‘CSI: Vegas’ Premiere Puts Original Character’s Reputation in Jeopardy

The long-awaited CSI: Vegas premiered on CBS Wednesday night, featuring the return of William Petersen and Jorja Fox alongside a batch of new crime scene investigators. The series is the first new CSI: Crime Scene Investigation series since CSI: Cyber wrapped in 2016 and comes six years after the original CSI wrapped. CSI: Vegas‘ premiere, “Legacy,” set the stage for the new show and revealed that a beloved member of the original cast is in trouble. (Spoilers ahead!)

CSI: Vegas begins with former LVPD Capt. Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) surviving an attempt on his life. Brass, who retired after he was diagnosed with Fuchs corneal disease, shot at his attacker, who is now on the loose. Brass asked former CSI Sara Sidle (Fox) and Gil Grissom (Petersen) to help, but only Sara drives up to Las Vegas first. Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) is retired and in Ireland, so she is unavailable.

Sara agrees to help find Brass’ would-be assassin, meaning she will have to work with the new crop of CSIs, led by Vegas Crime Lab Chief Maxine Roby (Paula Newsome). The new team also includes Allie Rajan (Mandeep Dhillon), Dr. Hugo Ramirez (Mel Rodriguez), and Chris Park (Jay Lee). At first, the team thinks a kidnapper from an old case might be involved in the Brass case, but analysis of the evidence (including a decapitated head, because this is CSI, after all) takes them in the direction of a paroled rapist.

However, the real purpose of this whole mess is to direct Sara and Maxine to a storage unit, where they make a shocking discovery, notes TVLine. David Hodges (Wallace Langham), the fan-favorite lab-tech from the original CSI series, may have been doctoring evidence to close cases. If that’s true, it could lead to thousands of cases the Las Vegas team solved. Sara insists Hodges is being framed, setting up the story of the new series. Gil eventually appeared in the very last scene, telling the team they need to “follow the evidence.”

The CSI franchise kicked off in 2000 with the original series, which quickly became a global phenomenon and was the most-watched show on television during its heyday. The original series ran until 2015 and spawned three spin-offs, CSI: Miami (2002-2012), CSI: NY (2004-2013), and CSI: Cyber (2015-2016). The new CSI: Vegas was developed by Jason Tracey and counts original series creator Anthony E. Zuiker and Jerry Bruckheimer as executive producers. New episodes air Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET, with episodes available to stream on Paramount+ after they air.