Revivals and reboots are touted everywhere this decade. Shows such as Dallas, One Day at a Time, Full House, Roseanne, Murphy Brown, Will & Grace, Whose Line is it Anyway?, Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ’n Out, and Dynasty all managed to get the revival and/or reboot treatment across broadcast and cable. What’s next? “*Insert Network Here* Orders Revival/Reboot of *Insert Long Gone Show Here*”. Here at the TV Ratings Guide, we have one simple message: “For the love of God Almighty, networks, please stop with the reboots!” Thus, Do Not Resuscitate was born, and in this installment, we focus on the long-running CBS procedural, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
The Original Hit Machine -- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2015)
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| CSI Key Art. Source: USA, CBS |
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, also known as CSI: Las Vegas premiered on October 6, 2000, on a Friday, to a 5.4 in the key adults 18-49 demographic with 17 million viewers. This was massive for Friday numbers, but the show’s peak ratings happened when the show was moved to Thursdays. The highest recorded rating that the original CSI had was an 11.6, achieved twice -- during the third season and on the one hundredth episode. Shout out to SpottedRatings for the ratings blurb, as you can find a complete history at its War of 18-49 page.
But the show took a decline when Grey’s Anatomy took over ABC’s Thursday night, and it dropped a hefty 24%. Ratings kept on dropping each season, enough for CBS to take pause and in season 12, CSI moved to Wednesday. Ratings just kept on dropping. The final nail in CSI’s coffin was the move to Sunday nights for the final season. In October, CBS cut CSI’s episode order from 22 to 18 episodes, and then the show was canceled at the end of the season. The two hour finale, “Immortality”, got a 1.9 in the key demographic.
Through the many cast changes, one premise is consistent, and that folks, is solving cases. The series spawned a franchise of many spin-offs: CSI: New York, CSI: Miami, and CSI: Cyber.
Reasons The Show Needs to Stay Canceled
- The actors have all moved on to other projects. For example, George Eads is in MacGyver and Ted Danson is in The Good Place.
- The two hour movie concluded the series as it stands.
- There is an over-saturation of police procedural dramas on CBS.
You can see CSI on USA, Ion, Syfy, and on Oxygen airing in syndication. Make sure to check your listings.
