You know what they say: Opposites attract. We’ll have to see if such is the case with Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez) and a new character joining Criminal Minds: Evolution for its upcoming 18th season (the third of the revival).
Aimee Garcia will appear in multiple episodes, Deadline reports. The Lucifer star will be playing Dr. Julia Ochoa. She is one of the country’s leading neuropsychiatrists and is helping a high-profile patient as he recovers from an injury-induced brain trauma. She comes at the situation in a gentle way, which will clash with Luke’s more aggressive one. With Garcia in multiple episodes, we can’t help but wonder if sparks could fly between Luke and Julia and if that might mean some jealousy from Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness); their day may not have gone well but it doesn’t seem like the door is completely shut on a potential relationship.
Also returning for the new season of Criminal Minds: Evolution (which is filming now) in addition to Rodriguez and Vangsness are Joe Mantegna (David Rossi), Paget Brewster (Emily Prentiss), A.J. Cook (JJ Jareau), Aisha Tyler (Dr. Tara Lewis), Zach Gilford (Elias Voit), and Ryan-James Hatanaka (Tyler Green).
Season 17 of Criminal Minds ended with the team wrapping up the Gold Star case (which was traced back to the very early days of the Behavioral Analysis Unit) and Voit being attacked in prison. Showrunner Erica Messer had already confirmed at the time of the finale that Gilford would be back as Voit, so we know that he survives. But there are still plenty of questions surrounding that attack. (And if Rossi may have played any role in letting it slip who Voit was since he was in the system under his birth name.)
Related7 Burning Questions for ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Season 18
“Who are these people? Is it just a random attack on a guy in the laundry room? No. And what was Voit’s hand in any of that?” Messer asked.
After the first two seasons of the revival really focused on Rossi and Prentiss’ trauma, looking ahead, “It’s everybody, I would say right now,” Messer shared about plans for Season 18, though they hadn’t fully broken it yet. “But JJ and Lewis have really big stories this season. So yeah, I would say working our way down the call sheet.”
What do you think of Aimee Garcia’s casting? What are you hoping to see with her character? Let us know in the comments section, below.
Criminal Minds: Evolution, Season 18 Premiere, TBA, Paramount+
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