Key Insights
- New Character: Connor Storrie joins Criminal Minds: Evolution as Lance Kingston.
- Expanded Role: His character evolves from a one-episode arc to a significant presence in the season.
- Character Traits: Kingston is portrayed as a charming narcissist involved in a stalking case.
- Show Evolution: The series is shifting towards more serialized storytelling with complex villains.
<em>Criminal Minds: Evolution</em> season 19 has revealed a first look at Connor Storrie’s mysterious new character.
The long-running crime drama has continued to reinvent itself since its Paramount+ revival, blending serialized storytelling with the procedural cases that made the original series a hit. Criminal Minds has a history of iconic celebrity guest stars, including Evan Peters and Mark Hamill. This season, the Heated Rivalry star is joining the list with a four-episode arc.
In a new interview with Vulture, series creator Erica Messer opened up about the casting process for Storrie and explained how his initial one-episode story turned into a four-parter thanks to his massive screen presence. According to Messer, his part was filmed pre-Heated Rivalry release, and after the writers saw Storrie shooting his initial episode, they immediately expanded his part. Read her comments below:
We were very much interested in finding somebody that would stand out a bit. Connor won that, hands down. The interesting thing is none of us knew what Heated Rivalry was. Even if it was on his résumé, I think the conversation was, ‘He’s just finished this thing that hasn’t aired yet.’ It wasn’t anything more than that.
We were like, ‘Okay, I know he was important for episode four, but we’ve got to make him more integral to the rest of the season,’ 100 percent because he was so compelling.
Storrie will portray Lance Kingston, described as “a charming narcissist with a deep sense of entitlement.” The character will become a major player in a Behavioral Analysis Unit investigation after being accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend. Check out the first look images released by Vulture below:
According to Messer, Lance goes “toe-to-toe with the BAU,” and there’s a scene where “Adam’s character kind of alphas him, in a way.” This role marks another major career milestone for Storrie, whose profile has risen considerably over the last year. The actor recently broke out as Ilya Rozanov in Heated Rivalry, the adaptation of Rachel Reid’s bestselling hockey romance novel.
Starring opposite Hudson Williams’ Shane Hollander, Storrie earned praise from fans and critics alike for his portrayal of the talented Russian hockey player whose secret relationship becomes the emotional core of the story. The series quickly developed a passionate fanbase, helping introduce Storrie to a much wider audience.
Rather than playing a romantic lead, Storrie will now be stepping into the role of a manipulative and potentially deadly villain, a dramatic shift that could further elevate his career. Before Heated Rivalry, the actor was best known for his appearance in Joker: Folie à Deux.
His arrival also comes during a transitional period for Criminal Minds: Evolution. Since moving from CBS to Paramount+, the franchise has increasingly embraced serialized storytelling, allowing major villains to develop over multiple episodes rather than being confined to a single case. Season 19 continues that trend, and while the BAU still tackles standalone cases, the show has increasingly focused on larger season-long narratives that allow both heroes and villains greater room to develop.
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Storrie’s expanded role suggests that Lance will be far more than a one-off unsub for the BAU to catch. With <em>Criminal Minds: Evolution</em> continuing to invest in longer, more serialized villain arcs, the character could emerge as one of season 19’s most memorable villains.
Combined with Storrie’s growing popularity following Heated Rivalry, the four-episode storyline has all the ingredients to become one of the biggest cases of the season.
Storrie’s first episode of Criminal Minds, titled “The Witching Hour,” premieres June 11 on Paramount+.
