Month: March 2021

It’s official.

CSI is returning to CBS.

The network has ordered CSI: Vegas, the sequel to the Network’s global hit CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, one of the most-watched drama series of the 21st century.

Original stars William Petersen and Jorja Fox will reprise their roles as Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle, respectively.

Produced by CBS Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Television, the new CBS original series will star Paula Newsome, Matt Lauria, Mel Rodriguez, and Mandeep Dhillon.

Original CSI star Wallace Langham will also return to the series as David Hodges.

CSI: VEGAS opens a brand new chapter in Las Vegas, the city where it all began. Facing an existential threat that could bring down the Crime Lab, a brilliant new team of forensic investigators must welcome back old friends and deploy new techniques to preserve and serve justice in Sin City.

“Twenty-one years ago, we launched ‘CSI’ and watched in awe as this new cinematic series launched an entire genre and became a groundbreaking juggernaut that still has global resonance today,” said Kelly Kahl, President, CBS Entertainment.

“We are thrilled to welcome the next generation of forensic criminalists to the ‘CSI’ brand and unite them with the legendary characters from the past who we still love, including the extraordinary Billy Petersen and Jorja Fox.”

“Crimefighting technology has advanced dramatically over the last several years, and combined with classic ‘CSI’ storytelling, we can’t wait to watch this new ‘CSI’ team do what they do best: follow the evidence.”

“I’m excited to be bringing back the ‘CSI’ franchise to all our fans who have been so loyal to us for all these years,” said Jerry Bruckheimer.

“And to be back in Las Vegas where it all started over 20 years ago makes it even more special. We’ve enjoyed working on this project with CBS and look forward to welcoming back Billy, Jorja and Wallace as they join a new group of talented actors in CSI: VEGAS.”

Mandeep Dhillon’s casting broke just ahead of the revival getting a series order, and is set to play Allie. A, who is described as a “bonafide genius.”

Allie earned her PhD in forensic archaeology at Harvard, but she always had aspirations of becoming a crime scene investigator.

The cast of the new series also includes new additions Matt Lauria (Friday Night Lights, Kingdom), Paula Newsome(Chicago Med, Barry), and Mel Rodriguez (Last Man on Earth).

Lauria is on board as Josh, a Level 3 CSI who excels at crime scene reconstruction, while Newsome is set to play Maxine, the new head of the Vegas Crime lab.

Rodriguez will play Hugo, the head medical examiner who has a slightly creepy obsession with dead bodies.

The CSI franchise was huge for CBS for over a decade, beginning with CSI, before adding in CSI Miami, CSI NY, and CSI Cyber.

The series has also spawned videogames and still lives on in other media. 

The franchise is said to be worth over $1 billion.

CSI Season 15 averaged 8.3 million total viewers and a 1.3 rating in the demo, but the two-hour series finale event managed 12.2 million viewers and a 1.8 rating. The Las Vegas-set original series was, at one time, the most-watched show in the world.

Jason Tracey will serve as executive producer and showrunner for CSI: VEGAS.

Uta Briesewitz will direct the first episode and serve as executive producer (initial episode only). Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, KristieAnne Reed, Anthony Zuiker, Carol Mendelsohn, Ann Donahue, Craig O’Neill, William Petersen, and Cindy Chvatal also serve as executive producers.

The series will be produced by CBS Studios in association with Jerry Bruckheimer Television and distributed internationally by ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group.

Created by Anthony Zuiker, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” premiered Oct. 6, 2000 on CBS, and aired for 15 seasons, completing 335 episodes. It earned six Emmy Awards and 39 Emmy nominations.

The drama originally starred William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Jorja Fox, and Paul Guilfoyle. The franchise also included “CSI: Miami” (2002-2012); “CSI: New York” (2004-2013); and “CSI: Cyber” (2014-2016).

The original was the most watched drama series in the world for seven years between 2006 and 2016.

CSI was one of the most watched drama series franchise globally in the past 20 years.

Your thoughts on the news?

Hit the comments.

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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

It was an hour that had some of everything, in a delightfully chaotic sort of way.

And New Amsterdam Season 3 Episode 5 was another timely installment by addressing the increased bigotry and attacks against AAPIs since the start of the pandemic, the massive blood shortages that are nationwide, grief, and downsizing.

If that sounds like a lot and as if it made for a bleak hour, it’s because it was, but New Amsterdam finds the perfect balance between despair and hope.

Again, I have to say that thus far, it’s the one medical drama that has consistently found a way to address the pandemic in beautiful, meaningful, relatable, raw ways without sucking the soul out of you.

They’re touching on so many aspects of it without losing sight of the characters and New Amsterdam’s style. After speaking with the executive producers and hearing the passion in their voices about this season, it’s been a real treat to see that passion translated onscreen by all involved.

At the risk of being premature, it already feels like the series’ best season so far. The writing is compelling and strong, and the performances have been utterly captivating from Labine, Agyeman, and Eggold –all of whom have never disappointed anyway.

But then, the season is also gifting us with incredible performances and more screentime for Alejandro Hernandez and Christine Chang. They have risen to the occasion with their material and made us fall deeper in love with these characters we’re getting to know better.

Gladys: Did you google him?
Iggy: Gladys, I refuse to believe that’s what our profession has come to… Yeah, I did. I couldn’t find anything.

The promotion for the hour teased Iggy’s harrowing case with a patient that left us hyperventilating and wondering when they’d allow Iggy to have a break.

He’s still dealing with personal issues of his own. And it’s that balance of being an effortless and easy psychiatrist capable of helping anyone through the darkest of their days, all the while struggling to seek the help he needs.

They say doctors make the worst patients, and the same goes for psychiatrists who are in dire need of help in the way that Iggy does. In the opening moments of the hour, you could feel Iggy’s discomfort, and my goodness Labine continues to give us excellence.

Iggy is so resistant to the process of doing what he needs for himself, and it’s refreshing that he’s so impossibly, frustratingly human. But it makes every small step he takes all the more meaningful and gratifying.

So just so I have this straight, you’re letting a random homeless woman live in a hospital closet unsupervised.

Casey

His group therapy session with the veterans was such a shock. It was specifically so when Chance discussed Afghanistan. A veteran recognized he was lying and punched his lights out.

Way too many individuals pose as veterans — “Stolen Valor” for attention or whatever else. It was disheartening that Chance came into a safe space like the group therapy and disrupted it for everyone. He needed help, yes, but now it’ll take some time for Iggy to regain the trust of those there.

Chance claimed that he had endured something awful, and he resented that no one believed him after Iggy approached him with proof that he lied.

The moments where Chance doused himself in gasoline and nearly flicked the lighter with the intent of setting himself on fire were some of the most intense of the series thus far. Iggy had to work overtime and bare his soul a bit to convince Chance to put down the lighter, but each second was terrifying until they got back inside.

It takes a lot to match Labine in such an emotionally wrought scene, but holy wow, guest-star Luke Slattery was phenomenal. Chance’s breakdown as he described how his accident caused the entire barn and house to burn down, killing his family, was heart-shattering.

How can anyone live with such profound guilt and grief? It’s a wonder the man is upright and functioning at all.

And yet, that was but one case, in an hour that had so much crammed in it that it was enough to keep your head spinning.

Max: Why didn’t you tell me?
Helen: I didn’t realize I was supposed to.
Max: Well, you don’t have to tell me, I just thought you would want to.
Helen: And you tell me everything? There’s no secrets between us?

Agnes too over Kapoor’s position, running the department while he’s down, and there cannot be anyone better suited. She’s his protege and exemplified his teachings when she correctly diagnosed Rose.

As Max said, it was a prognosis that most would have ignored. Beyond Rose’s medical condition, she and Agnes’ mutual experiences as Asian American women navigating the country when too many people have directed their anger, fear, and hatred at the AAPI community since the pandemic that was enough to give you chills.

Anti-Asian sentiment has been on the rise for the past year or so, and it’s only recently getting the type of mainstream attention and traction that it deserves.

An entire community of individuals can’t even walk down the street without getting attacked because of how they look. It’s sickening that people look the other way as if it’s no big deal or somehow justifiable.

Operation blood flow is a go. Oh, I should start knocking.

Max

Coming off of the recent Atlantan murders, the timing of this installment feels as prescient as ever. It was such a powerful moment as doctor and patient– two Asian-American women– shared something that united them.

And later on, when Agnes recounted her experience with a stranger attacking and spitting on her with Max, she did it with that a solemnity that belied how disturbingly normal it was to be on the receiving end of such hatred. She possessed a weariness that was markedly different from Max’s shock and outrage.

Chang shined during that moment, and it’s been such a breath of fresh air having Agnes take more of a central role in the narrative.

It’s something Casey has benefitted from this season, too. He still tends to clock in as Lauren’s sidekick and trusty voice of reason, but their relationship is such a highlight.

New Amsterdam is officially out of blood.

Lauren

Only this time around, he saved the day by snagging Layla’s backpack from the supply closet Bloom let her stay in, but he has some understandable reservations about Lauren going out on a limb for a woman she doesn’t know.

In the end, Lauren and Layla did seem to bond and went out for pizza together. The friendship blossoming between these two women is an intriguing storyline, and the potential for it to go in so many different directions is enough to keep you invested.

Countering that, we have Floyd’s return to the hospital, which puts him under Lauren’s charge. It’s a role reversal for the two of them, and it took some time for them to find their footing.

Floyd has a lot to learn about working in the E.D. The quirky things like a hidden drug stash in the ceiling and the absence of lunch breaks are amusing, and the quick care that he must enact because of a daunting workload is different for him.

He can bring creative ways of handling problems to the forefront, though, as he did in surgery, and that’s what makes him an asset, and he and Lauren great partners.

The hour appeared to squash any implications that they would find their way back to one another romantically. We’ll have to see if that sticks.

Meanwhile, Helen and Shin are more romantic than ever, and what started as some casual dating feels more serious. They’re making out at the workplace, for starters.

People have given everything this year except their blood.

Woman

Max was so flustered when he walked in on that, and when he wasn’t dealing with blood shortages and finding a way to hire Sandra to avoid her downsizing, he was nothing short of jealous over Helen.

From a shipping perspective, it could be an example of the unresolved feelings that neither of them ever discusses and how hard it is for him now that she’s seeing someone else.

From their friendship perspective, Helen is Max’s person, and he’s used to having her at his beck and call. He’s accustomed to having access to her in a way that no one else does, and the thought of losing his work wife to a new relationship that’s happening at the hospital requires an adjustment he didn’t have to make before.

Their conversation at the end of the hour was illuminating in all the things they did not say. It seems they’re always dancing around the elephant in the room, and they speak in riddles and circles without adjusting it head-on.

Max: Why didn’t you tell me?
Helen: I didn’t realize I was supposed to.
Max: Well, you don’t have to tell me, I just thought you would want to.
Helen: And you tell me everything? There’s no secrets between us?

And they never have these conversations in a place or at a time where it’s conducive. If they sat down somewhere, with no distractions, and they had a real talk about their relationship and what it means, then they’d have to confront it, and I don’t think they want to do that.

It was killing him that Max didn’t know about Shin, and perhaps it’s because of how he thinks they have the type of closeness where they talk about these things.

But in hindsight, there is so much about one another the other doesn’t know. Max is missing out on sections of Helen’s life, that he probably thought he had a claim on now that Helen is sharing them with Shin.

Helen: You were seeing someone last year. Why didn’t you tell me?
Max: I didn’t tell anyone.
Helen: Why?
Max: I don’t know. It was fragile, and I just thought that I should protect…
Helen: Protect what?

She did an excellent job flipping it back on him when she asked him why he never told her about Alice. He didn’t realize she knew. He started to explain that he was trying to protect (her from Alice? Alice from Helen? Who knows?), but Shin interrupted the conversation.

The Sharpwin nuggets are delicious, and whether this is a slow-burn or a romantic relationship that never comes to fruition, I don’t mind the pace they’re taking with it.

The exploration of blood supply shortages was an important one, and it was enough to inspire. Max was doing everything he could to fix the situation, and his efforts were such Max things to do.

He got the best food catered, entertainment, and puppies. You’d have thought he was bribing kids at a candy shop.

And a freshly downsized Sandra, who is a GEM, a TRUE GEM, was right by his side, reluctantly, of course, her annoyance with Max is noted and hilarious.

No matter what he did, people weren’t donating until he voiced his frustrations to one of the bystanders and was surprised by the response.

I appreciate that New Amsterdam can show both sides of an issue. For Max, all he could think about was that the hospital needed blood, and he was rolling out the carpets to get people to do the bare minimum of giving it, and they refused.

He didn’t outright say it, but his voice was laced with the implication that they were selfish or inconsiderate.

I used to do that too, flinch at little movements and sounds. I do that too.

Agnes

But the woman expressed that it wasn’t a matter of people not caring, it’s the pandemic that has taken everything out of everyone, and some have nothing left in them.

And she’s right. She said she was homeschooling her kids, helping to feed people in need, and we all know that food insecurity is on the rise.

She’s given her energy to taking care of her kids and an ailing parent. She’s given her time to march for social justice and awareness. She’s giving money to causes, food to those who are hungry, and so on and so forth.

The whole country is in need, and there’s not enough left in a person to give. And there Max was asking for her blood, too.

It’s a valid take, too.

Al of this, and we still haven’t touched on the psych-out switched at birth plot. Helen’s patient was a sweet girl who felt isolated from her family and thought she was different.

You could sense that there was more to that sentiment that required some to read between the lines. And when they ran Elisa’s blood and her mother’s, they found out they weren’t the same.

I loved the case about a chimera. Elisa was a twin who absorbed that of the lost one, and it affected her blood type, among other things.

I hate that it was crammed into this hour where so much was happening. As I said before, the hour was chaotic.

Over to you, New Amsterdam Fanatics. How did you feel about this hour? Sound off below!

You can watch New Amsterdam online here via TV Fanatic.

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Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

Dancing With the Stars will strut into its 30th season at ABC.

The network on Tuesday officially ordered Dancing With the Stars Season 30, confirming that it will be back later this year.

Tyra Banks is set to host the new season, while Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli are set to form the judging panel once again.

Len Goodman will also be staging a comeback, but it’s unclear how that would work when you consider the restrictions on travel.

Goodman previously stepped away from Dancing With the Stars Season 29 due to travel restrictions.

Could he stop by via Zoom? It wouldn’t be that surprising. Unscripted series have been forced to pivot in response to the pandemic.

Dancing With the Stars Season 29 was the first season without Tom Bergeron, who was fired alongside co-host Erin Andrews before the premiere.

Banks announced that she wanted Goodman back in the fold last year.

“I miss Len. I feel like there’s a way to have them both be here,” Banks shared with Parade in November.

“I have a little notepad in my phone of how I can make that work. I’ve got to get that approved by the team, but it also depends on the health of not just the nation, but the globe for that to happen.”

The series managed to increase in the ratings for its 29th season, which boasted contestants like Kaitlyn Bristowe, Justina Machado, and Carole Baskin.

While fans were largely vocal about all the changes to the series, ABC will be happier to know that the ratings increased in key demos for Season 29.

There was never a question about whether the series would be renewed. It was always a question of when it would be picked up.

The 30th season is quite the milestone, meaning that it gives ABC a good way to promote it.

What do you want from Season 30?

Do you think it should be an All-Stars season?

Sound off in the comments.

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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.