Criminal Minds fans have been waiting for Matthew Gray Gubler’s return in Evolution. That’s yet to be confirmed, but a new dramedy pilot could chart a new path for the actor.
CBS has cast Matthew Gray Gubler in the new procedural titled Einstein, per Deadline. Executive-produced by Andy Breckman and director Randy Zisk, Einstein will be based on the namesake German TV series, a police procedural drama with heart and humor. This would be Gubler’s first lead role after Criminal Minds; the actor left that show due to scheduling conflicts, but he has since appeared as a recurring character in seven Dollface episodes. Fans will quickly warm up to his Einstein character Lew, a brilliant yet misguided genius who finds meaning as a forensic expert.
Per Einstein’s synopsis, Gubler’s “brilliant but directionless Lew, the great-grandson of Albert Einstein spends his days as a comfortably tenured professor, until his bad-boy antics land him in trouble with the law, and he is pressed into service helping a local police detective solve her most puzzling cases. Lew Einstein is a popular professor at Princeton … When he actually shows up for class. Irreverent and misguided, Lew’s genius and famous name weighs heavily on him, but using his gift to help solve homicides may — finally — offer his life some direction and purpose.” It’s yet to be confirmed if Lew will also have the degenerative disease of the main character from the German TV show.
Matthew Gray Gubler’s New Show Is Confirmed For A Pilot
Einstein has been greenlighted for a pilot, written by Monk’s Breckman and directed by Zisk; Gubler is credited as a producer. The project is also produced by Intrigue’s Tariq Jalil along with Seven One Studios International’s Laura Beetz, Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia, and Rose Hughes. The project was first confirmed in June after previous attempts at a U.S. adaptation. The German original ran for three seasons and 32 episodes, between 2017 to 2019. Breckman and Zisk developed the first U.S. version for NBC in 2019 with Universal Television, but the project fell through. A CBS adaptation was announced (and later dropped) in 2020, but a pilot was finally ordered in August 2024.
Gubler has asserted he still wants to reprise Dr. Spencer Reid in Criminal Minds: Evolution. “Of course! I would be honored. I would absolutely love that,” he confirmed on The Six O’Clock Show. “They did a newer spin-off of the show, but it was filming during a time when I was shooting something else. But I can’t wait — hopefully it will soon work out.” As if to manifest his upcoming role in Einstein, he added, “I am sure I’ll go back to comedy and to acting and all of that. I’m just not sure when, but I know I look forward to it.” Gubler’s Dr. Spencer Reid was a favorite character throughout 15 Seasons of Criminal Minds; fans are still hoping his comeback with Derek Morgan (played by Shemar Moore) would happen in the spinoff.
Einstein currently does not have a release date. Criminal Minds: Evolution is streaming on Paramount+, while Criminal Minds is on Hulu.