50 Fun Facts About CSI

On which network did CSI: Crime Scene Investigation air for 15 seasons?

It ran from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, and was the network's most successful series at the time.

Who created the CSI franchise?

His first movie script caught producer Jerry Bruckheimer's eye in the 1990s; Bruckheimer's company produced the show.

Which blockbuster film producer's television company produced CSI?

His company produced it with CBS Productions, later CBS Paramount Television and then CBS Television Studios.

Who plays Gil Grissom, the forensic entomologist who supervises the graveyard shift?

CBS had a pay-or-play contract with him, and he said he wanted to do the pilot.

Which actress plays Catherine Willows, Grissom's second-in-command?

Catherine was a Las Vegas stripper before being recruited and trained as a blood-spatter specialist.

Grissom and Willows were based on real crime scene analysts from which police department?

Their models were LVMPD analysts Daniel Holstein and Yolanda McClary.

What is Catherine Willows's forensic specialty?

She rose from lab technician to assistant supervisor and eventually left Las Vegas to join the FBI.

Which agency does Catherine Willows join after leaving the Las Vegas crime lab?

She was demoted after a departmental scandal before leaving; she returns in the finale to run the lab.

Which band performs the theme songs for every series in the CSI franchise?

The original used "Who Are You"; Miami got "Won't Get Fooled Again".

Which song is the theme of the original Las Vegas series?

Pete Townshend wrote it and Roger Daltrey sang it; some countries used a different theme to dodge licensing fees.

Which Who song is the theme of CSI: Miami?

Horatio Caine delivers a one-liner about the crime just before the credits roll into it.

What was the title of the feature-length series finale in 2015?

It aired September 27, 2015, and brought back Grissom, Willows and Brass.

Which show was CSI's Friday-night lead-in when it premiered in 2000?

The pilot pulled 17 million viewers and a 5.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic.

Which Canadian company stepped in as co-producer after Disney's Touchstone pulled out?

Touchstone balked at spending so much on a show for a rival network, since Disney owns ABC.

CSI first became the most watched show on U.S. television in which season?

It was later named the most watched show in the world for a sixth time in 2016, a record.

How many Primetime Emmy Awards did CSI win?

That was from 39 nominations; it also collected four People's Choice Awards.

Which rookie CSI's murder on her first day costs Brass his supervisor job?

Brass becomes captain of LVPD homicide and the team's legal muscle for the rest of the series.

Who plays Captain Jim Brass?

Brass retires to focus on his daughter and ends up as head of security at Catherine's casino.

What is the name of Catherine's casino, where Brass works security in the finale?

Her father Sam Braun was a casino mogul.

Which actor plays Nick Stokes?

Stokes is a Texas A&M graduate who eventually takes over the San Diego crime lab.

Which city's crime lab does Nick Stokes leave Las Vegas to direct?

He had been demoted from assistant night supervisor before the move.

Sara Sidle majored in physics at which university?

She later became director of the Las Vegas lab, then gave it up to reunite with Grissom.

Who plays Sara Sidle?

She joined in episode two, left in season eight, and returned for seasons 11 through 15.

Gary Dourdan's Warrick Brown struggles with which addiction?

A Las Vegas native, he is an audio-video analyst with a chemistry degree from UNLV.

Greg Sanders starts the series working in which part of the lab?

He later moves into the field and writes a book about the history of Las Vegas.

Chief medical examiner Al Robbins has what physical trait?

He lost his legs to a drunk driver as a teenager; Robert David Hall, who plays him, is a double amputee.

Trace technician David Hodges has which uncanny ability?

Wallace Langham's character came from the LAPD lab, where superiors felt he had an attitude problem.

Which actor joined in season nine as Dr. Raymond Langston?

Langston met the team during a murder investigation and joined the lab as a level I CSI.

Who plays D.B. Russell, the botanist who runs the lab from season 12?

He is the only actor to be a series regular on more than one CSI series, later joining Cyber.

Elisabeth Shue's Julie Finlay is recruited from which city's crime lab?

Known as "Finn", she is a blood-spatter specialist who had worked for Russell there.

Morgan Brody is the estranged daughter of which character?

Her father is the sheriff; she joins the lab after the Nate Haskell scandal and calls Hodges her best friend.

Which film director directed the fifth-season finale "Grave Danger"?

He also wrote the story; Tony Curtis and Frank Gorshin appear as old friends of Sam Braun.

In "Grave Danger", a kidnapped Nick Stokes is held where?

The kidnapper tosses in his loaded pistol, glow sticks and a dictaphone, then streams him by webcam.

How much ransom does the kidnapper demand in "Grave Danger"?

The city refuses to pay despite Ecklie's pleading with the undersheriff.

Which recurring character is a professional dominatrix played by Melinda Clarke?

Her story arc leaned heavily on music by Rammstein and Linkin Park.

Which Gary Jules cover, first recorded for Donnie Darko, was used in the CSI pilot?

The Tears for Fears cover returned for three season-six episodes.

CSI was originally shot at a Lockheed Martin campus in which California city?

Its valley resembled the outskirts of Las Vegas; later seasons moved mainly to Universal Studios Hollywood.

The "CSI effect" refers to the show allegedly raising whose expectations of forensics?

Public officials also criticized the show for its graphic content and depiction of crimes.

In what year did the first spin-off, CSI: Miami, premiere?

It ran for ten seasons and 232 episodes, ending in April 2012.

Who plays Lieutenant Horatio Caine, the only actor in all 232 episodes of CSI: Miami?

Caine's backstory as a bomb-disposal expert was modeled on LAPD bomb technician John Haynes.

What was Horatio Caine's specialty before leading the Miami CSI unit?

He delivers a witticism about each crime just before the opening credits.

Which actress plays ballistics expert Calleigh Duquesne on CSI: Miami?

The New York Post called the character "a bilingual Southern beauty with a specialty in ballistics".

Most outdoor scenes of CSI: Miami were actually filmed in which California city?

Its new high-rise condos and the canals of the Naples district passed for Miami.

In 2006, BBC News reported which CSI series was the world's most popular TV show?

It featured in more countries' top-ten rankings for 2005 than any other series.

Who plays Detective Mac Taylor, head of the NYPD crime lab on CSI: NY?

Mac is a former Marine from Chicago who lost his wife on 9/11.

Stella Bonasera leaves CSI: NY to head a crime lab in which city?

Sela Ward's Jo Danville replaces the half-Greek, half-Italian detective.

CSI: NY's Lindsay Monroe worked as a CSI in which state before New York?

Anna Belknap's character marries Danny Messer and earns the Police Combat Cross.

Who stars as FBI deputy director Avery Ryan on CSI: Cyber?

The character was inspired by cyber-psychologist Mary Aiken, a producer on the show.

How many seasons did CSI: Cyber last before CBS canceled it in 2016?

It premiered March 4, 2015, and was based in Washington, D.C.

Who plays Maxine Roby, head of the Las Vegas crime lab in CSI: Vegas?

The 2021 revival brought back Petersen and Fox for season one and Helgenberger from season two.