Summary
- Actor Josh Stewart, who played detective Will LaMontagne Jr., will not return to Criminal Minds: Evolution for its second season.
- Stewart has been a cast member since 2007, appearing in guest and recurring roles throughout the Criminal Minds series.
- Criminal Minds: Evolution continues the success of the original show, with many original cast members returning for the new season.
One of the main cast members of Criminal Minds: Evolution has revealed they will not return for the upcoming second season. Actor Josh Stewart, who has played detective Will LaMontagne Jr. since the second series of the original Criminal Minds run, has now taken to social media to say, “sadly, my days of playing Will LaMontagne Jr. are over. You guys have been the absolute best,” when asked by a fan if he would be back for more.
No doubt many will be disappointed to hear that the longtime Criminal Minds cast member will no longer appear in the revival series. Stewart has played Will LaMontagne Jr. since way back in 2007, featuring in guest and recurring roles across the entire Criminal Minds saga since season two.
He has featured in another recurring role throughout Criminal Minds: Evolution, or season 16, with the character revealing that he is facing a cancer scare. At present, his fate going into the next season is unknown.
Criminal Minds first aired back in 2005 and follows criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). Using various techniques, including behavioral analysis and criminal profiling, to solve crimes and catch UnSubs (short for unknown subject) across Virginia and Washington, DC, Criminal Minds also explores the personal struggles and interplay between the team members.
Criminal Minds originally ran for a total of 15 seasons and has seen tremendous success, spawning a major franchise and spinning off into various shows and even video games, with the show now continuing and somewhat rebranded as Criminal Minds: Evolution.
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Criminal Minds: Evolution Will Return for Season 2 This Year
Criminal Minds: Evolution brings the BAU back on Paramount+ and finds them tackling their biggest case ever. The elite team of criminal profilers will now face their greatest threat, an UnSub who used the pandemic to build a network of serial killers. As the world opens back up, the network goes operational, and the team must hunt down one murderer at a time.
Criminal Minds: Evolution sees many of the original cast members returning, including Joe Mantegna as David Rossi, Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss, A.J. Cook as Jennifer Jareau “JJ,” Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia, Aisha Tyler as Tara Lewis, and Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez.
Fans of the police procedural had been holding out hope for a return after the show seemingly ended in 2020, with Criminal Minds staple Joe Mantegna having previously credited the fanbase with getting the revival off the ground.
“We’re back filming. We just started last Tuesday. We’re back up. We’re going to be on Paramount+, so we just started season 16 after a two-year hiatus. And we’re all thrilled to be back. And it’s a good group, a great group. I’ve been there for 13 seasons, and I’m glad to be back, and we look forward to new episodes out there. And our fanbase is so wonderful all over the world. I think that’s what helped bring us back.”
Criminal Minds: Evolution season two is scheduled to debut on Paramount+ later this year.
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