'Criminal Minds: Evolution' Star Kirsten Vangsness Talks 'Awkward' Relationship Between Garcia and Tyler (Exclusive)

Season 2 of 'Criminal Minds: Evolution' drops on Thursday, June 6 on Paramount+.

By Megan Behnke

As the upcoming season of Criminal Minds: Evolution sees Elias Voit in the BAU's custody, the team will also be dealing with a new consultant, Tyler Green. Ryan-James Hatanaka's vigilante made some trouble last season and got close to Kirsten Vangsness' Penelope Garcia. The two spoke with PopCulture.com about the duo's dynamic and what their relationship will be like this time around.

Having only joined the series the first season of Evolution, Hatanaka told PopCulture what it was like coming onto the show, and praised Vangsness in the process. "Kirsten is one of the loveliest people I've ever met," Hatanaka said. "She is incredibly generous and incredibly kind. Coming onto a set for someone who's worked on this show and getting to spend so much time with her, she's been on the show for so many, so many episodes and seeing how she treats the crew. It was just a very inspirational thing. I think that we paired really well, and that worked really well on screen."

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L-R: Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia, Ryan-James Hatanaka as Tyler Green, A.J. Cook as Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau, Joe Mantegna as David Rossi and Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss in Criminal Minds: Evolution, episode 1, season 17 streaming on Paramount+, 2024. Photo Credit: Michael Yarish /Paramount+

- Michael Yarish /Paramount+)

Hatanaka also explained where Tyler will be at in the upcoming season, as he "had his little heart broken in the hospital, he learned some tough lessons," in Season 1. "He's back this year," Hatanaka continued. "He's joined as a consultant with the BAU, and I think there's some residual pain and things like that, but I think at the core, he's really excited to see Penelope Garcia again, as I, R.J., was excited to see the entire cast again at the beginning of this year and couldn't be more thrilled to be a part of the show."

Since Garcia and Tyler had a complicated relationship last season, to say the least, things are only going to be getting much more complicated. Kirsten Vangsness said Tyler is "still bad" and it is "awkward." She continued, "I think it's awkward. It's like you decide to do this thing, you do this thing, and you're like, 'Okay, but now I'm just going to throw myself into work, and then these dumb dumbs decide to throw him into my work and add that.' So it's a fun thing to play. And I think that the writers are so great about this."

Related:

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CRIMINAL MINDS: EVOLUTION – "Pay-Per-View" – Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia and Ryan-James Hatanaka as Tyler Green in "Criminal Minds: Evolution" episode 4, season 16 streaming on Paramount+, 2022. CREDIT: Michael Yarish /Paramount+ PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Yarish /Paramount+ . © 2022 ABC Studios Inc. and CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

- Michael Yarish /Paramount+)

Vangsness also explained that while she doesn't feel like she did a lot this season, "the great thing about this show is there's not like this is the one person. It's like we're all creating the thing." Meaning that the show will be putting some focus on Garcia and Tyler as it's "there when it serves the story" but it's "not distracting. I think it moves really well. It's a really good story. I'm looking forward to this season."

Between Gold Star, Voit in the BAU's custody, and much more, there will be a lot to look forward to on top of some awkward relationships. It will be an entertaining and exciting season, and there's no telling how things will go down between Garcia and Tyler. Tune in to the first two episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 on Thursday, June 6 on Paramount+ to see what happens.

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