Criminal Minds: Evolution: Release Date, Cast, And More On The Paramount+ Revival

Very few procedural crime dramas have stood the test of time — the CBS series "Criminal Minds" concluded its incredible 15-season run in 2020 and has already received a revival order from the streamer Paramount+. Like showrunner-producer-writer Erica Messer said during the Television Critics Tour (via Deadline), the team behind "Criminal Minds" never wanted the show to end, and now they're coming back.

The crime drama told the story of a group of accomplished criminal profilers who worked for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit and used their expertise to unearth the country's most dangerous minds, anticipating their next move before they could strike once again. The "Criminal Minds" revival, titled "Criminal Minds: Evolution," has already created an incredible buzz with audiences, thanks to six original cast members who are returning for the show. In August 2022, Paramount+ shared the revival's official title and some cast details about what to look forward to, and fans can begin to get excited about it. 

Here's all the information about Criminal Minds: Evolution that you need to know. 

Paramount+ has already announced the title for the "Criminal Minds" revival. The new show will be called "Criminal Minds: Evolution" and continue to follow six prominent cast members as they face their greatest threat yet. Per the official series description (via Variety) from the streamer, the story will be set against the backdrop of the pandemic, following an unknown subject (portrayed by Zach Gilford, "Friday Night Lights") who has managed to build a network of serial killers. Here's the full-length description:

"The FBI's elite team of criminal profilers 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."

The revival brings back six major player's from the show's beloved 15-season run. Fan-favorite criminal profilers David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler), JJ Jareau (A.J. Cook), Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), and Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez) will come up against their greatest challenge so far, profiling a mastermind who has used the world's pandemic to build a network of serial killers.

"Everybody's in a very different place," Messer teased of the revival in Entertainment Weekly's Fall Preview. She continued, explaining how the characters were in very different places in their lives now, and how the revival would navigate their individual stories.

"We've got Prentiss, who has now been promoted outside of the BAU unit chief. Rossi has taken her place as unit chief, but he's going through a big thing, so he's kind of in all five stages of grief when we meet him in the first two episodes. Alvez has been trying to help out raw scenes, sort of stay local for a while and handle those cases, while JJ and Lewis have answered every single consultant call that they've gotten in the last year, which means plenty of nights away from home."

The 10-episode first season of "Criminal Minds: Evolution" is slated to premiere on Paramount+ on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2022. Following the show's premiere, the series will return to weekly episodes that will be released on Thursdays until the finale on December 15, 2022. Messer has promised that the revival will stay true to its "Criminal Minds" roots and not explore "extra violence" or "R-rated content" that will make it feel like a different show together.