‘CSI’ season 16 up in the air; CBS mulling options for long-running series

Are we going to be seeing “CSI” get the final sen-off that they deserve for CBS? We certainly hope so, but for the time being (and after fifteen years, no less), the network is still in the decision-making progress.

What appears to at least be reasonably clear is that they are not interested in necessarily canceling the show outright, at least given how much time that they have invested into it. They don’t want there to be a situation similar to what happened to “CSI: Miami” or even “Law & Order” proper, which ended its run relatively abruptly on NBC. Granted, there are talks about reviving that show, but it has not come to fruition just yet. According to Deadline, CBS is considering bringing the series back for a shortened final season, which could be as little as six episodes long, to give the series the proper send-off. There seems to be also an interest from the current cast in doing this, as well, even with Ted Danson working on the next season of FX’s “Fargo.”

One of the cool things that could come out of doing this is that it allows for a wide range of various opportunities to bring other cast members back. Marg Helgenberger or Laurence Fishburne are among the people you could try to persuade, and there is zero question that the show has a devoted following to the extent that they would watch to see how things end.

One other factor here to consider? “CSI” is huge around the world, and this would be a last hurrah for international revenue.

We will have more as we get closer to the network upfronts later this month, but for now, let us know what you want to see from “CSI” in the comments.