Criminal Minds season 18

The eighteenth season of Criminal Minds was announced on June 5, 2024, and began filming in August 2024.^[1][2] Season 18 serves as a renewal ("third season") of Criminal Minds: Evolution, the title of the continuation of Criminal Minds after its revival in 2022.^[3]

Criminal Minds: Evolution
Season 18
Starring	Joe Mantegna A. J. Cook Kirsten Vangsness Aisha Tyler Zach Gilford RJ Hatanaka Adam Rodriguez Paget Brewster
No. of episodes	10
Release
Original network	Paramount+
Original release	May 8 (2025-05-08) – July 10, 2025 (2025-07-10)
Season chronology
List of episodes

The season premiered on May 8, 2025, and consisted of ten episodes.

Cast

The eighteenth season of Criminal Minds will see the return of every main character from the seventeenth season, including the multi-season suspect Elias Voit.

In January 2024, Josh Stewart announced that he would not return to the show after first appearing as William LaMontagne Jr. in the second season of the show in 2007.^[4] Showrunner Erica Messer revealed that the final scene featuring Stewart's character was shot "several seasons ago, long before Stewart's decision to exit the show."^[5] Stewart was not credited in episodes 2 and 3 for his appearances.

Many fans have been anticipating and pushing for the return of Spencer Reid, an original character of the series played by Matthew Gray Gubler who last appeared in the fifteenth season. The showrunner, Erica Messer, along with Gubler have both emphasized a willingness for Spencer Reid to return, yet it is unclear if and when that may occur due to scheduling conflicts.^[1] He was confirmed to reprise his role in one episode of this season, and returned in the third episode, "Time to Say Goodbye".^[6] Aimee Garcia will recur throughout the season as, Dr. Julia Ochoa.^[7]

Main

• Joe Mantegna as David Rossi^[8]
• A. J. Cook as Jennifer "JJ" Jareau^[8]
• Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia^[8]
• Aisha Tyler as Dr. Tara Lewis^[8]
• Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez^[8]
• RJ Hatanaka as Tyler Green^[8]
• Zach Gilford as Elias Voit^[8]
• Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss^[8]

Recurring

• Nicole Pacent as Rebecca Wilson
• Aimee Garcia as Dr. Julia Ochoa^[8][9]
• Geoff Stults as Evan Delray
• Ariel Jackson as Nurse Monica Luna

Guest

• Josh Stewart as Will LaMontagne Jr. (uncredited)
• Matthew Gray Gubler as Dr. Spencer Reid^[6]
• Linda Lavin as Connie LaMontagne
• Candy Clark as Sandy Jareau
• Kerry Knuppe as Ramona Havener
• LaTanya Richardson Jackson as Caroline Lewis
• Silas Weir Mitchell as Cyrus Lebrun
• Aaron Stanford as Kyle Mackey

Episodes

See also: List of Criminal Minds episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date [10]
345	1	"Swimmer's Calculus"	Bethany Rooney	Breen Frazier	May 8, 2025 (2025-05-08)
346	2	"The Zookeeper"	Aisha Tyler	Christopher Barbour	May 15, 2025 (2025-05-15)
347	3	"Time to Say Goodbye"	Joe Mantegna	Erica Messer	May 22, 2025 (2025-05-22)
348	4	"I'm Fine, It's Fine. Everything Is Fine"	Anthony Vietro	Jayne A. Archer	May 29, 2025 (2025-05-29)
349	5	"The Brutal Man"	Nelson McCormick	Sullivan Fitzgerald	June 5, 2025 (2025-06-05)
350	6	"Hell Is Empty"	Jackeline Tejada	Charles Dewey	June 12, 2025 (2025-06-12)
351	7	"...All the Devils Are Here"	A. J. Cook	Carlton William Gillespie	June 19, 2025 (2025-06-19)
352	8	"Tara"	Sharat Raju	Chikodili Agwuna	June 26, 2025 (2025-06-26)
353	9	"CollateRal"	Doug Aarniokoski	Breen Frazier	July 3, 2025 (2025-07-03)
354	10	"The Disciple"	Glenn Kershaw	Christopher Barbour	July 10, 2025 (2025-07-10)

Release

The season premiered on May 8, 2025, and consisted of ten episodes.^[11]