‘CSI: Vegas’ reunites original drama’s stars on CBS

The followup to “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” the groundbreaking drama that launched three spinoffs and established a TV version of Las Vegas as a place where people were very likely to be murdered in increasingly elaborate ways, will join the CBS lineup during the 2021-22 television season.

As expected, original stars William Petersen and Jorja Fox will lead the “CSI: Vegas” cast. Petersen portrayed forensic entomologist Gil Grissom from the show’s debut in the fall of 2000 through 2009, when he left the series midway through season nine. Fox, who portrayed his love interest, Sara Sidle, left at the end of 2007, only to rejoin the main cast three years later. Both actors returned for the two-part series finale that aired in September 2015.

CBS described the new incarnation as follows: “Facing an existential threat that could bring down the Crime Lab, a brilliant new team of forensic investigators must welcome back old friends and deploy new techniques to preserve and serve justice in Sin City.”

Wallace Langham, who portrayed lab technician David Hodges, will return for “CSI: Vegas,” as well.

Anthony Zuiker, the Chaparral High School and UNLV graduate who was earning $8 an hour as a Mirage tram driver when he created “CSI,” predicted a revisiting of the characters six years ago as he looked back on the show’s history.

“Do I think there will be a ‘CSI’ reboot in the future? You know, next generation cases, Las Vegas, same format, sexier story lines, new approach? I think that’s very, very viable in the future,” Zuiker told the Review-Journal. “It could be two years from now; it could be 20 years from now. But I think (it) will always have a life.”

Based on the press release from CBS, Zuiker doesn’t seem to be involved in the new series.

In its second season, “CSI” was the nation’s most-watched drama, a title it held for seven seasons, and it introduced the characters of “CSI: Miami,” which ran for 232 episodes. In its third, it was the most popular series of any kind on American TV. Season four yielded “CSI: NY,” which lasted 197 episodes. The third and final spinoff, “CSI: Cyber,” debuted in 2015. It lasted just 31 episodes but introduced Ted Danson as D.B. Russell, who moved over to “CSI” following its cancellation.

After its seventh season, “CSI” was recognized as the most watched show in the world for the first of five times at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. At its peak, the drama reached a worldwide weekly audience of more than 70 million viewers.

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.