Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 was arguably one of the most thrilling streaming releases of the summer, as the BAU team returned to not only deal with Zach Gilford’s Voit all over again, but a whole new crew of killers. Despite the finale releasing for Paramount+ subscribers in early August, the crime drama is currently ranking at #2 on the streamer’s list of Top 10 Shows. Seeing Criminal Minds still doing so well nearly a full month after its finale made me think back to what Paget Brewster told CinemaBlend about Clark Gregg joining the cast, and it’s enough to make me want to watch the season all over again.
For some perspective on why I’m so impressed that Criminal Minds is still on Paramount+’s Top 10, it’s worth noting that the show has already begun filming Season 3 before Season 2 even dropped out of streaming relevance. At the time of writing, it holds the #2 rank on the list, behind David Boreanaz’s SEAL Team – which is currently still releasing new episodes – at #1 and NCIS at #3. (NCIS returns for Season 22 in the fall 2024 TV schedule.) I’m not saying that Clark Gregg joining the cast is why it’s doing so well, but he was one of the changes for the new season.
And when I spoke with Paget Brewster about Prentiss getting stoned with JJ and what was in store for the high-stakes Season 2 finale, I also asked what it has been to add the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. alum to the ensemble this time around. Brewster didn’t disappoint, as she laughed and said:
He's awesome. Before Clark was cast in the show, he and I played Hilary Duff's mom and dad in How I Met Your Father. So when we did the Zoom table read with Clark, we're all in our homes, and Clark popped up and I shouted – forgetting that executives were on that call – shouted, 'That's the last man I made out with!' Because we had to make out for days on How I Met Your Father. And then I said, 'Please don't call HR.'
While plenty of people still recognize Paget Brewster from Friends, the actress is better known for her drama work nowadays thanks to more than 200 episodes of Criminal Minds over nearly twenty years. Still, she flexed her comedy muscles for the sadly short-lived How I Met Your Father to make out with Clark Gregg while playing Hilary Duff’s parents on Hulu. It certainly sounds like the reunion over the Evolution Season 2 table read made for a memorable Zoom encounter! Brewster went on to praise what Gregg brought to Criminal Minds as FBI Director Ray Madison:
He's great. And when he shows up in the beginning of the season, in those scenes with Voit where they are making that deal, it was so compelling. I was so excited to see this, like, snap crackle magic between those two without us, because we weren't there. We didn't shoot it. We watched it on the monitor in another scene, and it was so exciting. The guy's great, and he's hilarious, and he's a surfer. He surfs! He likes to surf all the time, and the guy is just great at that gravitas and being a boss. I love that guy. I'm so excited. I hope we get more of him.
Paget Brewster isn’t the only member of the Criminal Minds team who would like to get Clark Gregg back in the future, as the showrunner feels the same way. Showrunner Erica Messer shared her own thoughts on what the Avengers alum brought to the show as well as her hopes for what’s possible in Season 3:
When Clark came in and he had that scene with Zach [Gilford] in the premiere, It was our first day of shooting. We had been dark since 2022 and here we are in January 2024, and these two are in a room together. And I'm like, 'Oh my god, I could just watch them all day.' And then he's in scenes with Paget and Joe [Mantegna], and I'm like, 'I could watch them all day.' He's a busy guy. We didn't get him back until the finale, and I just buy that he's the director of the FBI. I 100% buy it, and I buy that they've got a respectful but frustrating relationship with him. We hope to see him again in the next season.
While it remains to be seen if Clark Gregg will turn up again on Criminal Minds: Evolution, Paramount+ gave an early renewal for Season 3 that has allowed filming to already begin. There’s no saying at this point when the third season will be ready to premiere, but it’s safe to say that we all will have plenty of time to rewatch Season 2 during the wait. Both seasons of Evolution as well as the first fifteen Criminal Minds seasons that aired on CBS are streaming on Paramount+ now.
