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Spencer Will Be Seen in the Criminal Minds Revival, Just Not the Way We Hoped

Spencer Will Be Seen in the Criminal Minds Revival, Just Not the Way We Hoped
Image credit: CBS

If you are a Spencer Reid fan, hope is not lost for you!

With the Criminal Minds revival, titled Evolution, premiering this week, fans are excited to return to their favorite procedural - even if not all of their favorite characters have returned.

Evolution brings back many familiar faces, including Joe Mantegna, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, A.J. Cook, Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster. However, one popular actor from the original show is missing from the cast.

It's Matthew Gray Gubler, who portrayed Dr. Spencer Reid in the original CBS procedural, who has not returned to the 2022 show. In early February, it was revealed that the actor would not be appearing in the series - but that doesn't mean his fans' hopes have been completely dashed.

Criminal Minds Revival Finally Fixes The Show's Ridiculously Fictional Detail

Showrunner Erica Messer addressed the absence of Reid when speaking to TVLine in September.

"It's a little bit of a mystery what Reid and Simmons are up to, but they're certainly not forgotten," she said. "Dr. Reid's and I believe Matt Simmons' desks are still there, still have stuff on it."

According to her, Spencer is not "gone gone", so it turns out that fans might want to brace themselves for some kind of a nod or a surprise homage. Messer, however, did not elaborate on what exactly can be expected.

Criminal Minds: Evolution premiered on November 24th on Paramount Plus in the U.S. and a day later on Disney Plus in Canada and Australia.