Plot Synopsis

CRIMINAL MINDS' Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster reprise their roles from the original series in CRIMINAL MINDS: EVOLUTION, which is also sometimes called Season 16 of CRIMINAL MINDS. CM:E follows the FBI's elite team of criminal profilers, who come up against their greatest threat yet: an UnSub who has used the pandemic to build a network of other serial killers. As the world opens back up and the network goes operational, the team must hunt them down -- one murder at a time. As a recurring guest star in a season-long arc, Zach Gilford plays Elias Voit, an operations analyst for a global cyber-security firm who has a dark side and obsession with death. The 10-episode season premieres with two episodes on Thanksgiving Day 2022 (Thursday, November 24) on Paramount+, with a special presentation of the series opener later the same day at 10pm on CBS. Following the premiere, new episodes dropped weekly on Thursdays, until the mid-season finale, "Oedipus Wrecks," on Thursday, December 15. CRIMINAL MINDS: EVOLUTION returned on Thursday, January 12, 2022 with all-new episodes dropping weekly through the finale on Thursday, February 9. In the winter premiere, "True Conviction," the aftermath of the explosion threatens to end the Sicarius case unless the BAU can justify a reason to keep it open. The hunt takes them to a death row inmate -- but is he a killer or another one of Sicarius' victims?

The sophomore season of CRIMINAL MINDS: EVOLUTION debuted on Thursday, June 6, 2024 on Paramount+, which released the first two episodes of the new season. A new installment dropped weekly on Thursdays through August 1. In the wake of last season's shocking finale, Season 2 picks up as the FBI's elite team of profilers investigates the deadly mystery of GOLD STAR. As the conspiracy unfolds, the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is met with an unexpected complication when serial killer Elias Voit negotiates a deal that transfers him to federal custody in the BAU's own backyard. The team faces its biggest threat yet and cannot emerge unscathed from the mind-bending consequences. Guest stars this season include Clark Gregg, Felicity Huffman, Paul F. Tompkins, Tuc Watkins and Brian White.
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On Thursday, August 1, 2024, Paramount+ released "Save the Children," the 55-minute Season 2 finale of CRIMINAL MINDS: EVOLUTION. hen the identity of the last Gold Star member is revealed, the pieces of the puzzle click together. Prentiss, now in mortal danger, must confront Jade and her accomplice to expose the truth behind the "conspiracy" before time runs out.

On Wednesday, June 5 -- one day before the Season 2 debut -- Paramount+ announced it renewed CRIMINAL MINDS: EVOLUTION for a third season.