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CBS is all set to present viewers with the much-awaited CSI: Vegas' brand new season this week, but without its two vital characters.
Developed by Jason Tracey, CSI: Vegas is a sequel to the long-running series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and is the fifth series in the CSI franchise. The thrilling sequel opened with an existential threat that could bring down the entire Crime Lab and release thousands of convicted killers back onto the neon-lit streets of Vegas.
The brilliant new team of investigators in the series is led by Maxine Roby, who enlisted the help of old friends Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle to investigate a case centered around former colleague David Hodges. The combined force deploy the latest forensic techniques to follow the evidence to preserve and serve justice in Sin City.
CSI: Vegas season 2 bids farewell to Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle
CBS' second season of CSI: Vegas is all set to premiere on Thursday, September 29 at 10 pm ET and will see most of the cast members return for the season. However, two of the cast members, William Petersen, who played Gil Grissom, and Jorja Fox, who played Sara Sidle, won't be reprising their roles.
The official synopsis for episode one of the upcoming season reads:
"She’s Gone – CSI: VEGAS season two kicks off with the return of Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) as she persuades Maxine Roby to let her rejoin the esteemed CSI team in Las Vegas. The CSIs investigate the murder of a dominatrix found near her secret s*x dungeon, on the second season premiere of the CBS Original series."
The official trailer for CSI: Vegas dropped earlier this month. It starred Paula Newsome returning as Max, Matt Lauria returning as Josh, Mandeep Dhillon returning as Allie Rajan, alongside Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows, Jay Lee as Chris, Lex Medlin as Beau Finado, Ariana Guerra as Serena Chavez, Sara Amini as Sonya Nikolayevich, and Joel Johnstone as Jack Nikolayevich.
Read on to learn more about the actors who quit the CBS show.
William Petersen as Gil Grissom
American actor and producer William Petersen is best known for his roles in To Live and Die in L.A., Manhunter, Young Guns II, Fear, The Contender, Detachment, and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, among several other projects.
He has portrayed Gil Grissom in the CBS drama series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation for 15 years, for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards as a producer of the show.
He reprised his role as Gil Grissom in the sequel CSI: Vegas. Grissom is a forensic entomologist and for the series' first nine seasons, a CSI Level III Supervisor employed by the Las Vegas Police Department.
Jorja Fox as Sara Sidle
Jorja Fox is an American actress and producer best known for ER ,The West Wing, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Memento, 3 Weeks to Daytona, Missing Persons, and House of Frankenstein, among several other projects.
She reprised her character, Sara Sidle, in the sequel CSI: Vegas. Sidle is a forensic scientist and one of the core characters of the show, which revolves around a Crime Scene Investigation team in Clark County, Nevada, that investigates cases in and around Las Vegas.
How will the two characters be written off?
In a sneak peek shared by TVLine, CSI Chris Park was seen marveling about the fact that Catherine Willows had come out of retirement to help out Maxine Roby’s Las Vegas CSI team. While Park wondered out loud about whether Willows reached out to Sara and Gil for the hot goss on Roby’s team, fellow CSI Joshua Folsom revealed that the couple were on vacation, hinting towards their possible retirement.
It was announced last December that William Petersen would not be reprising the role of Gil Grissom as he had only agreed to appear in the first 10 episodes of the revival series. However, he will remain a part of the series as an executive producer.
Petersen’s exit was followed by Jorga's Fox exit, as the CSI vet confirmed that she would not be coming back as Sara Sidle. Fox said that Petersen’s absence influenced her to leave the revival since Sara and Gil were vital to the history of CSI as a duo and shouldn't be separated.
Watch the brand new season of CSI: Vegas on CBS on Thursday, September 29.
