Case closed: Original stars will return for CSI’s two-hour finale this Fall

By Steve Smith May 13, 2015

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One of the most popular crime-scene procedurals of all time will come to an end this Fall in the form of a two-hour TV movie.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a modern icon when it comes to crime shows, starting off as a smash hit for CBS in the fall of 2000, and spawning several official spinoffs, as well as multiple clones across the TV landscape. After 15 years on air, CBS has announced that CSI will end its run on September 27. The two-hour TV movie finale will see original stars William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger return as guest stars.

CSI was a surprise hit when it aired in 2000. The series put a shiny new coat of paint on the crime procedural show, going into somewhat gruesome detail of how a victim was killed in order to solve the mysteries. It reached a high point in 2004, with more than 31.4 million viewers tuning in to see what case the intrepid investigators would solve this time.

The fate of the show was in question as CBS began shuffling its fall lineup, especially when the network decided to shorten the show’s season to 18 episodes. Network brass originally hemmed and hawed when asked about CSI, instead shifting focus to the latest CSI spinoff, CSI: Cyber.

Some CSI veterans are slated to return for the finale, including Petersen and Helgenberger, but it is unknown if any others will return, or how much screen time they will get in the last episode.

If you’re worried about what current star Ted Danson will do now that the show is coming to an end, you have nothing to fear: he’s joined CSI: Cyber as a series regular. As for co-star Elizabeth Shue, no announcement has been made regarding her continuance in the CSI universe.

You can catch the two-hour finale of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation September 27. If you want to catch up on previous seasons before then, Hulu has all previous episodes on tap for subscribers of Hulu Plus.

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