TV SERIES · 2000– · USA
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
36 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
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Real-life prosecutors have complained about what is known as the "CSI Effect," in which jurors have unrealistic expectations about forensic science, expect abundant forensic evidence even in routine cases, or expect an unrealistic level of accuracy and specificity from the tests presented.
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On the other side of the CSI effect, it is known that kidnapping and rape victims now leave their own DNA at crime scenes in order to provide forensic evidence for the police to find. One example is how British serial sex offender Jonathan Haynes was finally caught. Haynes, who had escaped capture by forcing his victims to destroy forensic evidence, was finally caught after the CSI effect was used against him, when one of his victims spat into his car and pulled strands of her own hair so that her DNA could be traced back to the attacker. The inspiration for this act? The CSI franchise.
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All of the equipment in the laboratory is fully functional and was either purchased outright, donated, or lent to the series for product placement. When the series ended, a large portion of the laboratory equipment and various other materials and equipment were sold. When the series was revived as CSI: Vegas (2021), new laboratory equipment was purchased.
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The frequently mentioned Tangiers Casino, which Sam Braun built and owned in the series, is entirely fictional. No such casino exists in Las Vegas or anywhere else in the world. This name is often used by television shows and films to avoid potential copyright issues, or when a local casino does not permit the use of its name or similar names.
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In July 2004, George Eads and Jorja Fox were fired for breach of contract (on the direct order of CBS president Leslie Moonves). CBS said they had used stalling tactics (refusing to show up for filming) to force a pay raise at the start of the fifth season. They were rehired shortly afterward, but without a raise. Both denied that there was any contract dispute. Eads said he overslept on the first day of production, while Fox said she was unaware of a letter of intent she reportedly had not signed.
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Although a crime scene investigator deals with all kinds of crimes, each member of the CSI team has a unique specialty: Gil Grissom's is entomology; Catherine Willows and Julie Finlay are experts in blood spatter; Nick Stokes specializes in hair and fiber analysis; Warwick Brown specializes in tire and shoe impressions; Sara Sidle specializes in materials and element analysis; Greg Sanders and Wendy Simms are both experts in DNA analysis; Riley Adams and Sofia Curtis are both experts in ballistics; David Hodges specializes in trace evidence; Henry Andrews specializes in toxicology analysis and DNA analysis; and Archie Johnson specializes in visual/audio surveillance evidence.
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When Jorja Fox left the series, the producers wanted to replace her with Katee Sackhoff, but executives at CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer Television rejected the decision. Sackhoff did, however, play Detective Frankie Reed in the episodes Cold Blooded (2010), Fracked (2010) and All That Cremains (2011).
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All the main characters work as forensic investigators. Historically, the first person thought to have served as a forensic investigator is the Greek scientist and mathematician Archimedes (287-212 BC), who was hired by King Hiero II (308-215 BC) to determine whether a crown made for him by a craftsman consisted entirely of gold or whether the craftsman had secretly kept some of the gold for himself without damaging the crown. While bathing, Archimedes discovered the principle now named after him: an object submerged in water displaces an amount of water equal to its mass. Archimedes accordingly submerged the crown and compared the displacement with that of equivalent pieces of gold and silver, concluding that the craftsman had committed fraud in making the crown. Although Archimedes is often regarded as the first forensic investigator in history, forensic science as it is known today (and as depicted in the CSI series) developed largely after the popularity of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, created by writer Arthur Conan Doyle in the 1887 novel A Study in Scarlet. Holmes's main inspiration was Dr. Joseph Bell, a forensic investigator who was Doyle's teacher and mentor when Doyle was a university student; like Holmes, Bell was known for his extraordinary powers of observation and deduction, paying close attention to small details to determine whether a body was the victim of a crime and who might have committed it. The enormous popularity of Sherlock Holmes (for whom Bell was the real-life inspiration) and the character's global impact on popular culture contributed significantly to the development of forensic science and public interest in it during the 20th century.
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There were rumors of another CSI series (which would have been the fourth), titled CSI: London and centered on the CSI: NY (2004) character Dr. Peyton Driscoll after her return to the city. For unknown reasons it was never put into production, but the rumors indicate it got far enough in development that a The Who song was chosen as its theme ("Eminence Front"). New Orleans was also considered as a spin-off location.
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The series helped change the fortunes of Channel 5, the newest terrestrial channel in the United Kingdom, which had previously struggled to find an identity. The channel then acquired the spin-offs (CSI: Miami (2002), CSI: NY (2004) and CSI: Cyber (2015)) and, along with the first 3 series of the Law & Order franchise (Law & Order (1990), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) and Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001)), became the UK home of many successful US-imported dramas such as NCIS (2003), House (2004), The Mentalist (2008) and Prison Break (2005). These US series were so successful that in 2007 the channel launched its own dedicated US imports channel, Five US (now known as 5USA), while Channel 5 has since been rebranded and shows only UK-produced series.
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The regulations of the time prevented producers from showing autopsies on corpses on screen in series such as Quincy, M. E. (1976). Viewers had to rely on characters playing coroners and medical examiners to explain what they were doing and what had happened. Those regulations have since been lifted, and corpses can now be shown on screen in modern police procedurals such as the CSI franchise.
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At some point in the franchise, every CSI team lost a member who died in the line of duty: in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), Holly Gribbs was killed in Cool Change (2000) and later Warrick Brown in For Gedda (2008), both on duty; in CSI: Miami (2002), Tim Speedle is killed on duty in Lost Son (2004); and in CSI: NY (2004), it is revealed that Aiden Burns died in Heroes (2006), though at an earlier unspecified point (she had been fired from the crime lab some time before her death and was working as a private detective trying to catch a serial rapist when she died).
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