NBC and Peacock have the Law & Order franchise, but CBS and Paramount+ have been pulling the “hold my police-procedural beer” for quite some time. They’re cranking up their prowess with multiple NCIS spin offs, and of course, CBS’ Criminal Minds ran for fifteen seasons before evolving into (the aptly named) Criminal Minds: Evolution, a revival that streams on Paramount+.
In fans’ minds, however, a giant void exists on that revival, which has been sorely missing the presence of Dr. Spencer Reid, portrayed by Matthew Gray Gubler. He took a bit of a breather from procedurals to work on other projects, but do not fear. You can take the actor out of procedurals, but you can’t take the procedural, well, you catch my drift. Gubler is gearing up to lead his own procedural, Einstein, which has been ordered in pilot form by CBS.
Plot
Gubler is accustomed to portraying a walking encyclopedia as Spencer Reid, and he will portray another genius but with a twist. His character will be the great grandson of Albert Einstein, Lew Einstein (no relation to late U.S. diplomat Lewis Einstein), also impossibly brilliant but who coasts on his intellect. According to CBS, he is “[i]rreverent and misguided,” but his “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.”
Don’t expect Lew to have come by this side gig and new purpose by his own initiative, however. By day, Lew has been making a living as a “comfortably [Princeton] 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.”
The series will arrive with the same humorous slant as USA Network’s former Monk, starring Tony Shaloub, who continue his role for a Peacock-streaming movie, Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie. And of course, Einstein will have a built-in audience of Criminal Mind viewers that will hopefully push Einstein from pilot status to full-on series status.
Cast
Gubler is the only confirmed cast member as of now.
Release Date
If this pilot leads to a full season order, then CBS will surely want to get the show out for Fall 2025, although no release date is official yet.
Trailer
In lieu of a teaser or full trailer yet, here is Matthew Gray Gubler info dumping as Dr. Spencer Reid for fourteen consecutive minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaJxVPHzQIo
