How Criminal Minds Season 16 Explains Spencer Reid’s Absence Revealed

Criminal Minds reboot showrunner Erica Messer confirms why Doctor Spencer Reid isn’t in the Paramount+ reboot. Played by Matthew Gray Gubler, the character is part of the original ensemble when the CBS police procedural premiered in 2005. The actor proceeded to play the fan-favorite profiler until Criminal Minds ended with season 15 in 2020.

Ever since it was confirmed that the Criminal Minds reboot is officially moving forward, work on the project has been quietly progressing. Filming started in August 2022 with several cast members sharing sneak peeks from the show’s set. According to the revival premise, the BAU’s next case will involve them hunting down a network of UnSubs that was created during the coronavirus pandemic. The core cast of Criminal Minds will be reprising their roles in the Paramount+ endeavor, except for Daniel Henney’s Matt Simmons and Gubler’s Reid. But while Henney’s absence is due to a scheduling conflict, Gubler’s non-involvement is a personal choice.

As a long-time member of the special FBI unit, there are understandable questions about Reid’s fate in the Criminal Mind revival. In a new interview with EW, Messer confirms that BAU’s boy genius remains a profiler, with his things still on his desk. It just so happens that while working on this case, Reid will be away. Read Messer’s full quote below:

But Dr. Reid’s desk still has all of his books on it and all of his belongings. Almost that same time capsule that… I don’t know if any of you have gone back to the office, but it’s a weird experience because whatever was important to you in March 2020 is still sitting on that desk and must not have been that important because it’s still sitting on that desk. So we want that connection still with Dr. Reid and Matt Simmons (Daniel Henney), who is on another assignment as well. It’s something we can’t really discuss. But if and when they return, it’s up to them. It’s dependent on their schedules. I can’t promise anything right now. But it’s the hope.

It’s good news that Reid is still a member of the BAU. This makes it easier to bring him back if Gubler decides to reprise the role in future seasons of Criminal Minds on Paramount+. In any case, it isn’t like it’s new that the boy genius is not partaking in some of the BAU’s cases. In the last few seasons of the show, the team had to work without Reid for varying reasons, more frequently because he wanted to spend more time with his ailing mom. It’s curious if this will also be the case in the reboot, especially in the time of the coronavirus pandemic. Otherwise, it’s also possible that he’s simply scaling back on his profiling duties and focusing on his teaching career. Whatever the case may be, it’s reassuring to know that he can always come back.

While Messer doesn’t promise anything, it sounds like she is hopeful that Gubler will eventually join the Criminal Minds reboot. After devoting 15 years of his life playing Reid, it’s totally understandable that the actor wants to venture out and try other things, including directing. But with a much shorter season, with only 10 episodes per year, appearing on the Paramount+ project won’t hog all of Gubler’s time the same way that its CBS counterpart did.

Source: EW