‘CSI: Vegas’ Star Exits as CBS Orders Season 2

CSI: Vegas, the successor to the original CSI series, earned a second season order on Dec. 15. However, one star is not returning for the next batch of episodes. William Petersen is out, meaning Gil Grissom will not be in Season 2. Grissom will remain as an executive producer, but not as an actor. The news came just a week after CSI: Vegas finished its 10-episode freshman season on Dec. 8.

CSI: Vegas saw the return of original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation stars Jorja Fox, Petersen, Paul Guilfoyle, and Wallace Langham reprising their roles. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Petersen only signed on for one season. Fox’s return as Sara Sidle is also not set in stone. However, the new stars –Paula Newsome, Matt Lauria, Mandeep Dhillon, and Mel Rodriguez – are all coming back.

The show was the first new CBS series of the 2021-2022 TV season to earn a renewal. CSI: Vegas averaged 3.71 million viewers and a 0.4 rating among adults 18-49 for live airings, but the show doubled its 18-49 rating with delayed viewing. It added 3.09 million viewers on average with 7-day viewing included, the biggest jump for any new drama series this fall. CBSmade the show available on Paramount+, where fans can binge all 10 episodes now.

“The incredibly talented CSI: Vegas creative team and cast did a superb job this first season, brilliantly updating and portraying the CSI universe with fresh stories and a new crime lab, proving that after 20 years, the CSI fan base is still hungry for more and ready to embrace a new chapter in this illustrious franchise,” Amy Reisenbach, Executive Vice President, Current Programs, CBS, said in a statement Wednesday. The show is produced by CBS Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Television. Anthony Zuiker, who created the original CSI, is an executive producer on the revival, which was developed by Jason Tracey.

The CSI franchise launched in 2000 with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which changed the television landscape and was the most-watched show on television during its height of popularity. It survived without Petersen, who left after Season 9, but returned for the 2015 finale movie “Immortality.” The franchise also included CSI: Miami (2002-2012), CSI: NY (2004-2013), and CSI: Cyber (2015-2016). The entire runs of CSI: Miami and CSI: NY are both available on Paramount+, but only select episodes of the original CSI are available on the platform.