CBS is all set to revive its highly-popular crime series CSI for its 20th anniversary. William Petersen and Jorga Fox are reprising their roles as Gil Grissom and Sara Siddle, but who else is joining the pair in the revival?
CSI, which is set in Las Vegas, ran from 2000 to 2015 and became the most-watched drama series during its time. The show spawned spinoffs, such as CSI: Miami and CSI: New York, which were also top-raters for the network.
While Petersen and Fox’s return is confirmed, CBS has not announced if George Eads, Marg Helgenberger, Eric Szmanda, Gary Dourdan, and Paul Guilfoyle also signed on for the revival. According to reports, the two original characters will be working with a new team.
Introducing the new CSI team
The new CSI Las Vegas team include Maxine(crime lab head), Hugo(medical examiner), Josh(lead investigator), Allie(Harvard genius), Chris(newbie). Casting announcements for these characters will be revealed at a later date.
Maxine used worked as a former basketball coach and is an expert in the field of genetics. She is newly-divorced and struggles with her son’s addiction from opioids.
Hugo is fascinated by dead bodies and considers the morgue as his happy place. He has been the Vegas police department’s Head Medical Examiner for three years.
Josh is born and bred in Vegas and comes from a family of petty thieves. His forte is in crime scene reconstruction.
Allie, the immigrant, has a Ph.D. in forensic archaeology. Her character has a sunny disposition.
Chris comes from a private school education and is an up-and-coming investigator.
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Filming schedule affected by the pandemic
In February, CBS revealed plans to release the revival in October. However, the pandemic crisis impacted production and filming schedule. Instead, Petersen and Fox are reporting to the set with the rest of the cast and crew in the fall amid COVID-19 safety precautions.
According to Deadline, OG cast member Helgenberger could not join the revival since she has a filming commitment with another CBS drama, All Rise. The network has not set the new premiere date, barring any problems with production.
Meanwhile, CSI fans can’t wait to see what Grissom and Sara have been up to since the show ended. Fox left the show in season 8, and Petersen followed in season 9. Fox, however, returned as a series regular in season 12 and stayed on until the finale. Viewers will recall that in the final CSI two-hour episode, Grissom and Sara were seen sailing off into the sunset together.
Image used courtesy of CBS/YouTube