The viewing public learned of CSI: Vegas’s end on April 19.
Its cancellation by CBS really shouldn’t have come as a shock. Its middling ratings have made it a bubble show throughout its entire run.
CSI: Vegas had every opportunity to thrive. It first aired in 2021, amid a wistful revival craze as a nation coming out of a pandemic sought comfort viewing.
In that first season, odd couple Gil Grissom (William Peterson) and Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) returned to break a conspiracy smearing the former crime lab’s reputation.
At the same time, this generation’s CSI lab, led by Maxine Roby (Paula Newsome), solved new cases like the former criminologists that viewers had loved for 16 seasons, only with newer, fancier gadgets to do the work.
Marg Helgenberger’s Catherine Willows has fit seamlessly with the current squad over the past two seasons.
Like a legacy at any institution, the series was given time to find its way. That period ran out after three seasons.
Does that make CSI: Vegas a failure?
No more so than any other franchise spinoffs that have fallen by the wayside over the past few decades. Only Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and, to a lesser extent, NCIS: Los Angeles could be viewed as unabashedly successful spinoffs.
Revivals and reboots fell out of style. The originals are available for easy comparison thanks to streaming, and few of the new incarnations will stand the test of time. It’s hard to see through the rosy haze of nostalgia.
Another factor is the networks’ slash-and-burn tactics in the wake of new contracts with the Writers’ Guild and SAG-AFTRA.
With those agreements leading to higher production costs, the networks will seek cheaper programming to maintain their profit margins.
So, unless a veteran show is over-performing ratings-wise, it’s history. CBS has canceled six such shows, and that’s after rescuing S.W.A.T. for an eighth season (after gutting its cast).
A ton of series, network, cable, and streaming, have been kicked to the curb in the contractual aftermath. There’s little sense in CSI: Vegas fans praying to the streaming gods for salvation.
Likely out of a case of guilt, CBS executives granted the original CSI a two-hour movie in which to tie up loose ends in 2015.
But it’s a different time now, and this is a different CSI. So don’t expect that courtesy.
Instead, accept that there will be little closure. It’s doubtful that the program’s showrunners got much warning ahead of the cancellation, so storylines will likely be left hanging.
Fortunately, thanks to the strike-shortened season, CSI: Vegas hasn’t overreached on ongoing storylines, unlike too many other series.
In a likely futile exercise, let’s list the storylines we would like to see progress toward resolving over the remaining three episodes.
There is no obvious big bad on CSI Vegas Season 3. Instead, there’s a cute robot hanging out in Max’s office. It’s just not the same ominous vibe.
Max’s new office mate has been there since CSI: Vegas Season 3 Episode 5 following two suspicious deaths connected to a robotics factory.
It was proven that a mechanic was killed with a robotic arm. His killer, engineer Cliff Roland, was subsequently killed in a suspicious car accident.
Max and Catherine found the mystery woman they sought connected to the case but were forced to let her go because of a lack of evidence.
Tying up this case in the remaining episodes should be simple enough.
In the meantime, Max has a new sounding board who is nearly as talkative as her former work buddy, Josh Folsom.
Poor Josh has been having a bad few months, hasn’t he?
Granted, much of his woes have been self-inflicted, brought on by grief.
First, he went off book to attempt to save his mother Jeannette from his old substance-abusing habits.
That didn’t take as Jeannette was murdered. Then the thug interrogated by Josh and his foster brother Trey also was murdered, with Folsom arrested for the crime on CSI: Vegas Season 2 Episode 21.
The hits just kept coming for Josh. His team cleared him of murder on CSI: Vegas Season 3 Episode 1. But Serena revealed she was a mole inside the lab, and they broke up on CSI: Vegas Season 3 Episode 2.
It’s funny, but it seems like a weight has been lifted for Serena since her secret has come out. Or maybe that was just from being free of Josh.
Max managed to save his job on CSI: Vegas Season 3 Episode 3. But she busted him down to CSI 1.
The good news is that the now-single Folsom and Allie are free to pursue the romance in the cards since the beginning. The bad news is that Max promoted Allie, his former trainee, while he was off playing vigilante, to be his supervisor.
Based on the rambling conversation they had on this subject on CSI: Vegas Season 3 Episode 7, three episodes isn’t nearly enough time to iron out that situation.
It’s also been revealed that the lab has another couple, Jack and Penny. The collective yawn that revelation generated probably means an offscreen Vegas wedding for those lovebirds.
Finally, how about a reconciliation between Catherine and her estranged daughter Lindsey?
That situation has stretched over both versions of the series. It’s time to wrap that up. Catherine deserves a win.
Were you surprised when CSI: Vegas got canceled?
Can Josh and Allie get it together?
What else do you want wrapped up?
Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.