by 
Are you excited for the new episodes of your favourite elite team of criminal profilers? CBS Studios’ Criminal Minds Evolution started streaming on the 24th of November 2022 in the United States, but how does that affect its Canadian viewers?
Well I’m sorry to give you the bad news, but the greatest threat to your enjoyment is that the new season will only stream weekly on select services. What’s more is that as the ten-episode season premiers, the rest of the world will have to wait one day after their U.S. debuts to catch up with the FBI’s behavioral analysis unit.
As for where you can watch the ABC signature series, there’s a host of streaming services that can scratch your serial killers itch.
Best Places To Watch Criminal Minds In Canada
Is It Coming To TV?
The first episode shared its premiere on the 24th of November on the CBS broadcast network, which is available on most Canadian TV service providers. This was, unfortunately, just a special promotion for the series.
Now, you could cross your fingers and hope that Paramount decides to air the exploits of the FBI’s elite team on the CBS network. But this seems very unlikely.
Disney, being the multi-media tycoon that it is, strictly limits its original streaming series. You likely won’t get other companies that can air more than the first two episodes as special previews.
If you’re hoping to watch Criminal Minds’ evolution over a regular broadcast, then you’re out of luck.
Disney Plus
Disney in Canada is already the best place to stream the entire original series. Not only that, but it also has the spin-off series, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, on there.
If you’ve somehow made it this far in life without signing up for an online video platform, then allow us to put you right on track:
Use your email address and debit or credit card to sign up for a Disney Plus account. A monthly subscription costs around $11.99 and an annual subscription costs $119.99. With that out of the way, you’ll have access to a large catalogue of Disney shows.
If those prices seem like murder, then I’m sorry to tell you that you don’t have any other options. Disney Plus doesn’t offer free trials.
Luckily, you can get two months for free when you sign up for an annual subscription. If you still don’t feel like paying afterward, then be sure to cancel your subscription before your trial ends.
Criminal Minds does go on a mid-season finale on the 16th of December. The next season-long arc resumes on the 13th of January.
Paramount Plus (with a VPN)
Another option is Paramount Plus, which has all 15 seasons of Criminal Minds, as well as the new Evolution series. But only on US Paramount+.
Paramount Plus is available in Canada. But unfortunately, some of its shows are region locked. This means that when you search for the show Criminal Minds on Paramount Plus, you wonโt be able to find it. This is because of geo-restrictions and streaming rights policies in Canada and the US.
But that isn’t necessarily a problem! All you need is a VPN to access US library to watch all seasons.
Using a VPN
You might have heard about VPNs through the grapevine or with advertising by now. A VPN is a service that allows you to access content from other countries that would normally be blocked off to you. Lots of streaming services do this for various reasons, such as licensing limitations.
You canโt use your old Canadian streaming account to access a US library with a VPN. Your old account is locked to its country so you won’t notice a change.
You will need to subscribe to your streaming service of choice, with a USA-specific account. But to do that, you will need an American IP address.
To sign up for Paramount Plus US in Canada, you will need an American credit card or a US PayPal account.
Alternatively, if you have a friend in the United States, then they might even be kind enough to lend you their login details.
Once you have this sorted out, you can follow these steps:
- Download a premium VPN.
- Open the VPN app and sign in.
- Connect to a US server from the list.
- Now make sure your location and GPS is turned off.
- Head to the Paramount Plus website.
- Click on the โTry it Freeโ option.
From here, you can either create a new user with a US credit card or Pay Pal account, or you can log in if you already have a friend’s login details.
How a VPN Works
The short and the long story both start with your IP address. Every computer has one, and it displays some important information about your computer, such as its physical location.
On-demand video-streaming services keep track of the IP addresses of everyone that logs in. Since you can tell a person’s location from their IP, they can use this to block anyone from the content that is not available in their country.
VPNs mask your original IP address and allow you to set it to anywhere else in the world. By submitting a different address, sites like Paramount Plus will think you’re signing in from the US.
Why Not Use a Free VPN?
The main reason why you shouldn’t bother with something that is marketed as a free VPN, is because it likely isn’t free in the first place.
These types of VPNs end up bombarding you with advertisements or, even worse, stealing your data. Almost all free VPNs are simply scams.
Streaming platforms are also a lot warier of these sketchy programs logging onto their websites. This causes them to be banned very quickly.
About Criminal Minds: Evolution
Criminal Minds: Evolution is a continuation of the original drama with several returning cast members from the original run. Newcomers might not fully get into the swing of Evolution, but old fans will love seeing old faces.
Returning characters include Joe Mantegna as David Rossi, Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss, A.J. Cook as Jennifer โJJโ Jareau, Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia, Aisha Tyler as Tara Lewis, and Adam Rodriguez as Luke Alvez.
Plenty of new guest stars also appear this season, including Nicholas D’Agosto, Zach Gilford, Ryan-James Hatanaka, and Kiele Sanchez.
From original cast members to each recurring guest star, Criminal Minds: Evolution is looking to ramp up the stakes one murder after another as the world opens up with each episode.
