Newest Shemar Moore Update Makes Morgan's Criminal Minds: Evolution Return Impossible

Summary

• A new season of Criminal Minds is already being filmed.
• Many fans have speculated that none other than Shemar Moore might return.
• However, given his involvement in the S.W.A.T. series, that may not happen for a few years.

Paramount has rebooted Criminal Minds, and starting in November 2022, we were once again immersed in the story of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) agents as they grappled with criminal minds and personal lives. Now, the story has taken an even darker turn, it has been released in a streaming format rather than the traditional TV broadcast one, and the show itself has been subtitled as Evolution. And before we knew it, a new season was already in production (the second season of Evolution and the seventeenth since Criminal Minds premiered on CBS in 2005).

While fans wait in anticipation, the upcoming Season 17 has already had its fair share of details and speculation. Josh Stewart, who has played Will LaMontagne Jr. since Season 2, will be leaving the show, while many are sure that everyone's favorite Spencer Reid will be back, as Matthew Gray Gubler's schedule has finally been cleared, and the actor himself has expressed his enthusiasm for returning.

But as much as Pretty Boy fans have been waiting for his comeback, many of us have been waiting for the man who gave him that alias, Derek Morgan. Viewers thought that Shemar Moore might return to the project once S.W.A.T. is over on CBS, but unfortunately the latest update says otherwise.

Shemar Moore Will Be a Part of the New Season of S.W.A.T.

As many fans of the actor probably know, after Shemar Moore left the original Criminal Minds, he moved on to another CBS police procedural, the action-drama S.W.A.T., where he played one of the main characters.

As of this writing, S.W.A.T. has aired seven seasons, with the seventh planned as the final one. Of course, many Criminal Minds fans thought this was a great opportunity to bring Derek back into the story, since Moore would finally have his schedule cleated. But alas, something happened that no one expected.

In April 2024, CBS suddenly decided to renew S.W.A.T. for one more season. Furthermore, Moore is one of the producers of the action-drama and would hardly have time to take part in a parallel project.

In other words, we will have to wait at least another year before Derek Morgan returns to the small screen.

Who Will Definitely Be Back for the New Season?

Well, with Derek Morgan's return to the series not expected anytime soon, let's find out exactly who else will be appearing.

As we mentioned, fans are incredibly hopeful that Matthew Gray Gubler will return to the series, but either Paramount is waiting for an opportune moment to make the official announcement, or they are enjoying the suspense up until the moment of release to shock fans with the sudden return of their favorite character.

So far we can only say for sure about the following actors:

• Joe Mantegna as David Rossi
• AJ Cook as Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau
• Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia
• Aisha Tyler as Dr. Tara Lewis
• Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez
• Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss
• Ryan-James Hatanaka as Tyler Green
• Zach Gilford as Elias Voit
• Felicity Huffman as Dr. Jill Gideon

As eagle-eyed readers may have noticed, Jason Gideon's wife Jill will be returning to the show, so it's likely that the iconic character from the early seasons, played by Mandy Patinkin, will either be miraculously resurrected or return in a flashback.

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 (or Criminal Minds Season 17) is currently in production. In other words, based on the experience of the previous season, we can assume that the release of the new one should not be expected before the summer of 2024 or later.