives in the fates of victims and their killers, and the warmth of relationships between the BAU members seem particularly expressive in his episodes.

So maybe we'll at least get the episodes he wrote, even if Gubler is too busy to return next season, too.

Source: Collider