‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’: Aisha Tyler Says Revival Is ‘More Authentic’ Than Original Series

Criminal Minds is moving to streaming and adopting a grittier approach to storytelling in the process. The revival of the popular CBS series – titled Criminal Minds: Evolution – debuts on Paramount+ on Thanksgiving Day. Fans who check out the new episodes will encounter a show that’s more realistic than its predecessor, cast member Aisha Tyler told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. 

Aisha Tyler previews what to expect in ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’

Criminal Minds: Evolution will feel familiar to long-time Criminal Minds viewers. Most of the core cast from the show’s final CBS season will be back – including Tyler as Dr. Tara Lewis – and the BAU team will once again be facing off against some nasty bad guys. But rather than taking a case-of-the-week approach, Evolution sees the agents tracking one devious opponent across the course of 10 episodes.

Elias Voit (played by Zach Gilford from Netflix’s Midnight Mass) is a serial murderer who spent the pandemic lockdown building a network of other killers. Now, the world is opening up, and his network has gone operational. 

“There’s a sinisterness to him that is more than just creepy, right? Because he’s got a macabre, Machiavellian kind of controlling … psychological engineering component that a lot of these other guys that are more brute force killers don’t have,” Tyler said. 

Viewers will also get an inside look at what makes Voit tick. That’s sure to give Dr. Lewis, who is a forensic psychologist, plenty of juicy material to work with. 

“We get to look at what builds a serial killer,” Tyler said.  “What kind of experiences turn on or turn off the switches in the mind that turn someone into this terrible monster?” 

Tyler calls the ‘Criminal Minds’ revival ‘more authentic’ 

Criminal Minds’ switch from broadcast to streaming also means what you see and hear on screen is a bit more raw and real. (Think more intense violence and stronger language.)  It’s a positive shift, according to Tyler. 

“I think people are going to find that this show is more authentic to the real world, that the characters use language that they would really use in real life,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a little bit more authentic in terms of the experiences that they have.”

Joe Mantegna, who plays Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi agreed. “I think the fact that we are able to do it in a streaming venue and be able to show things in a very realistic way in terms of language, in terms of the look and terms of all of it, that I think that is taking it to another level and makes for good storytelling,” he said in an interview.

The profilers will be ‘closer than they’ve ever been before’  

The fresh twist on the old Criminal Minds format also gives the revival more freedom to explore the FBI profilers’ personal and professional lives. Viewers can expect some updates on what’s going on in some agent’s love lives, for example, as well as more moments of “levity and brightness” to balance out the heavier parts of the story, Tyler said. 

“We’ve got more time with these characters and their emotional lives and their interior lives and the way they relate to each other and the way that the work – the dark, dark work – affects them,” she shared. “I think you’re going to see this group of profilers closer than they’ve ever been before, relying on each other more than they’ve ever been before.”

Criminal Minds: Evolution premieres Nov. 24 on Paramount+.

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