CSI revival event series floated at CBS; who could return?
According to a new report from Deadline, Elementary alum Jason Tracey is leading the charge for an event series at the network, one that would be used to mark the series’ 20th anniversary. Original series stars William Petersen and Jorja Fox have each been approached about appearing in the project, but there are no formal offers and the framework for the project may still not come together.
The reason for a CSI revival is pretty simple — this is one of the most-successful television franchise of all time! For well over a decade the original series was a ratings smash at CBS and established a powerful Thursday lineup for the network. The show had three different spin-offs in Miami, NY, and then also Cyber. It also had all sorts of merchandise and led to a lot of people gaining an interest in forensics. (The revival would focus more on the original show rather than any spin-offs.)
Doing a limited series as opposed to a full-on new show could prove to be very smart, largely because history has shown that revivals don’t tend to have an extended shelf life the majority of the time. Will & Grace, for example, is a ratings shell of its former self, while a new version of Murphy Brown failed to get any traction. Reviving shows that are only recently canceled (see Last Man Standing or Brooklyn Nine-Nine) tend to be a little more successful, largely because they’re still reasonably relevant still to modern viewers.
CSI was last on the air in September 2015, where a finale movie ended up generated some very solid ratings for the network. That may be one of the reasons why the show would consider doing something like this now. If it works out, maybe you do another run at some point down the road.
Would you be interested in watching a CSI revival over on CBS?
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