Aisha Tyler

OF ‘CRIMINAL MINDS: EVOLUTION’ ON PARAMOUNT+

Q: As “Criminal Minds: Evolution” approaches its midseason finale, did you feel confident about rejoining most of the earlier show’s cast for this sequel series?

A: There was a real feel in that last season, a lot of hugging and a lot of that “last few days of summer camp” feeling. A part of that was just feeling like there was a dream team assembled that was working together really beautifully, and that we could keep doing that forever. So that call (to return) was so easy, because we were like, “Oh, hell, yeah. I’ll go back to work with this team of people.” It was pretty exciting.

Q: Some “Criminal Minds” fans expressed dissatisfaction with the original show’s finale. Did you see “Evolution” as a chance to make up for that?

A: People were mad about the “Sopranos” finale. People were mad about the “Lost” finale. I think we heard as many good things from fans about how much they loved this family, and how they were going to miss them, as we heard that they were dissatisfied by any one element about the end of the show.

I think saying goodbye to a show that has been running for 15 seasons is painful. The most vocal people are like the tip of a very large iceberg of people who loved the show and were mourning it and were mourning the loss of these characters. Maybe everybody had a goal for something they wanted to have happen during “Criminal Minds” and it didn’t happen, so they weren’t satisfied. But I heard so much good feedback about that finale, I don’t think that was a universal opinion.

Q: You’re also directing again on the show, as you and several of your co-stars did on the original. How do you like being guided in that way by one of them?

A: Because (Joe Mantegna) comes from acting, he’s just like, “I’m going to make sure you know exactly what’s going to happen next. No surprises for you.” He really does take care of his actors, I think.

It’s so fun to look over and see a family member running the show. It just feels really lovely. We’ve got great directors who aren’t actors on the show that come in and do wonderful work, but it’s really wonderful when one of the cast is in the director’s chair. It’s just very homey, and we all want to give them our best. We give everybody our best. We’re very nice people.