[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Criminal Minds: Evolution.]

The Big Picture

In this season of ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution,’ the BAU must ally with serial killer Elias Voit to catch the Gold Star killers, putting the team in danger.
Dr. Jill Gideon, introduced as Jason Gideon’s ex-wife, brings complexity to the team dynamic, possibly connecting to the Gold Star project.
Joe Mantegna and Felicity Huffman discuss exploring deep relationships, the dynamic between characters, and the potential return of former cast members.

In Season 17 of Criminal Minds: Evolution, which streams on Paramount+, the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) has found itself in the position of having to team up with captured serial killer Elias Voit (Zach Gilford) to track the highly dangerous and deadly Gold Star killers. Pursuing an organized team of traumatized spree killers is an all-hands-on-deck situation that sees Emily Prentiss with a target directly on her back, David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) talking to a Voit that’s a figment of his imagination, Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) having to work with Tyler Green (Ryan-James Hatanaka), and the rest of the team under heightened stress and pressure.

Things have gotten even more interesting now that Dr. Jill Gideon (Felicity Huffman) has entered the picture. Previously married to Jason Gideon and with a deep connection to Rossi, Jill’s presence at the BAU is sure to shake things up, but she might also be the missing link they need to fully understand the Gold Star program.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Mantegna and Huffman talked about introducing a new character with such a deep history to the world of the show, telling a story that doesn’t have straight lines, Dr. Gideon’s connection to Gold Star, the dynamic between Rossi and Jill, why you should never forbid a woman to do something, their longtime mutual respect for each other, and whether any former cast members could make a future return.

Criminal Minds Criminal Minds follows the elite team of FBI profilers in the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as they analyze and track down the country’s most dangerous serial killers and criminals. Led by experienced agents like Jason Gideon, Aaron Hotchner, and later David Rossi, the team delves into the minds of the perpetrators, using psychological profiling and investigative techniques to anticipate their next moves. Each episode features intense and often chilling cases, while also exploring the personal lives and challenges faced by the team members.Release Date September 22, 2005 Cast shemar moore , Joe Mantegna , Kirsten Vangsness , Paget Brewster , Thomas Gibson , Matthew Gray Gubler , A.J. Cook , Mandy Patinkin , Lola Glaudini , Rachel Nichols , Jennifer Love Hewitt , Aisha Tyler Seasons 17 Streaming Service(s) Paramount+ Showrunner Erica Messer

Collider: Joe, Rossi has been going through it this season. He’s been having visions of Voit everywhere, and he’s starting to acknowledge that it’s a problem that he actually needs to address. What was it like to shoot the scene when Rossi dreams that Voit shoots Emily Prentiss in the head?

JOE MANTEGNA: Having been on the show as long as I have – I’ve been on the show basically 15 years now and my hair was black when I started – there’s no way I can divorce myself from eliciting real emotions watching some of that stuff going on. We shot that scene, and especially that little section where he had Paget [Brewster] in such a precarious position, and it’s one of those NAR, no acting required, moments because it’s so easy to tap into the real relationships that we have on that show, which are incredibly strong. You don’t keep that group together at this level without us having a lot of investment in each other as human beings. It wasn’t that difficult to let the scenario take over and dictate where I went with it.

To Understand Her ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Character, Felicity Huffman Turned to the Scripts
Image via Paramount+

Felicity, you’re playing a new character in this universe, but she has roots in the show’s history. How do you approach figuring out who you want her to be as her own person, but how she also connects to the larger picture of the whole thing?

FELICITY HUFFMAN: It’s a good question. Very articulate, as well. It’s all in the writing. You just mine the writing for all the answers. Yes, she has a deep history with this group of people, and then she broke off and didn’t want anything to do with them. You can figure out why she broke off, and if there are any things needed to be filled in, usually you get it from the script. If you don’t get it from the script, you go back to the script and you think, “I must not have read it correctly.” I like the idea of having deep roots, so her connections are already there. I like the idea of feeling estranged but being pulled back in because then it’s a very complicated, push-me-pull-you kind of thing. And her deep history with Rossi is really fun to play.

Even the element of having an ex-husband is interesting because you don’t know what those emotions might bring out. That’s a very complicated relationship, especially with him being gone, because that’s an added layer to it all.

HUFFMAN: Yeah, it’s true. It’s not just a dead husband, it’s a dead ex-husband, and they got divorced quite a ways before they actually got divorced. I’m certainly new to the party, but it seems like (showrunner) Erica Messer has not made any straight lines with this story. It’s very complicated and deep, and just when you think it’s going one way, it takes a right-hand turn or a left-hand turn.

Related ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Season 2’s Best Storyline Is Also Its Most Underrated It’s distinctive in its quietness, but also how grounded it feels next to ‘Criminal Minds’ almost ludicrous conspiracy theories.

Unless you are a biological psychiatrist, I’m guessing you don’t really know what it means to be one. How did you handle that side of the character? Did you want to understand how that would shape who she is?

HUFFMAN: I did the acting deep dive into, what is a biological psychologist? And there were a couple of times where I was like, “Would a biological psychologist actually do this?,” and they very wisely said, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” But my understanding of a biological psychologist, I’m sure, is much more shallow than theirs. They really know their stuff.

Joe, when Rossi decided to forbid Emily to enlist the help of Dr. Jill Gideon, did he think that would actually work? With everything that she’s been through and the edge that she’s currently on, did he think that she would just leave things there?

MANTEGNA: Let’s face it, Rossi doesn’t really bet a very high average with his logic with women anyway. He’s been through three and a half wives already on this show.

HUFFMAN: Three and a half?

MANTEGNA: I count the half because I remarried one. We already established that, but then it ended, and then we established it again. And then, of course, she met her untimely end. To me, it does fit the character. Rossi tends to put his mouth ahead of his logic sometimes. He’s Italian and he tends to be a little boisterous. He’s gonna say what comes to his mind, maybe without thinking about it. If he’d have thought about it, he might have realized that maybe it wasn’t such a great idea. But on the other hand, what fun is that? Sometimes you need to go off the tracks a little bit. This character has the capacity to do that.

Related Here’s What’s Coming For Emily Prentiss in ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Season 2 ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ showrunner Erica Messer reveals what Emily Prentiss will be dealing with in Season 2.

You have to know that if you ever forbid a woman to do something, they’re going to do that very thing.

MANTEGNA: You don’t have to tell me. I’ve been married for 50 years. I certainly know that.

Joe Mantegna & Felicity Huffman Enjoy the Uncertainty of What’s to Come for Their ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Characters

By the end of this episode, we only just see these characters in the same space together. We don’t really know what that dynamic will be like, moving forward. How would you describe the way they feel about each other, prior to that moment, and what can you tease what we’ll see of their dynamic together?

MANTEGNA: My feeling is that you’ve gotta wait and see. I think people can relate to that scenario. When you’ve known each other for a long time, things happen during that time, there’s been a long time when there has been no contact, and now they’ve come together again. It’s a book where parts of it have yet to be written.

HUFFMAN: The only thing that would bring Jill into Rossi’s orbit would be a feeling of responsibility for the White Papers. I don’t know what she thinks will happen, probably a continuation of the past, which is, “Let’s just get this off the desk and move on.” I think that’s where the drama comes up, in the surprise. Who knows what’s gonna happen between these two? It’s a fight-and-fuck kind of thing.

What have you guys most enjoyed about working with each other? You’re both actors who have done this a long time and you know what you’re doing. What’s it like to share scenes with another actor like that?

MANTEGNA: For me, it was great. I’ve known her almost since she was out of college. It was just a continuation of working with somebody who is a consummate professional, wonderful talent, and a wonderful person. And she’s married to a good friend of mine. You add all those things together, we’ve got a lot of history there. It’s a blessing, it really is.

HUFFMAN: For me, it’s a little different because Joey is Joey. It was on Things Change, and I was outside the hotel and watched his car drive up because he was arriving with his family, and everyone was like, “That’s Joey Mantegna. He’s arriving with his family. He always travels with his family.” I did a small scene in Things Change where I fainted. Getting to work with your idol and your friend and someone with such a big heart who is so welcoming, it’s the nicest set I’ve ever been on. That always starts from the top, and Joey’s number one, so he sets the tone.

Could Any Former ‘Criminal Minds’ Cast Members Return for ‘Evolution’?
Image via CBS

Joe, this season seems to be a season that’s really also reminding us about the former team members that are no longer there. There’s been mention of Gideon (Mandy Patinkin), Hotch (Thomas Gibson), Morgan (Shemar Moore), and Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler). What has it felt like for you to have those cast changeups over the years? Do you hope that Shemar Moore or Matthew Gray Gubler will return at some point and in some way?

MANTEGNA: Anything can happen, just like in life. In life, you go along, you make relationships, and then, all of a sudden, something changes. Here’s Felicity’s character, Jill, showing up after being mentioned once or twice over the last 17 seasons. So, who’s to say? I can see it happening. As to when and how and if, we’ll see, but the playing field is there and they’re still players. The potential does exist, so we’ll just have to see.

Related ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’s Showrunner on What it Will Take to Get Matthew Gray Gubler Back as Spencer Reid With 17 seasons, ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ is still throwing curveballs at the BAU team and pushing boundaries of the procedural format.

Criminal Minds: Evolution is available to stream on Paramount+. Check out the trailer:

Watch on Paramount+