Criminal Minds: Evolution it takes a meta turn by having it Zach Gilford's character calls out those who support serial killers.
In Us WeeklyExclusive clip of season 19 premiere Thursday, May 28, Brian Garrity (Paul F. Tompkins) tries to record a podcast interview with Voit (Gilford), who instead flies off the handle to make a point.
“What is this? Oh, your levels are red? I'm sorry, you're spreading lies about me and you're worried about your f**king levels?” Voit asks before smashing Brian's podcast sign and insulting him.
Voit then took Brian to task for spreading misinformation about him, adding, “Why are you telling your audience that I was trained by the government?
A fictional serial killer continues to question Brian's entire company.
“Your podcast, how authentic is it?” Voit questions Brian, who admits that “none” of the conspiracies he's been spreading are true. “There is nothing.”
Voit continues: “Now it's my turn to explain myself to you and you're not far off. It takes a little man to be afraid of someone who beats the table, but it takes a while to turn on him. There's nothing romantic about me. I'm not smart. I'm not special. I'm an anti-social psychopath who knows about killing sad people, but he lifts his heart. What's sadder is the person who makes the show – and anyone who listens to it.”
The first season of Criminal Minds: Evolution (aka season 16 of OG Criminal Minds series) introduced Voit as the main antagonist. The BAU spent the entire season hunting down the killer, whom they named Sicarius after linking him to 62 murders – as well as masterminding the creation of an online network of serial killers.
After Voit was arrested – for one count of murder – he became a trained crime consultant for the BAU. Voit is now no longer a criminal due to memory loss that made him empathetic and disgusted by his past crimes.
“[Showrunner] Erica [Messer] you talked to me about the idea of this season. He was like, 'We really want to mess with the viewers' heads and make them feel bad for you,'” Gilford, 44, recalled during an exclusive interview with Us Weekly in May 2025. “He was like, 'In Season 1, the trick was to not really see you do anything bad and show you as a family man' and a good guy. So people loved him but he is a bad person. Season 2, I was the annoying kid at school who was obsessed with everyone.”
Season 18 of Criminal Minds: Evolution finally introducing audiences to Voit they had never seen before.
“Erica said, 'Now everyone knows everything about you and now we want to find a way to make everyone feel bad for you,'” she continued about Voit's “sad” scenes. “A lot of this guy who doesn't remember anything is finding out – or realizing – everything he's done and he's not that person. He's just trying to accept, 'How could I have done that? How could someone do that – let alone how did I do that?' Which is a very corrupt idea.”
As Voit continues to serve her time behind bars — conscientiously — season 19 of the hit series returns with “an exciting new season that pushes our high profile characters to their limits,” according to the official description.
The synopsis continues: “As the BAU investigates a series of gruesome new cases, Elias Voit embarks on a path to atone for his past.” His newfound fame inadvertently awakens their fearsome enemies, the Follower. A fan should go and show that he is higher than his image?”
Criminal Minds: Evolution airs Thursdays on Paramount+.
