Jennifer “JJ” Jareau and Spencer Reid had one of the sweetest friendships Criminal minds. The BAU agents kept in touch throughout the show’s 15 seasons, and JJ even confessed his love for Reid once. JJ and Reid’s friendship is sorely missed Criminal Minds: Evolution, but unfortunately Reid actor Matthew Gray Gubler was unable to join the revival. Apparently actor JJ AJ Cook almost turned her down too.
Why isn’t Matthew Gray Gubler in ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’?
Gubler played brilliant special agent Spencer Reid for all 15 seasons Criminal minds. However, he opted not to return for the revival on Paramount+. The premiere episode confirms that Reid is still working for the FBI, but is away on a confidential mission.
In real life, Gubler simply wanted to focus on his other projects, as showrunner Erica Messer recently revealed to Deadline.
“He’s done other projects and a lot of them lined up during our window. Our shooting window was only from August to December 2nd. It was the same with Daniel Henney [Matt Simmons on Criminal Minds]who worked at The wheel of time. So I wasn’t able to get them, but I was able to get the other six cast members. They’ve never been better,” explained Messer.
AJ Cook didn’t want to come back for the revival without Matthew Gray Gubler
Many fans were disappointed to learn that Gubler would not be a part of Criminal Minds: Evolution cast. It’s just as painful for Cook, who has to move forward on the show without her on-screen best friend. In an interview with BuzzFeed, Cook revealed that he almost didn’t take the job.
“I mean, Matthew is one of the most charismatic, larger-than-life, yet very down-to-earth people I’ve ever met. It was actually really, really hard for me when I found out he wasn’t going to be able to come back. I thought not [returning]”, said the actor. “I said, ‘I don’t know how to do this without him. How do we do that? They are best friends. I kind of struggled with it at first.”
However, Cook felt more comfortable when he saw where the story would go. Criminal Minds: Evolution sees the BAU trying to shut down a serial killer ring and finds its creator, Elias Volt (Zach Gilford).
“When we started seeing the scripts, it’s such a powerful story that it made me feel a lot better when I saw where it was going,” Cook said.
AJ Cook teased ‘Criminal Minds’ ‘setting things up’ for Reid’s potential return
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Fortunately, the door is wide open for Matthew Gray Gubler to return Criminal minds if he chooses to do so. Messer made it clear that Reid’s office was ready and waiting for him at the BAU office. In addition, Cook said the show is “set up some things,” though he couldn’t provide any details.
“We all want it [Gubler] There. Let’s hope it all comes together because he’s a lot of fun to be around. He’s just the guy you want to be around. Good energy,” she added.
New episodes from Criminal Minds: Evolution drop every Thursday on Paramount+. See the full season release schedule for more details.