After 4 Years, Criminal Minds Finally Justifies Its Biggest Change From CBS's Original Show

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Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia in Criminal Minds season 18.

Published May 29, 2026, 10:30 PM EDT

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One of Criminal Minds: Evolution's biggest distinguishing factors is finally starting to make sense. The 15-season original run made the CBS crime drama a household name, but the 2022 continuation has completely redefined numerous signature traits of the series. Be it the newfound freedom to include explicit dialogue or the brand-new characters added to the main cast, the modern era of Criminal Minds— and the newest iteration of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit— is certainly an evolution in its own right. Of course, not every update has been a net positive, including its focus on the dark side of cyberspace.

Criminal Minds Season 19, Episode 2 Confronts The Dangers Of True Crime

A Familiar Face Returns With A Timely Update To The Sicarius Case

Since its 2022 return, Criminal Minds has made a valiant effort to weave the darkest parts of the internet into its winning formula, starting from the season 16 premiere that introduced Elias Voit (Zach Gilford), also known as Sicarius. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Voit built a secret network for serial killers, which remained a thorn in the BAU's side until the season 18 finale. Now that the unsub has been imprisoned, however, Criminal Minds season 19, episode 2 delves into the realistic next stage of his life: becoming a true-crime darling.

As Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) notes, Voit is now as famous as Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer in the show's universe. Consequently, the online true-crime community has flocked to the Sicarius case, with countless podcasts emerging to rehash the sordid details of his harrowing crimes. One series, however, stands out for all the wrong reasons: The Sicarius Files, hosted by Brian Garrity (Paul F. Tompkins). Beyond the surface-level exploitation that comes with any true crime, Garrity is spreading extremely dangerous misinformation, most notably via the bald-faced lie that Voit was trained by the government to be a killer.

Intriguingly, Criminal Minds season 19 has Voit himself address the rumors in a hilariously out-of-place interview scene, complete with a neon sign and a BetterHelp name-drop. From the killer's voice to his disturbed fans' ears, Voit deconstructs the cult of celebrity surrounding Sicarius and calls himself pathetic, only to insist the listeners are even more pathetic for consuming Garrity's content and obsessing over the senseless violence of his murders. While Voit's outburst is certainly rooted in his own emotional biases, the scene carries the hefty weight of some pithy social commentary that marks a refreshing turning point for the drama.

Why Garrity’s Podcast Was The Reboot’s Best Stab At Internet Culture Yet

Elias Voit (Zach Gilford) and Brian Garrity (Paul F. Tompkins) in Criminal Minds season 19.

Granted, Criminal Minds isn't out of the woods when it comes to its less-than-seamless internet references. In the same episode that cleverly explores Garrity's thirst for virality— at the expense of his basic human empathy— Criminal Minds warns viewers to not "feed the trolls" or allow the "troglodytes" to take over the World Wide Web. Nevertheless, the episode's true-crime podcast subplot is by far the boldest way Criminal Minds has incorporated 2020s technology, and it's, for the most part, wildly effective as a result.

Paul F. Tompkins' Brian Garrity was introduced during the original run of Criminal Minds, first appearing in "Saturday" (season 15, episode 4).

Admittedly, "Cluster" isn't immediately in the ranks of masterpiece Criminal Minds episodes, but it takes the vast expanse of the internet and employs realistic consequences that impact the overarching narrative. In a world where TikTok stars recount grisly murders while applying makeup or filming mukbangs, it makes perfect sense that Voit's infamy would outlive his network's shutdown. Plus, by pointing out the harm true-crime content creators pose to real-life investigative work when they prioritize trends over truth, Criminal Minds adds higher-stakes that make the series feel more relevant than ever.

Release Date September 22, 2005

Showrunner Erica Messer

Directors Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Rob Bailey, Matthew Gray Gubler, Joe Mantegna, John Gallagher, Douglas Aarniokoski, Guy Norman Bee, Larry Teng, Nelson McCormick, Alec Smight, Charles S. Carroll, Rob Spera, Charles Haid, Diana Valentine, Rob Hardy, Tawnia McKiernan, Bethany Rooney, Karen Gaviola, Sharat Raju, Thomas Gibson, Aisha Tyler, Anna Foerster, Gloria Muzio, John Terlesky

Writers Bruce Zimmerman, Virgil Williams, Edward Allen Bernero, Janine Sherman Barrois, Chris Mundy, Simon Mirren, Debra J. Fisher, Kimberly A. Harrison, Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin, Karen Maser, Oanh Ly, Stephanie Sengupta, Aaron Zelman, Kirsten Vangsness, Erica Meredith, Andi Bushell, Holly Harold, Alicia Kirk, Jeff Davis, Randy Huggins, Edward Napier, Jayne A. Archer, Chikodili Agwuna