Over the years, the CSI spin-offs have traveled to Miami, New York, and even the far recesses of cyberspace. Now, the franchise is going back to where it all started with CSI: Vegas, the latest installment in the expanding procedural forensics crime series.
Featuring new and returning talents, including William Petersen and Jorja Fox, CBS's return to one of their most famous and long-lasting TV sagas is expected to make a major splash whenever it premieres later this fall. Not a lot is known about the upcoming CSI Revival on CBS, but we're clued in on a few key details, which we'll share with you now.
CSI: Vegas Is The Fifth Series In The CSI Franchise
Starting back in October 2000, the CSI brand became an institution for CBS, spawning three spin-offs in the years to follow. But, when CSI: Cyber had its plug pulled in 2016, the network was notably without one of its most profitable programs. That's finally set to change with CSI: Vegas, the fifth addition to the growing TV franchise. Whether it proves to be as successful as the immensely popular original or fares closer to the short-lived saga that was the aforementioned CSI: Cyber, remains to be seen.
CSI’s William Petersen And Jorja Fox Will Reprise Their Roles
When CSI: Crime Scene Investigation called it quits in 2015, the producers made it clear that we haven't seen the last of Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle, played by William Petersen and Jorja Fox. As series creator Anthony E. Zuiker noted to Deadline, our leads would venture out and dedicate their lives to the "betterment of humanity" in their days off the tube. The response appeared hopeful, if maybe a tad bit vague, but it suggested that their future was looking promising — if undetermined. But, now, Gil and Sara are back. The promised return of these case-solving characters is here, thanks to CSI: Vegas.
This new police drama will see our familiar forensic friends returning to the CSI cast, while also joined by a new cast of characters, whom we'll discuss in just a little bit. At the moment, it remains unclear if William Petersen and Jorja Fox are mainstays on the upcoming show or parenting it during its first few episodes. It should be noted, though, that Wallace Langham and Paul Guilfoyle are also reportedly reprising their CSI roles.
The Main Cast Includes Paula Newsome, Matt Lauria, Mel Rodriguez, And Mandeep Dhillon
Along with William Petersen and Jorja Fox reprising their famous roles, the main cast of CSI: Vegas includes a number of newbies to the CSI franchise, including Paula Newsome, Matt Lauria, Mel Rodriguez, and Mandeep Dhillon. More specifically, Newsome stars as Maxine Roby, the head of the Vegas Crime Lab, Matt Lauria is attached as Josh Folsom, a Level III who serves as the lead investigator, and Mel Rodriguez will play Hugo Ramirez, the Head Medical Examiner. Additionally, Dhillon rounds out the cast as Allie Rajan, a Level II CSI who follows her dreams in Sin City.
Most notably, Paula Newsome is recognizable for her role as Detective Moss in HBO's Barry. Furthermore, Matt Lauria is known for his performances as Luke Cafferty in NBC's Friday Night Lights and Ryan York in NBC's Parenthood, and Mel Rodriguez should be familiar to TV lovers thanks to his acclaimed work in HBO's Getting On and Fox's The Last Man on Earth. Also, Mandeep Dhillon was seen in Netflix's After Life.
The Revival Will Be Run By Burn Notice’s Jason Tracey
There's a decent chance that you're familiar with Jason Tracey — assuming, of course, you love procedural dramas. He worked on USA Network's Burn Notice and CBS's Elementary as a writer and producer, while also offering his pen to CBS's Cold Case at one point down the line. Now, with over 15 years of experience, Tracey is getting a chance to work on his own show, thanks to CSI: Vegas. Specifically, the scribe will serve as the showrunner and executive producer, and he wrote the pilot. We'll have to wait to see if CSI: Vegas reaches the same rating heights as his previous hit shows.
CSI: Vegas Will Bring The Franchise Back To Where It Started, Combining The Classic Formula With A New Age Of Technology
It's time to blend the old with the new. While CSI's formula is well-proven at this point, we're in a new era, one that brings new advances in technology — which comes in handy when you work with developing forensics. It's time for a few advancements, though the producers behind one of the longest-running TV franchises don't want to rock the boat too much.
They know that people like the comfortable charms of the show's well-established playbook, so CSI: Vegas aims to bring the best of both worlds. It wants to give long-time fans that nostalgic feeling, while also advancing the CSI blueprint beyond the simple template that was followed during the program's heyday. Therefore, the hope is that this modernized series brings in CSI lovers and new audiences alike — providing a winning blend of proven success with welcome changes and surprises.
CSI: Vegas Will Premiere On Wednesday Nights Starting This Fall
One can reasonably assume that CSI: Vegas will be one of the biggest shows of the fall season. So, it's understandable that CBS has a lot of confidence in this show's predicted success. With that noted, it makes sense that the popular channel is giving the newest CSI series a primetime slot on Wednesday nights, putting it right smack dab in the middle of their weekly slate of familiar favorites. It's unclear when exactly CSI: Vegas is making its way to the air, particularly as the new show is still in the midst of filming, but we should expect more details to arrive in the months to come.
The Series Was Previously Planning To Premiere On The 20th Anniversary Of CSI But COVID Prevented That From Happening
Like many, many, many things from last year, the pandemic shifted plans for the team behind CSI: Vegas. In early 2020, the anticipated new show was greenlit and aiming to premiere by the fall, which would arrive on CSI's 20th anniversary. Unfortunately, due to film and TV productions worldwide being shut down and / or delayed extensively, the plans to shoot CSI: Vegas in time for this celebrated date fell through. Thus, the creators needed to settle for toasting CSI's 21st birthday instead.
CSI: Vegas Started Production In May
It's official: cameras are rolling on CSI: Vegas. While production was pushed back following massive worldwide shutdowns, the drama finally started filming in May and it's expected to continue shooting through November. Certainly, these broadcast shows take a long time to film, and this one will be no exception. Thankfully, by the time of this writing, one can assume that CSI: Vegas is close to halfway done with Season 1.
CSI: Vegas will premiere this fall.
