Some longtime fans of the CSI franchise were understandably disheartened to learn that star Jorja Fox won’t return as Sara Sidle in CSI: Vegas season 2, but this decision is in the spinoff’s best interests. Fans of the CSI franchise know by now that the show’s success is dependent on its lovable cast as much as the gruesome murders they investigate. Like its many spinoffs and imitators, CSI invested plenty of screen time in the personal lives of its titular investigative unit to ensure that viewers had a reason to tune in weekly (outside of morbid curiosity).
However, while every iteration of CSI has attempted to make fans care about its heroes and their lives outside of crime fighting, all good things must come to an end. CSI: Vegas used Gil and Sara’s return to the CSI franchise to help establish interest in the spinoff, bringing back fan-favorite actors William Petersen and Jorja Fox. However, it was not a shock to many fans when both Petersen and Fox announced that they wouldn’t return for CSI: Vegas season 2.
Petersen was the first of the two actors to announce his departure from the CSI spinoff and, for a while, it seemed as if Fox might stay on for season 2. After all, the couple’s tumultuous relationship had seen them separated numerous times before, meaning few fans would be surprised if the pair were split up again. However, Fox announced via Twitter that she wanted to keep Gil and Sara together, meaning she opted to bow out of shooting CSI: Vegas season 2 in Petersen’s absence. While there is still room for CSI regulars to appear on CSI: Vegas, the news that the franchise’s veteran star, Jorja Fox, wouldn’t return for season 2 still came as a blow to some fans. However, the choice is what is best for the series for numerous reasons.
Jorja Fox’s CSI: Vegas Departure Explained
Shortly after the actor’s long-time co-star and screen love interest William Petersen announced his departure from the spinoff series, Fox followed suit to preserve the fictional couple’s happily ever after status. Fox cited her desire to keep her and Petersen’s characters together as the reason for her leaving, and the choice was a reasonable one when Gil and Sara had been variously engaged, estranged, dating, married, and broken up over their long time on CSI. Fox exited CSI once before and the show’s writers took this as an opportunity to put Sara and Gil’s love story on hold, despite the actress stating that the frequent sad endings of CSI's stories were part of the reason for her season 8 departure. As such, following Petersen off the series to lock down a happy ending for Gil and Sara was a choice that proved Fox cares about her character Sara and her story.
Why Fox and Petersen’s Departures Matter
Sara Sidle and Gil Grissom’s love story provided a dramatic bedrock for the original CSI from season 6 onwards. The premise of the series allowed CSI to stage gorier and more visceral deaths than most earlier police procedural shows, and the show could easily have ended up focusing on increasingly grotesque murder methods without much in the way of overarching character development for its leads. Admittedly, supporting stars like CSI’s Warrick (Gary Dourdan) were also afforded interesting subplots that fleshed out their characters, but it was Gil and Sara’s story that saw CSI invest substantial screen time into a multi-season romance that didn’t end in almost-inevitable gory tragedy.
CSI: Vegas Underused Sara and Gil
Despite bringing back the fan-favorite duo, CSI: Vegas season 1 didn’t offer much new insight into Sara and Gil’s relationship. The CSI spinoff relied on their star power to tempt the franchise’s exiting fanbase into coming back, but the series didn’t need the duo for its procedural formula to work. If anything, their season 2 absence will likely lead to more substantial stories for the newcomers of CSI: Vegas, who inevitably were stuck playing second fiddle to their better-known co-stars throughout season 1. However, this is not to say that the spinoff can't still utilize legacy characters. CSI: Vegas season 2 could bring back Marg Helgenberger’s Catherine now that the show has already facilitated the returns of Gil, Sara, and David Hodges, meaning an increased focus on the new characters doesn't have to involve less screen time for the original CSI's returning heroes.
CSI: Vegas Needed Sara & Gil (For Season 1)
Part of what caused earlier spinoffs, like 2015’s much-maligned CSI: Cyber, to flop was a lack of connection to the original, much-loved hit CSI. Fox and Petersen offered the most concrete canon link available to the original show and their presence lent CSI: Vegas a legitimacy that it can now carry on into season 2. However, the duo no longer needs to be present on the show for this legitimacy to carry over into upcoming episodes. The success of earlier CSI spinoffs, such as CSI: Miami, proved that the franchise can branch out without needing the crutch of relying on cast members of the original show. Now that CSI: Vegas has made canny use of CSI’s biggest names, season 2 can forge forward on an even more solid foundation than CSI: Miami boasted in its early outings.
Why CSI: Vegas Season 2 Shouldn’t Bring Back Sara & Gil
Even when actors leave a series, there's often a sense that they are not really done with the show - or, rather, that the show isn’t fully finished with them. Fox’s return after her earlier departure is evidence of this phenomenon and it could be tempting for producers to bring Gil and Sara back for a few more one-off cameos. While CSI isn’t as egregious, for example, the supernatural soap Charmed, which killed off a lead character nine times and brought them back each time, the franchise has been known to drag long-forgotten supporting stars out of retirement to pique the interest of casual fans. However, after how drawn out Gil and Sara’s road to a happy ending has been, it is only fair to let the pair retire in peace. William Petersen and Jorja Fox have already ensured that CSI: Vegas doesn’t feel like a thin retread of the original show, and their characters have more than earned some peace and quiet after all the bodies they have waded through over the years.