Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 – A Thrilling Comeback Between Clark Gregg and Paget Brewster
Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 could be considered one of the most exciting online releases of the summer, as the BAU team returns, not only to deal with Zach Gilford’s Voit once again but also to confront an entirely new group of killers. Though the final episode was released for Paramount+ subscribers in early August, this crime drama currently ranks #2 on the service’s top 10 streaming shows list. Seeing Criminal Minds still performing well nearly a month after its finale brings to mind what Paget Brewster mentioned to CinemaBlend about Clark Gregg joining the cast, which made me want to rewatch the entire season.
To understand why I am so impressed that Criminal Minds is still in Paramount+’s Top 10, it’s notable that the show started filming Season 3 even before Season 2 finished streaming. As of this writing, the show holds the #2 spot on the list, behind David Boreanaz’s SEAL Team – which is still releasing new episodes – at #1, with NCIS at #3. (NCIS is set to return for Season 22 in the fall 2024 broadcast schedule.) I’m not saying Clark Gregg’s addition to the cast is the sole reason for the show’s success, but he is one of the new changes in this season.
When I spoke with Paget Brewster about Prentiss doing drugs with JJ and what lies ahead in the risky Season 2 finale, I also asked her what it was like adding the former Agents of SHIELD star to the group this time around. Brewster didn’t disappoint, laughing and saying: “He’s great. Before Clark was cast on the show, he and I had played Hilary Duff’s parents on How I Met Your Father. So, when we were doing the script read on Zoom with Clark, we were all at home, and Clark showed up, and I screamed – forgetting that the executives were on the call – screamed, ‘That’s the last man I kissed!’ Because we had to kiss for days on How I Met Your Father. And then I said, ‘Please don’t call HR.'”
While many still know Paget Brewster from Friends, the actress is now better known for her dramatic work, thanks to more than 200 episodes of Criminal Minds over nearly two decades. However, she did show off her comedic chops on the sadly short-lived How I Met Your Father, where she had to kiss Clark Gregg repeatedly while playing Hilary Duff’s parents on Hulu. It sounds like the reunion during the Evolution Season 2 script reading created a memorable Zoom meeting! Brewster continued to praise what Gregg brought to Criminal Minds as FBI Director Ray Madison: “He’s great. And when he showed up at the beginning of the season, in those scenes with Voit when they were making that deal, it was so captivating. I was so excited to see this, like, magic crackling between those two without us, because we weren’t there. We didn’t shoot it. We saw it on screen in another scene, and it was so fun. The guy is great, he’s funny, and he’s a surfer. He surfs! He loves to surf all the time, and this guy is just fantastic with that seriousness and becoming a boss. I love that guy. I’m so excited. I hope we see more of him.”
Paget Brewster isn’t the only member of the Criminal Minds crew hoping for more Clark Gregg in the future, as the showrunner also feels the same way. Showrunner Erica Messer shared her own thoughts on what the former Avengers star brought to the show as well as her hopes for what could happen in Season 3:
“When Clark came in and he had that scene with Zach [Gilford] in the premiere, that was our first day of shooting. We had been quiet since 2022, and now it’s January 2024, and these two were in a room together. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, I could watch them all day.’ And then he did the scene with Paget and Joe [Mantegna], and I was like, ‘I could watch them all day.’ He’s a busy man. We didn’t see him come back until the finale, and I just believe that he’s the director of the FBI. I believe it 100%, and I believe they have a respectful yet uncomfortable relationship with him. We’re hoping to see him again next season.”
While it remains to be seen whether Clark Gregg will return in Criminal Minds: Evolution, Paramount+ has already renewed the show for Season 3, allowing filming to begin. There’s still no official word on when the third season will be ready to premiere, but we can rest assured that we’ll have plenty of time to rewatch Season 2 in the meantime. Both seasons of Evolution, along with the first fifteen seasons of Criminal Minds that aired on CBS, are currently streaming on Paramount+.
