Joe Mantegna Praises Criminal Minds: Evolution's Move From Network TV
The following article contains mild spoilers for "Criminal Minds: Evolution."
"Criminal Minds: Evolution" will continue the long, storied tale first spun by the CBS procedural nearly two decades ago. We rejoin the team's lives two years after we last saw them, facing a menacing new unsub and dealing with a whole host of life switches and catastrophes. It draws everyone back together and causes them to challenge the dangers of the criminal world together.
Most of the show's cast will be returning for this Paramount + exclusive series — which will begin streaming its first two episodes on November 24 — including the stalwart Joe Mantegna, who played David Rossi on the original show before "Criminal Minds: Evolution." Mantegna has promised in recent interviews that the show will have all of the punch, danger, and grime of the original show, but thanks to its second life on a streaming service, some things have definitely changed. He's very optimistic about the switch from network to streaming television. Here's why he's excited about what the show's move to streaming means for the "Criminal Minds" universe.
Mantegna says that being on a streamer allows the show to go darker
Recently speaking with TV Line, Joe Mantegna mentioned that the switch to streaming means that the show's writers are now at liberty to dig deep into the universe's most foreboding recesses to create fresh material for the program.
"We sometimes have to go to a dark place. But now sometimes we go to a place that's even darker," he said. Whether that means the gore factor's about to be upped was not revealed, but this seems to strongly hint that the show's set to confront themes that its network progenitor would not dare to touch. That's quite daunting, but no doubt the show's writers, producers, and directors are willing to handle it. The article also confirms that fans will be subjected to more four-letter words with this edition of the program. It also isn't the first time that Joe Mantegna warned Criminal Minds' fans about the darker tone of "Evolution."
Some of those curse words may end up being uttered by Rossi, whom Mantegna says is not in the best frame of mind when the show picks back up. "But," he added, "it's not how many times you fall down, it's how many times you get up. And I'm betting on him." And every "Criminal Minds" fan the world over is likely betting on him, too.