While Matthew Gray Gubler was a fixture on CBS for fifteen seasons as part of the Criminal Minds cast, Spencer Reid was nowhere to be seen when the rest of the BAU actors reprised their roles for Criminal Minds: Evolution, which can be found with a Paramount+ subscription. The actor is now set to return to his old network stomping grounds, but not to play Reid again. He'll star in the new Einstein project, and I can't help but be bummed that the news doesn't come with anything about Criminal Minds in the 2024 TV schedule or beyond.
The actor has been cast to play the lead role in CBS' Einstein, according to Variety, although the project is currently only in the pilot stage rather than ordered to series. This isn't a period drama of Matthew Gray Gubler playing Albert Einstein, but the famous physicist's great grandson Lew. The character is a popular professor at Princeton University, although not known for always attending his own classes. Between his genius, famous name, and irreverence, Lew has burdens to bear but will use his talents to help solve murders.
And if there's one quality that Matthew Gray Gubler has a lot of experience bringing to the small screen, it's quirky brilliance! The new CBS project is an adaptation of the German series also called Einstein, and could strengthen CBS' lineup of crime dramas... although that lineup is already pretty strong, thanks to the FBI and NCIS franchises! CBS ordered the project to pilot back in August.
For fans of Gubler's work from the original run of Criminal Minds, it may be a bit bittersweet for him to return to TV for the first time since Dollface (originally streaming with a Hulu subscription) but not to do the Evolution spinoff. Gubler's longtime character, Spencer Reid, has been mentioned over the years, with Season 2 of Evolution (or Season 17 of Criminal Minds overall) establishing that Reid is "on sabbatical," following an easy-to-miss Easter egg earlier in the season.
Showrunner Erica Messer spoke with CinemaBlend about the importance of Evolution nodding to characters like Reid and Hotch even when they weren't around, and she previously said that scheduling kept Gubler from appearing in the revival's first season. If Einstein receives a series order, that seems like it would definitively rule out Reid rejoining the BAU in the third season.
That said, I can see a silver lining. Paramount+ and CBS both fall under the Paramount umbrella, so I could imagine Einstein and Criminal Minds possibly making the schedule work for Gubler to at least make a cameo on Evolution if all the parties involved were interested. I for one would welcome a cameo, even if it was as minor as a voice cameo!
For now, there are more questions than answers until word comes down about whether Einstein will receive a series order. If the project is still in the casting phase, it's possible that there won't be any news about what the future holds for Matthew Gray Gubler's pilot for some ttime. You can always revisit his days as Spencer Reid with the first fifteen seasons of Criminal Minds streaming on Paramount+ now.