Will There Be a “Criminal Minds” Season 20? Inside the Future of the Long-Running Procedural

‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ was renewed for season 20 in March 2026

NEED TO KNOW

• Criminal Minds, a.k.a. Criminal Minds: Evolution, was renewed for season 20 in March 2026
• The police procedural aired its season 19 finale on July 23
• The season ended with the BAU closing another prolific serial killer case

Season 19 of Criminal Minds has come to an end, but another season is already in the works.

The long-running police procedural was renewed for season 20 in March 2026 — before season 19 even premiered. While Paramount+ has not announced an official premiere date, the streamer shared that it will be released sometime in 2027.

Criminal Minds originally aired for 15 seasons on CBS before it came to an end in 2020. However, the network’s streaming service picked it up for a 16th season, which aired on Paramount+ in 2022 and was retitled Criminal Minds: Evolution.

The crime drama follows an elite group of FBI profilers within the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as they work to solve intense crimes from a psychological and behavioral point of view. As the series has evolved over the years, it’s also featured the interpersonal relationships among the team members and recurring criminals, as well.

Criminal Minds: Evolution stars Joe Mantegna as David Rossi, Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss, A.J. Cook as Jennifer “JJ” Jareau, Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia, Aisha Tyler as Tara Lewis and Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez.

Here’s everything to know about Criminal Minds season 20.

When is Criminal Minds coming back for season 20?

Criminal Minds: Evolution was officially renewed for season 20 in March 2026, Paramount+ announced. The streamer has shared that it will drop in 2027, and Rodriguez confirmed they were already in production.

“We just started last week,” he told TV Insider in May 2026.

While Paramount+ hasn’t detailed the exact premiere date for its landmark 20th season, the last three seasons have been released on a summer schedule, airing in either May or June from 2024 to 2026.

What will Criminal Minds season 20 be about?

Season 20 of Criminal Minds will likely pick up where the dramatic season 19 finale left off.

During the intense final episode, which hit the streamer on July 23, the BAU profilers’ case with serial killer Elias Voit (Zach Gilford), a.k.a. Sicarius, came to a head while he was serving time in prison for his horrific crimes.

As viewers remember, Voit was initially a ruthless serial killer who was captured in season 17. In the beginning of season 18, he was attacked by prisoners and woke up with no recollection of his identity or his past crimes. Over the course of seasons 18 and 19, Voit appeared to be changing for the better and even helping the BAU, but it’s up for interpretation whether or not the whole thing was just an act.

However, a new psychopath, James Crowley (Justin Kirk), a.k.a. The Fan, became even more dangerous after he started taking lessons from Voit and doing copycat killings of his own. In his attempt to “beat” Voit’s crimes, Crowley finds the killer’s family and plans to murder them in front of Voit.

The BAU manages to figure out Crowley’s plan and locates him in Florida, but Voit also escapes from prison and takes things into his own hands. As Voit attempts to rescue his kidnapped daughter, the Fan catches him and strangles him. In the heat of the moment, Voit’s daughter comes to his rescue and fatally stabs Crowley.

By the time the BAU arrives on the scene, they find Voit — who takes the blame for the killing — and arrest him once again. The episode ends with him being transferred to “an undisclosed, high-security federal penitentiary,” which likely means they won’t have to encounter him again.

“I believe in my heart he has changed, and that’s how I played it,” Gilford told PEOPLE in July 2026. “He is at his core a father, and he would do anything for his children, and he ends up, I think as most parents would, he takes the fall just because he wants to protect his daughter more than anything in the world.”

Beyond the Voit and Crowley plot, the season 19 finale also showed JJ moving her son Henry LaMontagne (Mekhai Andersen) into college with the help of Garcia, Luke and Tyler (RJ Hatanaka).

In the final moments of the episode, Prentiss alerts the team that they have already been assigned a new case, so whether or not they’re totally done with Voit, they’ll be moving on.

Who’s in the Criminal Minds season 20 cast?

The official cast for Criminal Minds season 20 has not been announced, but it will likely include returning stars Mantegna, Cook, Vangsness, Tyler, Gilford, Hatanaka, Rodriguez and Brewster.

However, one star has already shared he doesn’t have plans to return. Gilford, who played Voit, told Entertainment Weekly in July 2026 that he’s not been filming season 20 with the rest of the cast.

“I’m not in season 20,” he told the outlet. “As far as I know, yes, that’s it.”

Since Gilford’s character wasn’t killed off, he said that there’s a possibility he could return but also joked that he “wanted” to be killed.

“I wanted him to be killed!” the actor shared. ”It’s kind of a joke, but I talk to the writers about it. Towards the end of the season, one of them asked me, ‘Do you think we should have killed you?’ I’m like, ‘Yes.’ I’m not trying to, like, s— on the writing. I think the writing’s great and I love that there’s, maybe, somehow I show back up again because I love working on this show, but I do think that would have been the ultimate sacrifice he could have made.”

He added, “I know they like to bring people back randomly, and if they ever asked me, I would happily show back up. I love the character, but more than that, I just love working on that set and working with all those people. So I’d love to go hang out with them again.”

Where can I watch Criminal Minds?

Criminal Minds: Evolution is available to stream on Paramount+.

All previous seasons of Criminal Minds and Criminal Minds: Evolution are also available on the streaming platform.

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