Criminal Minds Season 19's Callback To The CBS Original Is A Reminder Of Why It Still Works

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Criminal Minds season 19 still featuring David Rossi and Emily Prentiss holding out their badges.

Published Jun 6, 2026, 5:15 PM EDT

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Although it's a reboot of the CBS original series, Criminal Minds: Evolution has always had its own identity, even when it calls back to its roots. While Criminal Minds, which ran from 2005 through 2020 on CBS, was a long-running, formulaic series that followed the criminal profilers of the BAU as they worked through complicated cases, Evolution has become something entirely different as it's taken on new life on Paramount+. Throughout its four-season run thus far, Evolution has been able to create space for itself, bringing the original cast from the CBS series into a new series of cases together.

That dichotomy, on one side showing the darkest of dark moments, and on the other side, showing a more human side with the BAU participating in each other's lives, was integral to keeping Criminal Minds moving forward. Luckily, Evolution's most recent episode made a great callback to those human moments.

Criminal Minds' Sense Of Found Family Has Always Been A Strength

JJ and Garcia in Criminal Minds looking at someone off screen

Throughout Criminal Minds' run, the show's ability to develop a sense of found family was a major strength. While the series was, at its core, a standard procedural that watched the BAU catch complex killers, the show wanted to ensure that it rounded out its edges. With storylines that followed the team home, building their personal relationships and understanding their issues, the more the BAU learned about each other, the more viewers got to see them growing closer together. The show's sense of found family was always a strength, with the team showing up for one another personally and professionally.

As Criminal Minds continued, the team saw each other through many of life's milestones. From weddings and births to sickness and deaths, the team was there for each other in the big moments, as well as the small. Criminal Minds was always able to show the group together for a quick drink or a pasta night at Rossi's, giving viewers more perspective on what was going on in their own lives rather that cementing them within their offices. Unlike other procedurals that focus completely on the work, Criminal Minds always had a solid balance that felt meaningful and authentic.

Criminal Minds Season 19 Episode 3's Floor Camping Thread Was A Cute Callback

Still from Criminal Minds season 19 episode 3, "Body Count" where Luke Alvez and Penelope Garcia stand in her colorful living room, having set up a tent and string lights for JJ and her kids.

During the most recent episode of Criminal Minds season 19, the series went back to one of its most tried and true methods of building that sense of found family. As JJ (AJ Cook) and her sons moved out of their family home during the season premiere, she made it clear that she'd be around Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) far more, as they were moving into her area. Criminal Minds season 19 episode 3, "Body Count", saw Garcia and Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez) setting up a sweet living room camping space for JJ and her boys as a bonding night.

Taking the audience entirely out of the dark story of the episode and the issues surrounding Voit, Alvez and Garcia's excitement about giving JJ and her sons an evening to camp out and spend time together was a sweet reminder of how much the BAU cares for one another. With book-ending scenes at the top and bottom of the episode about Garcia being a landing spot for JJ and the boys, it was great to see the series return to a long-held strength, creating a new sense of a modern found family for the most recent iteration of Criminal Minds.

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