‘CSI: Vegas’: What Didn’t Happen For The Team In The Unplanned Series Finale

SPOILER ALERT! This story contains details from the series finale of CSI: Vegas on CBS.

Like what happened to So Help Me Todd, CSI: Vegas didn’t get a chance to wrap up its three-season run on CBS with any grand gestures or heartfelt goodbyes.

The procedural, which was a followup to the 2000 CSI series, was canceled in April so there was no time to throw together a satisfying ending. So anyone who wanted to see where Maxine’s (Paula Newsome) relationship with Dean was going — or maybe you’d just like to know the identity of the poor schmuck who got stabbed at episode’s end — will have to live with disappointment.

At least there was some positives in the episode dubbed “Tunnel Vision”: Max survived her kidnapping by a Saudi big bad (Faran Tahir) who stole intelligence from Truman Thomas’ secret lab. Chris (Jay Lee) regained consciousness after he was exposed to a nerve agent. Penny (Sarah Gilman) set a wedding date with Jack (Joel Johnstone), and Josh (Matt Lauria) was reinstated to Level 3 status.

Even Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) got to utter the franchise’s signature phrase “follow the evidence” at one point during the hour.

Like So Help Me Todd, CSI: Vegas was one of the least watched CBS drama series this spring in both linear and multi-platform ratings. With broadcast budgets under pressure amid soft ad market and overall belt-tightening by the media companies, cuts were inevitable to make room for the new additions.

There are no plans to move CSI: Vegas to Paramount+.

But good news for diehard fans of the franchise: CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach told reporters earlier this month that they haven’t totally given up on staying in the CSI business. “I definitely think that franchise is alive and well and we continue to be in discussions,” she said. “It’s a part of our legacy.”