A long-time-running character is confirmed not to return in season 2. Work on season 2 has already started after an extended hiatus due to the dual Hollywood strikes. No release date has been announced by Paramount+, but ahead of its premiere, season 2 has already lost an original series actor.
responds to a question on Twitter asking if he will return in .
Stewart says that his days playing Will LaMontagne Jr. are over. Will has been with AJ Cook's JJ for so many years and shares two sons with her. He was in season 1, but this confirmation means that he won't be in the procedural when it returns for its sophomore year.
There was an increased focus on the LaMontaigne clan when they all returned in season 2; interestingly, none of the other BAU members have had that kind of attention. In the Paramount+ revival was tested as they dealt with the difficulties of their jobs and struggles coming out of a global pandemic. Things turned for the worse when Will got a cancer scare, although the series ended with him cleared from the matter.
Due to the nature of the BAU's work, it's quite difficult to maintain a personal life. The original has tackled this one too many times, with some of the profilers ultimately turned off by the idea — excluding JJ. She's one of the few SSAs who have steadily preserved her family life. However, Stewart not returning in season 2 effectively ends JJ and Will's romance. It's uncertain how Will will be written out, but his health scare allows the revival to do this quite easily.
It's uncertain if there are any behind-the-scenes reasons for Stewart's exit, or if this is purely dictated by the narrative that
season 2 will tackle. In-universe, however, JJ losing his husband to sickness paves the way for the procedural to finally explore her scrapped Spencer Reid romance. The story arc was divisive, but it doesn't mean that they won't shy away from it.
In , the FBI’s elite team of criminal profilers come up against their greatest threat yet, an UnSub who has used the pandemic to build a network of other serial killers. As the world opens back up and the network goes operational, the team must hunt them down, one murder at a time.
Original cast members continuing their roles include Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster. Zach Gilford joins the dynamic cast as a recurring guest star in a season-long arc.
