Criminal Minds: Evolution is officially over. Paramount+ announced on Friday, October 30 that the long-running crime drama will conclude with its 20th season, premiering in 2027 — and the cast is reacting with heartbreak, gratitude, and a glimmer of hope that the BAU might live on somewhere else.
Criminal Minds: Evolution cast (Credits: Variety)
Criminal Minds Evolution Canceled After 20 Seasons: Cast Reacts
Kirsten Vangsness, who has played tech analyst Penelope Garcia since season one, revealed she learned the news just 90 minutes before it went public. In an Instagram video, she compared the moment to the scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where Charlie gets his chocolate: bittersweet. A 20-season run, she said, almost never happens — and she hopes the team can keep telling these stories somewhere else.
A.J. Cook, who has played Jennifer “JJ” Jareau since the 2005 debut, marked the end with a Halloween photo of herself holding a tombstone for JJ, captioned “Rest in peace JJ (for now).” She also reshared a cast photo with the message, “These people own my heart forever and always.”
Paget Brewster, who has played Emily Prentiss since season two, posted a photo of herself with the words “Free Agent,” while Aisha Tyler called the cast “family for life” and RJ Hatanaka described them as “the finest group of people.”
Why Was Criminal Minds: Evolution Canceled After Season 20?
The cancellation reverses an earlier renewal: season 20 was picked up in May 2026, but the streamer’s new leadership team has since decided to end the series. The franchise began on CBS in 2005, ran for 15 seasons until 2020, and returned on Paramount+ in late 2022 as Criminal Minds: Evolution. Production on season 20 had already wrapped when the decision was announced, leaving questions about whether its final episode was filmed as a farewell.
Showrunner Erica Messer thanked the cast, crew, and fans whose loyalty kept the show going for two decades. Fans, meanwhile, are refusing to accept the end, calling for another network or streamer to pick up the series — and pointing to the show’s 13.15 billion minutes watched in 2026 as proof it still has an audience.
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Source: Variety — read the full story there.
