Matthew Gray Gubler‘s Dr. Spencer Reid is making a long-awaited return appearance in Criminal Minds: Evolution. The Criminal Minds alum will appear in a Season 3 episode of the procedural, Deadline has learned.
It’s frequently mentioned in the sequel series that Reid has been away from the BAU for what they call “a special assignment.”
Gubler landed Criminal Minds soon after graduating from college in his first TV role. His character as criminal profiler quickly became a fan favorite with his analytical skills, his eccentricities — and his ever-changing hair. Along with A.J. Cook, Gubler was the only full-time original cast member to stay for Criminal Minds‘ entire 15-season run, which ended in 2020 — starring and also directing 12 episodes.
Much to fans’ disappointment, Gubler was the only longtime Criminal Minds cast member from the series’ final season on CBS who did not return for the 2022 sequel, Criminal Minds: Evolution, on Paramount+. Both Gubler and showrunner Erica Messer have said in interviews that they’ve tried to make it happen but the scheduling never worked out. Now, schedules seem to have aligned and we hear Gubler will appear in part of one episode in season three. The storyline for Gubler’s appearance is under wraps.
Gubler is plenty busy with other projects. As Deadline exclusively reported, he’s set to play the title role and produce the CBS Studios pilot Einstein (working title), from the Monk team of creator/executive producer Andy Breckman and director/executive producer Randy Zisk.
In it, brilliant but directionless, the great grandson of Albert Einstein (Gubler) spends his days as a comfortably tenured professor until his bad-boy antics land him in trouble with the law and he is pressed into service helping a local police detective solve her most puzzling cases.
Word of Gubler’s upcoming appearance in Criminal Minds: Evolution was first reported in the Italian magazine ANSA.
Nellie Andreeva contributed to this report.