“Criminal Minds: Evolution” has been renewed for Season 19 ahead of the Season 18 premiere, Variety has learned.

Season 18 of the series will debut on Paramount+ on May 8, with new episodes dropping weekly thereafter. “Evolution” picks up after the events of the original “Criminal Minds,” which aired on CBS for 15 seasons.

“Evolution” brought back many of the original series’ cast, including Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, and Aisha Tyler, with Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster. RJ Hatanaka and Zach Gilford joined the series when it was revived in 2022.

 L-R: Aisha Tyler as Tara Lewis, A.J. Cook as Jennifer “JJ” Jareau, Joe Mantegna as David Rossi, and Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez in Criminal Minds: Evolution, episode 10, season 17 streaming on Paramount+, 2024. Photo Credit: Michael Yarish /Paramount+

The official description for Season 18 states that it picks up six months after the events of the previous season, in which “prisoners attack the notorious Sicarius Killer, Elias Voit (Gilford), leading his restless followers on the dark web to begin wreaking havoc all over the country. In order to stop this nefarious group from killing more innocents, the BAU is forced to work alongside an increasingly unpredictable Voit who has his own agenda.”

Erica Messer serves as showrunner and executive producer on the series. Breen Frazier, Chris Barbour, Glenn Kershaw and Mark Gordon also executive produce. The show is produced by 20th Television and CBS Studios.

“Criminal Minds” star Matthew Gray Gubler has yet to make an appearance on “Evolution,” but he remains in business with CBS. It was announced in October 2024 that Gubler will star in the CBS drama pilot “Einstein,” in which he plays the great grandson of the world-renowned scientist who uses his genius to help solve murders. The pilot is currently in production.