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Criminal Minds: Evolution is just days away from its premiere. The revival series will bring back the beloved BAU, including several returning faces from the original Criminal Minds, as they hunt another UnSub. But is the show heading back to its original home on CBS? Here’s where and how to watch Criminal Minds: Evolution.

Criminal Minds: Evolution: Joe Mantegna's Dave Rossi stands beside an investigation board as A.J. Cook's Jennifer Jareau sits on a desk holding a folder.
Joe Mantegna as Dave Rossi and A.J. Cook as Jennifer Jareau in ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ | Paramount+

Is ‘Criminal Minds’ coming back to CBS?

Criminal Minds Seasons 1 through 15 aired on CBS, usually on Wednesday or Thursday nights. Criminal Minds: Evolution, on the other hand, will not be heading back to network TV — except for one episode. CBS announced in early November that it would have a “special broadcast” of the Criminal Minds: Evolution premiere at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 24. That same day, the first two episodes will drop on Paramount+. After that, Criminal Minds: Evolution will become a Paramount+ exclusive.

How to watch ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’

Fans will need a Paramount+ subscription to watch Criminal Minds: Evolution. Luckily, there is a one-week free trial, so people can check out the first two episodes of the revival before they decide to subscribe. After the trial ends, Paramount+ offers an Essentials plan with limited ads for $4.99 per month and a Premium plan with no ads for $9.99 per month.

The first two episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution will hit Paramount+ on Nov. 24. Then, one new episode will premiere every Thursday until the midseason finale on Dec. 15. Criminal Minds: Evolution returns to Paramount+ on Jan. 12, 2023, with a new episode every week until the season 1 finale on Feb. 9. Season 1 will have 10 episodes in total, and there’s no word yet on a season 2 renewal.

What to expect from the revival

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‘Criminal Minds’: Every Main Cast Member Who Left and Why

The Criminal Minds revival picks up two years after season 15. The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) was shaken up by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, they have limited resources to catch an UnSub, Elias Volt (Zach Gilford), who spent the pandemic building a network of serial killers. Beloved BAU members Jennifer “JJ” Jareau (A.J. Cook), David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler), Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez), and Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangness) will return.

Criminal Minds: Evolution premieres on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, on Paramount+.

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