Criminal Minds’ Showrunner Doubted If Zach Gilford Would Agree To Play A Villain – Looper

“Criminal Minds: Evolution” executive producer and showrunner Erica Messer didn’t waste any time taking advantage of the series’ ability to push the envelope now that it’s streaming on Paramount+. Enter serial killer Elias Voit, Season 16’s overarching villain. But given Zach Gilford’s convincing performance as Voit, Messer couldn’t believe the “Friday Night Lights” second-string quarterback turned hero would even consider tackling such an abhorrent and menacing monster like Voit.

“That’s why I was like, ‘Oh, he won’t do it,'” Messer said during an interview with Deadline. “I don’t know if you saw ‘The Midnight Club,’ but that was my obsession last winter.” Gilford portrayed Mark on the Netflix original horror series, and his performance obviously caught Messer’s attention. The “Criminal Minds” showrunner was utterly delighted when Gilford agreed to play the season-long threat. “Zach was like, ‘This sounds like so much fun. I never get to do anything like this. Sign me up.’ So, I think he wanted the challenge of being the unexpected bad guy,” Messer continued.

As Elias Voit’s character arc unfolds over Season 16, the new villain will give the “Criminal Minds: Evolution” BAU and fans of the show something they’ve never seen before. “We can be with one of the killers for so long, get to know him and show the complicated dynamics of his relationships at home,” Messer said in the same interview. “We’ve never really gotten that kind of insight into a killer before.”