Did you have to find her again?
Did it feel weird in any way?
I know Prentiss and I knew we were in a new format.
Image by Jefferson Chacon
Thats what was jarring.
But it happened pretty fast.
After maybe 14 or 15 days, we were like, Oh, were in it.
We know how to do this.
And then, it was full steam ahead.
Its something you do fall back into.
We were all concerned about, has it changed?
What is the show gonna be now?
It is different, but we know where this is going.
Its an ongoing case.
Its not one case per week.
Were just so damn happy that we have our job back.
Sometimes subtlety can be powerful.
And now that you’re able to add some swear words, it feels extra naughty.
BREWSTER: Its like the first time you hear your mom swear.
Youre like, Woah, moms mad.
Its really fun, but Im glad that theyre not overdoing it.
Were not all suddenly naked and having sex, or showing even more brutal murders.
I think our writers were really respectful of the format and the audience.
We know kids watch the show.
We know that 10-, 11-, and 12-year-old watch the show.
Image via Paramount+
We hope that its a judicious use of looser parameters.
And so, it was this dance of losing patience by going, You killed him, babe.
Shes trying to talk for her life.
Its retroactively looking back at another year of sadness.
This family lost their son, and the other son was lost before that.
I loved that episode.
Image via Paramount+
I didnt love shooting it, but I loved the episode.
It raises really interesting questions about these kids who are not just criminals, they are victims.
Theres so much more we can look at.
And I would love to work with those kids again because they were great.
But those were some long nights in Pomona in an asbestos-filled former sanitarium.
“I know what its like to be afraid of your own mind.”
I also particularly enjoyed getting to find a very high Prentiss hanging out on the couch.
BREWSTER: Yeah, and that is part ofEvolutionthats really exciting.
We have that freedom of time and storylines to follow a personal situation, which was ultimately about work.
On the one hand, A.J.
Prentiss is high because shes insecure and is trying to figure out what to do.
She thinks shes gonna be fired, so shes gonna quit first.
JJ has been struggling with knowing about BAUGate, but Prentiss didnt tell her.
And so, what does that do to them?
JJ talks Prentiss down from wanting to quit by saying, This job gave me you.
Even though it gave them both pain and loss, its too important to both of them.
But there were a lot of Cheetos.
We were drinking a lot of water.
Props would have to run back in and fill up the Cheeto bowl because everybody was eating them.
Whats it like to be directed by your co-stars?
Is it always different with each one of them?
Is it something that you also want to jump in and do?
BREWSTER: Oh, no, I have no desire to direct.
I dont understand it at all.
Directing is just a headache.
Its maybe a little bit more money, but its too many people asking too many questions.
And you have to do pre-production.
You have to go look at locations while youre acting as an FBI agent.
Were extremely lucky that they are as passionate about it as they are.
Its not just, Oh, I wanna have another career.
I wanna get more money.
I wanna direct because the director is important.
They direct because theyre so invested in telling the story.
It makes me feel like a really lazy, unambitious piece of crap.
But I just know that Im good at being Prentiss, and I love doing that.
I couldnt handle the responsibility that they revel in.
Theres no way that hasnt happened.
Were just very fortunate that our actors are so unbelievably great at it and invested in it.
I love those guys.
Our days are really cool because you know what they want, and you shoot the scene.
No one needs to give you a hug or has to finagle anything.
We just wanna get it done.
We were like, Oh, no, we cant prank this guy.
Hes really nervous about not getting this right.
And we watched him, day after day, get more confident and more excited.
He was texting everybody to tell them that theyre awesome.
He was so in it and so into it.
It was so funny.
That guy is great.
Do you think weve seen the last of Voit?
I wanna see him in that hat and wig again.
We wanna go back to work and we wanna know what were doing.
We cant wait to get back to work.
We wanna know what were doing.
We wanna know who were gonna see and whos coming back.
Reboot series showrunner Erica Messer answers whether we’ll see Derek in the upcoming season.
Theres been quite a bit of talk about legacy this whole season, when it comes to the BAU.
BREWSTER: Of course!
But yes, we would love it if he came back.
Shemar is still the star of his own show,SWAT, but that would be great.
Thats fewer workdays for me, so I would love that, but its not in my hands.
But it would be great.
It would be lovely.
Its always exciting when we have people from the past come back, like Brian Garrity.
Weve had agents come back, weve had cops, weve had local detectives.
Criminal Minds: Evolutionis available to stream on Paramount+.
Check out the trailer for Season 17:
Watch on Paramount+
