'CSI: Vegas,' the iconic show's second life, has been snuffed out

LAS VEGAS — Like many of its victims of the past week, “CSI: Vegas” has been cut down in its prime.

The reboot of the series that put Las Vegas on the television map won’t live to see a Season 4. According to multiple news outlets, it’s been canceled by CBS to make room for new dramas, including “NCIS: Origins,” a new take on “Matlock” and the Sherlock Holmes-adjacent “Watson.”

Originally conceived as a limited series to celebrate the 20th anniversary of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “CSI: Vegas” was delayed a year by the pandemic. The 10-episode reboot performed well enough in 2021 to earn a second season of 22 episodes. Its third season was limited to 10 episodes because of last year’s writers and actors strikes.

“CSI: Vegas” brought back original stars William Petersen (Gil Grissom) and Jorja Fox (Sara Sidle), pairing them with a new team led by Paula Newsome’s crime lab boss Maxine Roby. Petersen and Fox left after that initial season, and another original, Marg Helgenberger (Catherine Willows), signed on for what would become its final two seasons.

Newsome and Helgenberger returned to downtown Las Vegas on Dec. 4, 2022, along with 108 other members of the “CSI: Vegas” cast and crew, for a day of filming for the third season premiere.

For now, at least, Friday’s cancellation marks the end of the franchise launched by “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” in 2000. At its peak, the series beamed Las Vegas to more than 70 million viewers around the world.

Created by Anthony Zuiker, the Chaparral High School and UNLV graduate who was earning $8 an hour as a Mirage tram driver, “CSI” would go on to spawn the spinoffs “CSI: Miami,” “CSI: NY” and “CSI: Cyber,” in addition to “CSI: Vegas.” “CSI” ended its run as a two-hour movie on Sept. 27, 2015.

The series finale of “CSI: Vegas” will air at 10 p.m. May 19 on CBS.

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