CSI: Vegas will have a second season on CBS, but it will proceed without William Petersen’s Gil Grissom.
The network has renewed its revival of the long-running franchise, which features a mix of original and new castmembers. The pickup comes a week after CSI: Vegas completed its 10-episode first season on Dec. 8.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Petersen agreed to reprise his onscreen role as Grissom only for the 10-episode first season. He will, however, remain an executive producer of the series. The new castmembers — Paula Newsome, Matt Lauria, Mandeep Dhillon and Mel Rodriguez — are all set to return, and a return for original series star Jorja Fox is possible though not locked down yet.
“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,” said Amy Reisenbach, executive vp current programs at CBS.
CSI: Vegas is the first show from CBS’ crop of rookie series to earn a place on the network’s 2022-23 schedule. The only other first-year show to score a renewal thus far is NBC’s La Brea.
Though it drew modest same-day ratings — averaging 3.71 million viewers and a 0.4 rating among adults 18-49 — the series grew substantially with delayed viewing. It added 3.09 million viewers in the week after initial airings (the most of any first-year drama this fall) and doubled its 18-49 rating.
CBS Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Television produce CSI: Vegas. Jason Tracey, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, KristieAnne Reed, CSI creator Anthony Zuiker, Carol Mendelsohn, Ann Donahue, Craig O’Neill, William Petersen and Cindy Chvatal executive produce; Uta Briesewitz directed and exec produced the first episode.
Source: Hollywood
