When And Where To Watch Criminal Minds Season 18

Cluing you in on all the latest …

Posted on Apr 24, 2025 | 09:00am

Can a long-running show keep topping itself? Criminal Minds fans know the answer is yes.

With Criminal Minds: Evolution coming back for another new season, we're here to clue you in on all the particulars – the premiere date, the official trailer, show’s cast, the number of episodes, and more. Read on for the deets.
Get Started

What is Criminal Minds: Evolution?

Criminal Minds: Evolution combines serialized elements with classic Criminal Minds case work. As always, the show follows the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) – a team of criminal profilers that investigate the darkest and most deplorable of crimes.

Where can I stream Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18?

The new season of Criminal Minds: Evolution will stream exclusively on Paramount+. It will mark the third season of Criminal Minds: Evolution, and the 18th season overall for the Criminal Minds franchise. On Paramount+, when you go to stream episodes, you'll find the new season listed as Criminal Minds Season 18.

What is the Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 release date?

The new season of Criminal Minds: Evolution, aka Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 3, aka Criminal Minds Season 18, will premiere on Thursday, May 8, exclusively on Paramount+. New episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays through the season finale. There will be 10 episodes in all.

What is the Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 trailer release date?

The hunt is over. The official trailer for the latest new season of Criminal Minds: Evolution was released on April 24, 2025. You can see it right here.

Who stars in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18?

The starring cast for the new season of Criminal Minds: Evolution is as follows:

Joe Mantegna as David Rossi
A.J. Cook as Jennifer "J.J." Jareau
Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia
Aisha Tyler as Dr. Tara Lewis
Zach Gilford as Elias Voit
Ryan-James Hatanaka (as Tyler Green); with,
Adam Rodriguez (as Luke Alvez); and,
Paget Brewster (as Emily Prentiss)

What is Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 about?

The new season of Criminal Minds: Evolution picks up six months after prisoners attack the notorious Sicarius Killer, Elias Voit (Zach Gilford), an incident that drives his followers to the dark web to wreak havoc all over the country. To stop this nefarious group from killing more innocents than they already have, the BAU crew is forced to work alongside an increasingly unpredictable Voit, a man who has his own agenda.
Get Started

Where can I stream Criminal Minds?

You can stream all seasons of the original Criminal Minds series on Paramount+. All seasons means all 15 seasons from the show's 2005-2020, original CBS iteration, to all seasons of Criminal Minds: Evolution.

Criminal Minds: Evolution premiered exclusively on Paramount+ in 2022.

On Paramount+, you'll find all episodes of Criminal Minds and Criminal Minds: Evolution on the Criminal Minds: Evolution show page. Seasons are ordered sequentially from Season 1 on up. There are more than 300 episodes for you to binge-watch right now.

What's happened in Criminal Minds: Evolution so far?

In the first season of Criminal Minds: Evolution, the criminal profilers face the biggest threat they’ve ever encountered in their careers: an unknown subject (UnSub) who uses the turmoil surrounding the coronavirus pandemic to build a complex system of killers. When the world opens back up after the lockdowns, these killers become operational, and the BAU must methodically track each murderer down. No sooner do they find the lunatic at the center of the network that this evil mastermind captures a member of the BAU …

There are 10 episodes from Criminal Minds: Evolution's first season (referred to as Season 16 on Paramount+): "Just Getting Started," "Sicarius," "Moose," "Pay-Per-View," "Oedipus Wrecks," "True Conviction," "What Doesn’t Kill Us," "Forget Me Knots," “Momento Mori,” and; “Dead End."

In the second season of Criminal Minds: Evolution (listed as Season 17 on Paramount+), the BAU looks into GOLD STAR, a phrase connected to a deadly mystery. As the secret connected to these words unfolds, the team hits an unexpected snag when serial killer Elias Voit sweet-talks a deal that places him in federal custody in the BAU’s own backyard.

There are 10 episodes from this season of Criminal Minds: Evolution: "Gold Star," "Contagion," "Homesick," "Kingdom of the Blind," "Conspiracy vs. Theory," "Message in a Bottle," "Piranha," "North Star," “Stars & Stripes,” and; “Save the Children."

How do I sign up for Paramount+?

You can sign up for Paramount+ online at ParamountPlus.com, and on mobile devices via the Paramount+ app for iOS and Android. (CC required. T&Cs apply.) Choose your streaming device from the list below, and read the instructions on how to get started:

Get Started