Jorja Foxhas announced that she won’t be returning for the second season ofCSI: Vegas. Fox exits the series after asecond season was confirmed withoutWilliam Petersen. Both Fox and Peterson starred in the originalCSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the most-watched drama in television history.
Fox helped buildCSI: Crime Scene Investigation’s initial success as Sara Sidle, a crime scene investigator who ends up marrying her team leader, Gil Grissom (Petersen). The duo led the original series forfifteen seasonsbetween 2000 and 2015, ensuring a long life for the franchise, which just returned for a revival last year. InCSI: Vegas, a new team led byPaula Newsome’s Maxine Roby uses the latest forensic technology to solve crimes in the titular city, counting with the support of legacy cast members such as Fox and Petersen.
While Fox’s return was well-received by fans, the starannounced on Twitterthat “after much deliberating, I have decided not to ‘Sidle up’ for CSI Vegas.” Fox underlined how “CSI has always been a love story” to her, and that means following Petersen in his departure. As Fox explains it, “I personally just can’t split Sara and Grissom up again. So goes Grissom…..So goes Sara. Wherever they go, they belong together.” Ina previous interview with Collider, Fox had also expressed a similar sentiment about the characters in her initial return to the series, saying:
“For Sara to come back without Gil Grissom, in a sense, would have meant that, once again something had happened to that relationship. That it had ended or fallen apart. And that would have been really tough. I think I’m really attached, Jorja’s really attached to the idea of Sara and Grissom, if they were going to return, to return together.”
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CSI: Vegasaired on CBS from October 6 to December 8 and ran for ten episodes. After a slow start, the new series became a massive hit for CBS, with viewership rising from 3.71 million to 6.81 million during the original airing. That led the company torenewCSI: Vegasfor a second seasonlast December. Unfortunately, the news was bittersweet, as CBS confirmed Petersen would retire Gil Grissom and only come back as an executive producer for Season 2.
Besides Fox and Petersen, the first season ofCSI: Vegasalso saw the return ofPaul Guilfoyleas Detective Jim Brass andWallace Langhamas David Hodges. There’s still no official information on whether the two legacy actors will remain on the show for Season 2. Fortunately for fans, the series is left in good hands, with the newcomers' cast also includingMatt Lauria,Jamie McShane,Mel Rodriguez, andMandeep Dhillon.
The first season ofCSI: Vegasis available right now on Paramount+. While the second season doesn’t have a release date yet, it’s expected to air during the 2022/2023 broadcast season. Check out Fox’s original tweet below.
