New CSI: Vegas series likely to reunite core cast William Petersen and Jorja Fox

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation launched a new genre of forensic crime dramas in the US after its launch in 2000 and, despite being put on ice in 2015, the show is getting a reboot.

CSI: Vegas will, according to Deadline, reunite original CSI stars William Petersen (Gil Grissom) and Jorja Fox (Sara Sidle), a vital reunion in any reboot because their relationship was the emotional core of the original.

The new season of the crime scene procedural has yet to be commissioned by parent network CBS and was meant to tie in with the 20th anniversary in October, but COVID-19 has put paid to that plan.

CSI: Vegas will not be a simple resumption of the previous show and the investigators will face a fight for their very existence when the drama resumes in Las Vegas. The team led by Grissom and Sidle will welcome back old friends and utilise new techniques and technologies as it battles to hang onto its place in the tumultuous Vegas crime world.

Four new characters will be introduced in CSI: Vegas, including:

• Maxine: the new head of the Vegas Crime Lab who is a specialist in genetics, recently divorced and dealing with son who has a drug problem.
• Josh: a Level III CSI who is typically the lead investigator on cases, and has a knack for crime scene reconstruction. He is especially useful because he comes from a local crime family.
• Allie: an immigrant who is a young Level II CSI and a genius with a PhD from Harvard in forensic archaeology.
• Chris: a rising Level II CSI who comes from privilege but has had to earn his stripes in the field.
• Hugo: who became Head Medical Examiner three years ago and for whom the "morgue is his happy place".

CSI was an unexpected hit when it premiered on CBS in the Friday night graveyard in 2000 and its popularity was such that it spun off into long-running series CSI: Miami, starring David Caruso, CSI: New York, starring Gary Sinise, and CSI: Cyber, starring Patricia Arquette.

At its peak CSI was watched by more than 25 million viewers and it became the most-watched US drama in the 21st Century.

It's not clear when production would start on the series, which will reportedly be run by Elementary writer Jason Tracey and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer TV and CBS TV Studios.

CSI screened on Channel 5 in the UK.

If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV guide.