CSI is no longer on the air, but the franchise’s creator just revealed the only way he would sign off on a new spinoff—but his idea might shock even the most diehard fan. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation debuted in 2000 and ran for 15 seasons.
The huge success of the crime procedural spawned multiple spinoffs, including a revival of the original series via CSI: Vegas, which brought back Jorja Fox, William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger and Wallace Langham but only lasted for three seasons before being canceled in 2024.
During an interview with TV Insider to celebrate CSI’s 25th anniversary, creator Anthony Zuiker was asked if he would ever want the franchise to return to the air, and he gave a very shocking answer.
Zuiker admitted that CSI would likely only come back if he was involved in the project. He doesn’t believe that a younger producer or showrunner who’s not as attached to the franchise could step into his shoes.
The producer also ruled out international iterations of CSI. “That’s something that I wouldn’t approve,” he bluntly stated.
As far as a concept for a hypothetical new CSI, Zuiker’s idea would be to either set the show 100 years ago “where there was limited access to forensic science to solve old school crimes,” or take the franchise 75 years into the future, which would focus on “space crimes, time crimes, crypto miscreants, brain hacking, AI, robotic crimes.”
In other words, a new CSI show would have to tell stories that the franchise hasn’t focused on before.
It’s a tricky question. I’ll try to answer it. I don’t think another CSI will be born unless I’m involved in it. I don’t think you can hire people to do this show at this level in this generation. And if you did do another show where I was in the mix, it would have to be either A, a CSI of 100 years ago where there was limited access to forensic science to solve old school crimes a century ago, or it’d be futuristic crimes about 75 years from today — space crimes, time crimes, crypto miscreants, brain hacking, AI, robotic crimes. It’ll be things that you hadn’t seen before. And then how CSIs 75 years from now would solve that in the future. I think those are the only two CSIs that would work under my watch. But this is not going to be a franchise, in my opinion, where you would do a CSI: UK or a CSI: Singapore and then hire a production company to pull off 10. That’s something that I wouldn’t approve.
What Anthony Zuiker’s Spinoff Ideas Mean For CSI Franchise
Zuiker is right that the CSI franchise would need an overhaul if it were ever to be rebooted. Multiple spinoffs have aired on CBS over the years, including CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, CSI: Cyber and the revival CSI: Vegas.
The first three CSI series (CSI, Miami and NY) ended up being long-running shows, airing for 15, 10 and nine seasons, respectively. However, the two more recent spinoffs (Cyber and Vegas) were canceled after only two and three seasons, respectively.
This proves that interest in the franchise dissipated massively after the original series went off the air, and not even a revival with a few of the original cast members could save it.
CSI is an iconic TV franchise, but like many series and franchises, not everything is meant to continue indefinitely.
If a new CSI spinoff were to be announced tomorrow, it would likely feel just like all the other ones that came before it, which is why Zuiker’s ideas are very intriguing. He’s clearly thinking way outside the box by taking the franchise back 100 years or 75 years into the future.
Zuiker’s futuristic idea actually sounds like it could be a crime procedural version of Star Trek. Paramount owns both franchises, so maybe Zuiker could join forces with the Trek team on a brand-new concept for that iconic brand. The producer’s idea of setting the show 100 years in the past could also make for a fascinating historical drama.