Criminal Minds Boss Teases the Next Steps of Voit's 'Evolution' and Connor Storrie's Upcoming Arc

Criminal Minds just kicked off the fourth season of its Evolution era, which started when the series moved over to Paramount+ in 2022, and its 19th overall. The first two seasons of Evolution chronicled the BAU's journey to capture serial killer savant, Elias Voit (Zach Gilford). Season 18 questioned whether a serial killer with Voit's resume could ever feel remorse. It appears that with a well-timed case of amnesia and then having to remember all of the horrific things he's done, remorse is possible for even the most effective killers. 

Now we are in Season 19, Voit is behind bars, and he's fully cognizant of his past sins. Where does the show go from here? 

"Voit's entire journey is exciting because it's something we haven't been able to explore before, to actually be with somebody through the — pardon the pun — evolution of a killer," showrunner and executive producer Erica Messer tells TV Guide. "By the time Season 19 rolls around, the man who was hiding in the dark, ashamed of himself, caught by the BAU, is now a household name. We know his crimes. We know his secrets. Even though he'll never see them again, he's done harm to his family. He's a man in his 40s who is going to rot away in prison. It's a pretty dreadful punishment — very well-deserved. But this year's journey is about whether he's going to be rotting away in there, and whether there's any good that he can do?"

That's a bigger question than whether Voit is willing to help the BAU or not. Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler) is taking the lead on interviewing Voit to try to expand the BAU's knowledge of how serial killers function in the modern era. However, to Messer's point, the outside world knows who Elias Voit is now. True crime podcasts and unofficial documentaries are popping up in a whack-a-mole game of Prentiss' (Paget Brewster) nightmares. Viral conspiracy theories suggest it was actually the BAU that trained Voit to go on his killing spree. So is forcing him to relive his crimes and document how he committed them actually going to save lives, or will it just become a manual for the next Sicarius killer?

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"I love what's happening this season because it kind of returns to the origins of the BAU," Tyler, who delightfully crashed our interview with Messer, adds. "The original BAU thought you could understand how these minds work. We can prevent these kinds of things from happening in the future. It takes this mucky, dirty work to keep everybody else in the light. What I find compelling about the show is that some people have to get dirty so that other people can stay clean. There are a lot of ways to interpret that. But for me, it's like we're going to look evil in the face so other people don't have to." 

Voit's commitment, despite still fighting some very dark urges, creates a moral quandary both for the team and the audience. Is what he's telling Lewis the truth or part of an elaborate scheme to escape his compounded life sentence? The perspective on that shifts depending on which BAU member you speak with, and that is intentional. 

"Each character feels differently about Voit. Rossi wants nothing to do with the guy, so he's haunting Voit this season. Garcia has way more empathy for everyone. Tyler obviously has the most personal connection because his sister was killed. Lewis wants to get into his brain and figure out what makes him tick. Prentiss needs to manage the outward perception now that the world knows this guy," Messer details. "I feel like in the best-case scenario, the fans all feel the way our characters feel." 

For Kirsten Vangsness, who also joined the interview and plays the soft-hearted expert hacker Penelope Garcia, meeting Voit where he's at in this current moment is part of what keeps Criminal Minds interesting. 

"She knows how he came up. She knows what happened to him. It does a weird thing. The reason why people don't like [Penelope's empathy] is that it takes away the black and white. Then you're just sitting in the gray, which is unanswerable, but also the whole point of this show," she explains. 

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Criminal Minds' continued success is also about bringing in exciting new characters and talent. This season will feature Heated Rivalry heartthrob Connor Storrie. He was originally slated for a one-episode guest arc, but Messer was so impressed with his acting that the team decided to expand his role. All of this was decided before Heated Rivalry became a global sensation. 

"He was shooting a scene with A.J. [Cook] that I believe made our trailer," Messer recalls. "There was such a presence about him, super genuine, super talented — so much so that we expanded his character from one episode to four episodes." 

A few weeks later, Storrie became a household name, but the cast and crew of Criminal Minds lovingly feel like he was theirs first. They are extremely proud of the legacy of talent that has passed through the BAU. 

"I think what's really special and why people are connecting to Connor is not just that he's talented, but he's just a really nice person," Tyler declares. "We run a creatively gentle place. We want everybody to do well and excel. We're excited when someone comes in, and they do great work on our show. We're excited when they're out in the world and do well. We are making our 20th season. That's unusual for any show anywhere, and to be performing at the top of our creative with so many good guests, that's huge...I'm really proud that we've been able to knight so many people. It's nice to be a part of that."

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 19 continues with new episodes every Thursday on Paramount+. Storrie's first episode premieres Thursday, June 11.