CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, also referred to as CSI and CSI: Las Vegas, is an American procedural drama television series that aired on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. It is the first series in the CSI franchise. The series originally starred William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Jorja Fox, and Paul Guilfoyle. Other cast members included Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall, David Berman, Louise Lombard, Wallace Langham, Lauren Lee Smith, Ted Danson, Laurence Fishburne, and Elisabeth Shue. The series concluded with a feature-length finale, Immortality.

During its original broadcast, CSI became one of the biggest phenomena in television history, and was CBS' most successful series at the time with the highest ratings. It received positive reviews from television critics, and won six Primetime Emmy Awards, although it received criticism from public officials and law enforcement for its depiction of crimes, graphic content, and other mature content.

A follow-up series, CSI: Vegas, premiered in 2021.

Mixing deduction and character-driven drama, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation follows a team of crime scene investigators (CSIs) employed by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVPD for short) as they use physical evidence to solve murders.

The team is originally led by Dr. Gil Grissom (William Petersen), a socially awkward forensic entomologist and career criminalist, who is promoted to CSI supervisor following the death of a trainee investigator. Grissom's second-in-command, Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger), is a single mother with a cop's instinct. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Catherine was a stripper before being recruited into law enforcement and trained as a blood-spatter specialist.

Following Grissom's departure during the ninth season of the series, Catherine was promoted to supervisor. After overseeing the training of new investigator Raymond Langston (Lawrence Fishburne), Willows is replaced by D.B. Russell (Ted Danson) and recruited to the FBI shortly thereafter. Russell is a family man, a keen forensic botanist, and a veteran of the Seattle Crime Lab.

In the series' 12th season, Russell is reunited with his former partner Julie Finlay (Elisabeth Shue), who like Catherine, is a blood-spatter expert with an extensive knowledge of criminal psychology. With the rest of the team, they work to tackle Las Vegas's growing crime rate and are on the job 24/7, scouring the scene, collecting the evidence, and finding the missing pieces that help solve the mystery.

During the 1990s, Anthony Zuiker caught producer Jerry Bruckheimer's attention after writing his first movie script. Zuiker was convinced that a series was in the concept; Bruckheimer agreed and began developing the series with Touchstone Television. The studio's head at the time liked the spec script and presented it to ABC, NBC, and Fox executives, who decided to pass.