Criminal Minds Revival Scores Milestone: Season 19 Set for May 28, Season 20 Renewed
In an unusual move that signals confidence before a return, criminal minds fans will see a new season premiere on May 28 while the streamer has already greenlit a milestone 20th season for 2027. Connor Storrie is slated to guest in the coming season, but his role is being kept quiet. The renewal treats the new run as a continuation of the original show, and the first-look material teases a case that links a present death to a crime scene from 30 years earlier.
Criminal Minds: Evolution’s Renewal and Release Plan
Paramount+ has announced a May 28 premiere for the next chapter and confirmed a renewal through a 20th season that will debut in 2027. The service and the series’ producers frame the continuation as an extension of the earlier network run, which concluded after 15 seasons. This scheduling — setting a new season date while also committing to an additional season years ahead — positions the current run as more than a single limited revival and signals sustained investment from the production partners.
What Lies Beneath: Season 19’s Narrative and Guest Roster
The first-look material released with the premiere announcement centers the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit being briefed on the death of a missing young man whose crime scene closely resembles that of another case three decades prior. That narrative hook ties back to the series’ procedural DNA and underscores why criminal minds remains the framing concept for the franchise’s continuity: the BAU team is presented again as a group tasked with connecting seemingly isolated crimes across time.
Season 19 brings a long list of guest performers. In addition to Connor Storrie, the roster includes Justin Kirk, Yvette Nicole Brown, Clark Gregg, Paul F. Tompkins, Cress Williams, Kofi Siriboe, Lyndon Smith, Richard Cabral, Jeri Ryan, Rob Yang, Nicholas Gonzalez, Inny Clemons, Nicole Pacent, Dash Mihok, Joseph Cross and Cara Jade Myers. The series’ regular cast — Joe Mantegna, A. J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, Zach Gilford, RJ Hatanaka, Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster — is set to return, maintaining the continuity that has anchored the franchise since its network run.
Production, Leadership and the Broader Stakes
Criminal minds: Evolution is produced by 20th Television and CBS Studios, with Erica Messer serving as showrunner and executive producer. Executive producing credits also include Breen Frazier, Chris Barbour, Glenn Kershaw and Mark Gordon. The production and executive team that shepherded the revival are being positioned to sustain the series across multiple seasons, underscoring the decision to commission a 20th season well before Season 19 concludes.
The release plan calls for new episodes to drop weekly after the May 28 premiere, a traditional cadence that suggests the producers and the streamer expect incremental audience engagement across the season rather than a single binge window. For a property treated as a continuation of a 15-season legacy, that strategy leans on both returning viewers and the expanded guest slate to deliver episodic momentum.
With the dual announcements — a near-term premiere and a long-range pickup — the franchise is betting on serialized hooks rooted in legacy cases and new high-profile guest appearances. As Season 19 arrives, the question for viewers and the creative team is whether the renewed momentum will translate into sustained storytelling that justifies a 20th season in 2027. How will the BAU’s past and present collide across the coming episodes, and can the series turn this structural confidence into compelling drama?
