Summary

• Sadly, Derek Morgan's return in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 is now just a pipe dream due to Shemar Moore's unexpected commitment to S.W.A.T.
• S.W.A.T. is supposed to end with season 7, but CBS surprisingly renews it for another year.
• Prentiss needs all the help she can get for the BAU in the revival, making Moore's Derek Morgan a valuable asset with his profiling abilities and team chemistry.

Sadly, Derek Morgan's return in Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 is now a pipe dream following an unexpected development for Shemar Moore. Proof of how beloved the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is its immediate return to the small screen a couple of years after the original Criminal Minds wrapped its 15-season run on CBS. The revival features some key changes, including a darker storytelling approach, and format change, not to mention being on a streamer instead of a traditional network TV. Essentially, however, Criminal Minds: Evolution is just a continuation of the original procedural, as they maintain the same continuity.

With that, the Paramount+ revival has a deep history to mine stories from. Criminal Minds: Evolution season 2 is already revisiting Jason Gideon by bringing in his ex-wife to work with the BAU. In a more nuclear way, there are still hopes that Daniel Henney's Matt Simmons and Matthew Gray Gubler's Spencer Reid will eventually reclaim their spots in Emily Prentiss' current team. That said, it doesn't end there. Other former BAU will hopefully also return, starting with Moore's Derek Morgan. For a while, this idea seems within reach, but a new update effectively kills the idea.

Moore’s S.W.A.T. Is Unexpectedly Renewed For Season 8

Morgan's BAU Return Will Unlikely Happen In The Near Future.

After Moore departed Criminal Minds, he went on to spearhead his own police procedural in S.W.A.T., which has been on the air since 2017. CBS canceled it in 2023, with the show supposedly wrapping up with seven seasons in May 2024. Between that and Moore's intent to reprise Morgan in Criminal Minds: Evolution, the chances of the original character reuniting with the BAU were significantly increased. Even if the actor was willing to partake in the Paramount+ project, scheduling would have made it difficult, but S.W.A.T.'s end would have allowed him to participate.

This would make it nearly impossible for him to return Morgan as a series regular for Criminal Minds: Evolution in the foreseeable future.

Unexpectedly, however, CBS has ordered S.W.A.T. season 8, which means that the project will run at least until the 2024-2025 TV year. Aside from being its lead star, playing Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, Moore is also a producer and overall leader of the show. Considering the roller coaster of cancelation and renewal that S.W.A.T. has gone through in the last couple of years, it's safe to say that he would be more committed to the project. This would make it nearly impossible for him to return Morgan as a series regular for Criminal Minds: Evolution in the foreseeable future.

Why Criminal Minds: Evolution Needs Moore’s Derek Morgan

Prentiss Can Use All The Help She Can Get For The BAU.

Criminal Minds: Evolution takes on darker and grittier cases, which happens to be at a time when the profilers have been undermanned and underfunded. Simmons' and Reid's BAU return would solve this dilemma, but no concrete word on when that will happen. While Prentiss can bring in new characters to the team, it would be much easier to get help from tried and tested people like Moore's Morgan. Beyond his profiling abilities, it would also be great to see him reunite with his old team, which he has incredible chemistry with.

Criminal Minds: Evolution is available to stream on Paramount+.