With its macabre one-liners, revolving door of guest stars, and endless imagined homicides, "CSI" is one of the most recognizable network TV franchises of all time. Yet, despite well over a decade of success and extensive rerun appeal, the Anthony Zuiker-created property actually went off the air for a five year period. In 2016, the last "CSI" show that was still going, "CSI: Cyber," bowed out after just two seasons, and the TV world of the crime saga that began at the turn of the millennium went temporarily dark.

Like so many procedurals before it, "CSI" did eventually come back, offering up the Paula Newsome and Matt Lauria-led "CSI: Vegas" in 2021. That series returned to the show's trend of focusing on a different city (past hits have included "CSI: New York" and the infamously punny "CSI: Miami"), but it wasn't enough to save it. "Vegas" was canceled in 2024 after three seasons,...