Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2's 'Deeper Secrets' Teased By Aisha Tyler

Insight on Season 2

With production expected to start soon, Aisha Tyler teases the 'deeper secrets' to come from Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2. The fan-favorite CBS crime procedural returned in the 2022 Paramount+ show with the team of the FBI's Behavior Analysis Unit learning of the rise of a network of serial killers led by Zach Gilford's Elias Voit. Utilizing a more serialized approach to its 10-episode season than the generally disconnected procedural format of its past, Evolution proved to be a hit for the streaming platform, landing a season 2 order halfway through its run.

David Rossi & BAU in Criminal Minds Evolution

While speaking with Screen Rant for the Archer series finale, Tyler was asked for some insight on the upcoming Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2. Though keeping mum on specific details for the next episodes, the star did excitedly tease that the show's next chapter will offer some 'deeper secrets' for the mysteries set up in the prior season and praised its new streaming home for helping benefit the show. Check out what Tyler shared below:

Emily Prentiss processing information in Criminal Minds Evolution

We set up a lot of really great golden threads last season that I think are going to start to pay off almost right away in the next season. There's obviously some deeper stuff, deeper secrets, layers of hidden intrigue that we just started to kind of pry open at the end of last season, and I think it's gonna be a really, really big, fun, season 17 for Criminal Minds revisited.

Rossi hugs an abduction survivor with team members behind him in the Criminal Minds Evolution premiere

But, you know, season 17, it's like, I'm just super lucky to have been on multiple shows that have gone as long as they have, and for Criminal Minds Evolution, to be able to just do more. We've got more time on streaming, we can be a little bit more mature, or more thoughtful. I think people are going to really enjoy how this stuff is going to start to unspool in this new season of CME.

AJ Cook as Jennifer Jareau on Criminal Minds Evolution.

Unanswered Questions

Though season 2 is expected to be a blend of the serialized format of season 1 and the procedural formula used by the original show, there are a number of questions Criminal Minds: Evolution has to answer going into its next season. One of the biggest is the exact nature behind 'Gold Star', the phrase uttered by Voit during a heated conversation with Nicholas D'Agosto's Deputy Director Doug Bailey. Some theories point to this being part of the interconnected serial killers, while others argue it stems from some classified government information, especially as Lewis' ex-girlfriend and prosecutor Rebecca seems to have some knowledge of its origin.

Zach Gilford as Elias Voit in Criminal Minds: Evolution

Another point of curiosity is what comes next for Voit within the show. Despite his involvement in a wide spree of killings, showrunner Erica Messer has teased that the character will be something of a Hannibal-like figure heading into Evolution season 2, indicating that he would not only avoid being sentenced to death, but would engage in a game of mental chess with the BAU for whether they can effectively end the killer network. Much like Hannibal, however, this could result in his escaping the FBI and resume his own killings in the world.

Prentiss and Reid on Criminal Minds

The biggest mystery longtime fans of the show want to see resolved in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 is the return of Matthew Gray Gubler's Spencer Reid. The beloved character didn't appear in season 1 due to a scheduling conflict, with his whereabouts kept vague in order to leave the door open for his return, and Gubler himself has expressed an openness to reprise the role, though no confirmation has been made as of yet. With filming still not yet begun on the next episodes, one can hope that Gubler makes a proper deal with the creative team to return and gets a meaningful arc explaining his absence.