‘Heated Rivalry’ Star Connor Storrie Brings a New Kind of Danger to ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’
Few casting decisions in recent memory feel as well-timed as Connor Storrie landing a guest arc on ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution‘. The Texas-born actor spent years grinding through small roles and restaurant shifts in Los Angeles before his portrayal of Ilya Rozanov in the queer hockey romance ‘Heated Rivalry’ sent his profile skyrocketing almost overnight.
When Crave dropped the first official trailer for ‘Heated Rivalry’, Storrie had around 10,000 followers on Instagram. Within 72 hours of the premiere, that number had changed dramatically, alongside his co-star Hudson Williams. The kind of recognition that follows a cultural moment like that tends to open doors, and in Storrie’s case, one of those doors had already been opened before the world knew his name.
The timing of his ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ casting is genuinely striking. Storrie filmed his guest role on the Paramount+ sequel series before ‘Heated Rivalry’ made him a household name, though the show would go on to become a defining hit for both actors involved. The creative team behind ‘Evolution’ had clocked his talent well before the rest of the world caught up, and the first look images shared by Vulture show exactly the kind of shift in register fans have been curious to see.
Vulture exclusively revealed the first look photos of Storrie as Lance Kingston, the character he plays across a four-episode arc debuting June 11 on Paramount+. Kingston appears in the season trailer during an interrogation scene with Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer “JJ” Jareau, played by A.J. Cook, and in a separate and more unsettling shot that appears to show the character screaming while restrained somewhere. Whether Kingston is a suspect, a victim, or something more complicated is being kept deliberately vague, which is exactly the kind of ambiguity this franchise thrives on.
Showrunner Erica Messer revealed to TV Insider that Storrie was originally only booked for a single episode, specifically the fourth, directed by series star Adam Rodriguez. His performance was so strong that the decision was made to expand his involvement significantly.
Rodriguez himself explained his reasoning for casting Storrie, telling TV Insider that the role required “somebody that seemed dangerous on the surface, but that there was some vulnerability to,” and that Storrie was immediately his first and only choice.
Season 19 of ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ premiered on May 28 with a two-episode launch, and while Storrie did not appear in those opening installments, his four-episode story arc begins with episode four on June 11. The season runs for ten episodes total, with the finale scheduled for July 23, and follows the BAU as they confront a new and calculated threat dubbed “The Fan,” a figure whose rise is tied to the growing infamy of Elias Voit.
For fans of ‘Heated Rivalry’ making their way into ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ territory for the first time, the shift in tone from romantic sports drama to psychological thriller is significant. But that is precisely the point. Storrie has already proven he can make an audience believe he is someone else entirely, from a Russian-accented hockey player to whatever Kingston turns out to be lurking beneath the surface. His guest arc joins a stacked roster that also includes Clark Gregg, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jeri Ryan, Cress Williams, and Kofi Siriboe, among others.
Whether Kingston is pulling strings, running from them, or something in between, the intrigue surrounding Storrie’s debut in this world is hard to overstate. What’s your read on Lance Kingston so far, and do you think he is more victim or threat?
