Criminal Minds season 16

The sixteenth season of the American police procedural crime drama television series Criminal Minds, subtitled Evolution, follows members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as they are faced with a network of serial killers built during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a revival of the 2005 series which ended in 2020. The season premiered on November 24, 2022 on Paramount+ in the U.S. and on Disney+ in other regions on November 25, 2022.

In January 2023, Evolution was renewed for another season. Filming began in January 2024. It premiered on June 6, 2024 on Paramount+ in the U.S., and on Disney+ in other regions on June 7, 2024.

Main

 * Joe Mantegna as David Rossi
 * AJ Cook as Jennifer "JJ" Jareau
 * Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia
 * Aisha Tyler as Dr. Tara Lewis
 * Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez
 * Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss

Recurring

 * Zach Gilford as Elias Voit
 * Josh Stewart as Will LaMontagne Jr.
 * Nicholas D'Agosto as Deputy Director Doug Bailey
 * Nicole Pacent as Rebecca Wilson
 * Ryan-James Hatanaka as Tyler Green
 * Kiele Sanchez as Sydney Voit
 * Monnae Michaell as Attorney General Louise Davis

Guest

 * Gail O'Grady as Krystall Rossi
 * Luke Benward as Benjamin Reeves
 * Beth Broderick as Senator Marsha Reeves
 * Silas Weir Mitchell as Cyrus Lebrun
 * Jonathan Del Arco as Silvio Herrera

Development
In February 2021, a revival series and the sixteenth season of Criminal Minds was announced to be in early development at Paramount+ with 10 episodes planned. In February 2022, the series was confirmed to be still in development. Paramount+ officially gave a series order in July 2022. The official title of the new series was revealed in September 2022.

Casting
Most of the main cast of the last season of the previous series returned, with the exception of Matthew Gray Gubler and Daniel Henney. On September 4, 2022, Josh Stewart confirmed he would reprise his role as Will LaMontagne Jr. On September 9, 2022, Zach Gilford was cast in a recurring role.

Filming
Filming began in August 2022. In September 2022, Joe Mantegna announced that he would be directing an episode this season. Later that month, it was confirmed that A. J. Cook, Aisha Tyler and Adam Rodriguez would also be directing episodes this season.