CBS is eyeing a return to one of its most popular television franchises. It’s being reported that the network is considering embarking on a CSI event series to coincide with the shows’ 20th anniversary.
The idea for the event series comes from writer Jason Tracey (Elementary) and the plan is for it to be set in Las Vegas and be a sequel to the mothership CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The network is hoping to land some of the original cast members for the series and “Deadline” reports that both William Petersen, who headlined CSI for its first nine seasons, and fellow original star Jorja Fox have both been approached about the project although no formal deals have been made yet.
The network is stressing that these talks are in the very early stages and that no deals for the potential CSI revival are done. There is also a chance that the series may not come together within a reasonable financial framework but CBS is very interested in celebrating its former benchmark series for its 20th anniversary.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation was very important to the procedural framework of CBS although it launched to low expectations back on October 6, 2000. The series debuted in the traditionally dead zone of Friday nights but the forensic crime drama was a breakout hit and eventually was shipped to Thursday nights where it became the most-watched series on television during a time when NBC was dominating Thursday night viewership. The success of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation led to the creation of a $1 billion franchise for CBS that spanned four series; CSI and spinoffs CSI: Miami, CSI: New York and CSI: Cyber.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which ran for 15 seasons, followed a team of crime-scene investigators for the Las Vegas Police Department as they used physical evidence to solve murders. The cast also included Marg Helgenberger, George Eads, Gary Dourdan, and Paul Guilfoyle. Petersen was succeeded by Laurence Fishburne as CSI’s leading man. He, in turn, was followed by Ted Danson.
