CSI: Las Vegas Revival Officially Moving Forward At CBS

The long talked about revival of CSI: Las Vegas is officially moving forward at CBS. The network has given a straight-to-series order to CSI: Vegas, a sequel to the mothership CSI series, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, for the 2021-21 season.

The sequel series will be headlined by CSI stars William Petersen and Jorja Fox and they will be joined by new series regulars Paula Newsome, Matt Lauria, Mel Rodriguez, and Mandeep Dhillon. Also coming back is another fan favorite CSI cast member, Wallace Langham, reprising his role as David Hodges. Per CBS, “With CSI: Vegas, the most-watched drama series of the 21st century, CSI, opens a new chapter in Las Vegas, the city where it all began. Facing an existential threat that could bring down the Crime Lab, a brilliant team of forensic investigators must welcome back old friends and deploy new techniques to preserve and serve justice in Sin City.”

Newsome is believed to be playing Maxine, the new head of the Vegas Crime Lab. Lauria is said to be playing Josh, a Level III CSI who is typically the lead investigator on cases, and has a knack for crime scene reconstruction. Rodriguez is reportedly playing Hugo who took over as Head Medical Examiner three years ago. Dhillon plays Allie, a young level II CSI, an immigrant who followed her dreams to Las Vegas. Petersen and Fox will reprise their roles as Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle, respectively.

The original CSI followed a team of crime-scene investigators for the Las Vegas Police Department as they used physical evidence to solve murders. The original cast included Petersen, Marg Helgenberger (who is currently a series regular on another CBS series, All Rise), Fox, George Eads, Gary Dourdan, and Paul Guilfoyle. CSI was HUGE for CBS back in the day. The show ended in 2015 after 15 seasons, having launched a $1 billion franchise for CBS that spanned four series; CSI and spinoffs CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, and CSI: Cyber. At one point, CSI was the most-watched drama series in the world for seven years between 2006 and 2016.