Which Criminal Minds stars will or won’t return for Season 19?

criminal mind There seems to be a hint that the main cast may exit before Season 19 – but who is expected to return so far?

The official account for the hit Paramount+ series shared a photo from the set in May 2025 with the caption: “The BAU is back! New season of Criminal Minds: Evolution Filming has officially started. “

In a social media post, Joe Mantegna/Aisha Tyler/Kirsten Van Ness/Adam Rodriguez/AJ Cook/Paige Brewster and Ryan James Hatanaka Everyone smiles for the camera. The only major cast member missing? Zach Gilford.

Season 1 Criminal Minds: Evolution (aka OG Season 16 criminal mind series) Introducing Voit as the main antagonist. The BAU spent an entire season hunting the prolific killer, nicknamed him “Sikarius” after linking him to 62 murders and because he was the mastermind behind the creation of an online network of serial killers.

After Voight was arrested for a murder, he became a professional criminal consultant for the BAU. Voight’s status as a villain has been up in the air since earlier this season, he suffered severe memory loss that resulted in him no longer being labeled a psychopath.

“What I like is the pattern of his brain. His brain actually physically changed. So in theory, he was a good guy and now he’s a normal guy. But he still did all these things,” Guilford told EXCLUSIVELY US Weekly May 2025. “It’s a really cool concept that even though neurologically this guy will never do it again, he’s done it. It’s such a crazy concept that there’s no real right answer. Ultimately I thought, ‘Well, allegedly, he did do all of this.'”

Voight’s future on show unclear Josh Stewartcharacter will was killed. In a May 2025 episode, JJ’s (Cook) husband Will collapses from a headache. The team rushed to the hospital to support JJ, only to find that Will did not survive.

Paramount+ confirmed in March 2026 that Guilford would return with new guest stars: Connor Story/Justin Kirk/Yvette Nicole Brown/Clark Gregg/Paul Tompkins/Cress Williams/Kofi Sriboy/Lyndon Smith/Richard Cabral/Jerry Ryan/Rob Young/Nicholas Gonzalez/Inny Clemons/Nicole Person/Dash Mihok/Joseph Cross and Kara Jade Myers.

Keep scrolling to find out what’s included criminal mind Characters are coming back — but maybe not:

Joe Mantegna

Mantegna will return to play the role of Rossi, a role he has played since taking over. Mandy Patinkin in the original criminal mind exhibit.

Ajay Cook

Cook will return as JJ Still mourning the loss Her husband’s.

“We do cover a lot of the stages of grief. It’s not like we shoot an episode and she goes through it all and then ties it up neatly with a pretty bow. That’s not how grief works,” Cook told us. TV Insider May 2025. “So that’s something we’ll see throughout the season. And then beyond that.”

She continued, “It’s a feeling that never goes away. Now, it’s shaped her into a new single mother, and it’s going to continue to shape her as she learns to live her life that way now. So I’m excited to see what she’s going to be like. It’s been a journey, and it’s going to continue to be a journey in the form of Criminal Minds.”

Kirsten Van Ness

With Vans Ness in the picture, it’s safe to assume Garcia isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Aisha Tyler

Another seemingly safe character is Tara (Taylor), who reunites with her girlfriend Rebecca after dealing with some issues in her personal life (Nicole Parsant) in Season 18.

Zach Gilford

Guildford – and others criminal mind Actor – Voit acknowledged Can’t stay on the show forever.

“I was supposed to leave the show a while ago, but I kept pitching, ‘Well, I have to leave at some point. If you’re not going to kill me off, we should do a spinoff,'” Guilford quipped to Us in May 2025. Criminal Minds: Voight It follows what Voight does when he’s out and about. Either way, he either escapes or is released, and as far as the BAU is concerned, he is the white whale. So Criminal Minds can go ahead and enjoy this week’s (unsub) show – but they’re always going to be like, ‘I wonder if Voight had something to do with this. ‘”

He is expected to return in season 19.

Ryan James Hatanaka

While Season 18 explored Tyler (Hataka) working with the BAU during training to officially join the team, it was revealed that he may need to move elsewhere to gain experience. Tyler seems shocked that it might be 10 years before he officially becomes a part of the BAU team, but so far the show has found a way to get him to work with the rest of the team on set.

Adam Rodriguez

Rodriguez may return as Luke, who was recently linked to us about How high are the stakes? in the show.

Advertisement us May 2025. “I can say for sure that you will be notified. But no one wants to get that phone call.”

Rodriguez praised criminal mind He added: “We love being there. It’s a dream job. It’s a great place to show up and come to work every day. No one wants it to end and no one wants to leave. So hopefully we can do it for the long term.”

He continued: “Hopefully no one will be sacrificed for the sake of good television and we’ll find some other people who we can rack up enough credits. Will finally achieved that goal this year. But I think it just brings something else to the show that fans can enjoy and endure with us.”

Paget Brewster

By the end of Season 18, Prentiss was alive and well, according to behind-the-scenes photos.

Matthew Gray Gubler

Although Gubler guest-starred in Season 18, he is not expected to return for a recurring role in future episodes. He last played Reed on the show when it was still airing on CBS and is not returning for reruns on Paramount+.

“We love (Matthew) and he will always be part of the family. We would love the opportunity to have him back. We’ve tried and he’s tried,” showrunner Erica Messer Exclusive story us July 2024. “It just hasn’t worked out in terms of time. But it’s not for lack of trying.”

Gubler currently Filming episodes of his upcoming CBS series, einstein.