'CSI: Vegas' Loses Another Cast Member After William Petersen, Jorja Fox Exits
The cast for CSI: Vegas Season 2 will look very different compared to its first season. Mel Rodriguez, who was one of the new actors to join the franchise, will not be coming back. The news comes after Jorja Fox announced she was joining William Petersen on the way out the lab door.
Rodriguez starred as Chief Medical Examiner Hugo Ramirez in the first season of CSI: Vegas. A source told TVLine he will not be a series regular, which at least leaves the door open for a guest appearance in Season 2. Before joining the CSI franchise, Rodriguez starred in On Becoming a God in Central Florida, The Last Man on Earth, Better Call Saul, and Enlisted.
The 10-episode first season of CSI: Vegas ended back in early December. It was initially planned as a limited series, but its success prompted CBS to renew the show for a second season a few weeks after the season finale aired. At that time, CBS also confirmed Petersen would not be returning for Season 2. He was only signed for one season but will remain an executive producer. Petersen was the original face of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation franchise, starring as Gil Grissom.
Fox, who reprised her role as Sara Sidle, tweeted earlier this week that she could not see herself returning without Petersen. "Hey, all you [CSI] fans! After much deliberating, I have decided not to 'Sidle up' for CSI Vegas. For me, CSI has always been a love story. The story that people can find love in the darkest of places and times," Fox wrote. "And the story that love, even in the darkest of places and times, can expand and grow roots and endure. I personally just can't split Sara and Grissom up again. So goes Grissom.....So goes Sara. Wherever they go, they belong together."
With Rodrigez gone, there are only a few remaining main cast members for CSI: Vegas. Paula Newsome stars as Max Roby, the new head of the Las Vegas Crime Lab, while Matt Lauria plays CSI Josh Folsom. Mandeep Dhillon plays CSI Allie Rajan. Other actors with recurring roles in the first season were Chelsey Crisp, Jamie McShane, Jay Lee, Sarah Gilman, Sean James, Kat Foster, and Robert Curtis Brown. Paul Guilfoyle and Wallace Langham reprised their roles as Jim Brass and David Hodges, respectively. All episodes of CSI: Vegas Season 1 are available to stream on Paramount+.