'CSI' creator teases a new spin-off set 100 years ago or 75 years in the future — and we're intrigued
When 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' first premiered in 2000, no one could have predicted the huge success it would become. Running for 15 years and spawning three hit spin-offs, the crime drama kept fans on the edge of their seats. With 'CSI: Vegas' being the last spin-off that premiered in 2021, fans are now wondering if the popular franchise will get another offshoot.
For the 25th anniversary of 'CSI', its creator Anthony Zuiker addressed the possibility of another spin-off. When asked, he said, "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," as per TV Insider.
Zuiker suggested that any future 'CSI' would need to be unique, as he said, "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, and 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."
He then gave a vivid example, sharing, "Let's put Meredith in the year 1896, and there were a bunch of railroad workers, 12 railroad workers were working on a railroad on the Mason-Dixon Line, and there was some discrepancy about a cigarette, and one railroad person took their shovel and smacked the other one over the head and killed him dead. Now the police arrive on horseback. Who did it? Well, the forensic scientist of 1896 says this: Everybody put their shovel in front of their person that was used for the railroad and let’s just wait. And about three hours later, this is what happens."
He further added, "A gaggle of flies goes on top of the shovel in front of Meredith's shovel, and they know right there that was the killer. Fabulous." Zuiker also explained the reason behind the cancellation of 'CSI: Vegas,' saying, "It was tough, I thought we had some solid episodes, but, in the end, the world was just in a different place; it had changed so much... We already did four CSIs. We had audience exhaustion, attrition," as per Deadline.
Zuiker also talked about the importance of the original team, remarking, "Without myself, Jerry Bruckheimer, Carol Mendelsohn, Ann Donahue, Jonathan Littman, Danny Cannon, and Pam Veasey, those are the Magnificent 7 of the franchise and what the DNA of CSI is. It's just very difficult to replicate that band to have a future success."