Criminal Minds: Evolution is taking a meta turn by having Zach Gilford‘s character call out those who support serial killers.
In Us Weekly‘s exclusive clip from the season 19 premiere on 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 in the red? I’m sorry, your spreading lies about me and you’re worried about your f**king levels?” Voit asks before smashing Brian’s podcast sign and spooking him.
Voit then put Brian on blast for spreading misinformation about him, adding, “Why are you telling your listeners that I was trained by the government? It’s because it gives you an explanation for me. It makes me seem smaller. Do I seem small right now?”
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The fictional serial killer goes on to call Brian’s entire enterprise into question.
“Your podcast, how much of it is actually true?” Voit asks Brian, who admits that “none” of the conspiracies he has been spreading are true. “None of it.”
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 scared of someone banging on the table, but it takes a littler one to resort to it. There’s nothing romantic about me. I’m not brilliant. I am not special. I’m an anti-social psychopath who can only get his heart rate up by killing people. It’s sad how pathetic I am, but you know what is even more pathetic? Someone who makes a show about it — and anyone who listens to it.”
The first season of Criminal Minds: Evolution (a.k.a season 16 of OG Criminal Minds series) introduced Voit as the main antagonist. The BAU spent the entire season hunting down the prolific killer, who they nicknamed Sicarius after linking him to 62 murders — and for being the mastermind behind setting up an online network of fellow serial killers.
After Voit was arrested — for a single murder — he became a professional criminal consultant for the BAU. Voit is now no longer the villain due to memory loss that made him develop empathy and disgust for his past crimes.
“[Showrunner] Erica [Messer] talked to me about the vision for this season. She 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. “She’s like, ‘In season 1, the trick was we didn’t really see you do anything bad and showed you as a family man and a good guy.’ So people liked him but he’s a bad guy. Season 2, I was just the annoying kid at school who was just messing with everyone.”
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Season 18 of Criminal Minds: Evolution ultimately introduced the audience to a Voit they hadn’t 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,’” he continued about the “heartbreaking” scenes for Voit. “A lot of it is this guy who remembers nothing finding out — or realizing — everything he’s done and not being that person. He is just trying to come to terms with, ‘How could I ever have done that? How could anyone do that — let alone how did I do that?’ Which is a pretty messed up concept.”
As Voit continues to serve his time behind bars — with a conscience — season 19 of the hit series returns “with a thrilling new season that pushes our elite profilers to their limits,” per the official description.
The summary continues: “As the BAU investigates a string of chilling new cases, Elias Voit embarks on a path to atone for his past. His newfound infamy inadvertently awakens their most formidable nemesis yet, The Fan. Precise, calculating, and relentlessly dangerous, this UnSub pushes the BAU to the brink and back under the shadow of Elias Voit. But how far will The Fan go to prove his superiority over his idol?”
Criminal Minds: Evolution airs Thursdays on Paramount+.
