Criminal Minds' Showrunner Teases Dark Start Of Evolution S2 For Prentiss

Summary

• Emily Prentiss is one of the most popular Criminal Minds characters, and fans were hoping to see more of her in the Paramount+ revival.
• Much to their disappointment, she has mostly been filling the role of BAU leader, with her arc taking place within the FBI offices.
• According to the star and showrunner, that may change in Season 2.
• However, they teased that Prentiss' arc will be stressful to say the least.

Since Thomas Ellis Gibson's Aaron Hotchner exited Criminal Minds in Season 12, Paget Brewster's Emily Prentiss has gradually filled his shoes and taken on the role of the BAU leader, becoming one of the show's most beloved characters.

So now fans are left to wonder: Will we get more Prentiss time in the upcoming episodes?

Good News/Bad News

Emily Prentiss' career was going pretty smoothly until the streaming reboot, Criminal Minds: Evolution, aired its premiere season in 2022. Prentiss began the season as a section chief, but was demoted back to unit chief due to internal FBI power plays and her fierce fight for BAU's existence.

The revived Emily is as tough and capable as she was in the original TV series, but she seems to have gained some extra confidence and spice with the new amazing hair and no-nonsense attitude. Naturally, fans want to see her on screen as often as possible.

Much to their disappointment, in Evolution Season 1, we only saw Prentiss as a team leader and support for her coworkers/friends. While JJ and Will's family life got a lot of screen time and Tara, Penelope and Rossi's personal struggles came to the fore, Emily's arc remained strictly within the FBI offices.

The good news is that both Paget Brewster and showrunner Erica Messer are teasing a bigger role for Prentiss in Evolution Season 2, which has been in production for several weeks now. The bad news is that her arc is not going to be lighthearted at all.

Struggles Coming

In announcing the start of Season 2 filming, Brewster took to X (Twitter) to answer some fan questions and tease what's in store for her character. While the actress did not go into details, she did promise a challenging season. Here's what Emily is in for, according to the star:

'Some bad a** sh*t and some embarrassing personal failures. So… regular human life.'

Recently, Evolution showrunner Erica Messer elaborated on Brewster's words while speaking with TVLine.

'She does [have some serious sh*t coming]!' Messer confirmed, adding that the two-season timeline is pretty tight.

The new episodes pick up about two weeks after the shocking events of the Season 1 finale, so 'Prentiss is struggling with that quite a bit,' Messer said. The primary source of that struggle is the death of the FBI's assistant director, Doug Bailey.

He was killed by Season 1 unsub Elias Voit, and while it wasn't BAU's fault, there's no doubt the team in general and Prentiss in particular will suffer consequences. They will also have to delve into the mystery of Gold Star, which the Bureau has reasons to keep secret.

So it looks like the BAU is in for another dark season. But surely Emily Prentiss will pick up the pieces and win the good fight once again. Our only hope is that she gets a personal arc as well. She does deserve that, right?

Sources: X, TVLine.