Robert Voets/CBSIt's the end of an era for CBS: CSI has been canceled. The long-running drama's current season, its 15th, will be its last. Yep, after more than 300 episodes, the crime scene investigators are hanging up their rubber gloves and goggles. However, the series isn't going away without a proper goodbye. A two-hour series finale featuring original cast members William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger will return for the Sunday, Sept. 27, special to bid farewell.
"We actually got a little misty-eyed about this one," CBS' Nina Tassler told members of the press about CSI's ending. Tassler praised the series for its run and promised an "epic finale."
Over the years CSI starred Petersen, Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Paul Guilfoyle, Jorja Fox, Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall, Louise Lombard, Wallace Langham, Lauren Lee Smith, Laurence Fishburne, Liz Vassey, David Berman, Ted Danson, Elisabeth Harnois, Elisabeth Shue and Jon Wellner. The series spawned three spinoffs: CSI: Miami, CSI: NY and CSI: Cyber.
Ted Danson will move from CSI to CSI: Cyber opposite Patricia Arquette next season. "It's going to be a season of very big events," Tassler said.
Since its debut, CSI has been a top-rated program, appearing in Nielsen's Top 10 highest-rated programs for 12 seasons. Ratings have slipped in recent years, but the show still delivered a decent audience. The 15th season, which wrapped in February, had about an average of 8 million viewers per episode.
The CSI series finale is set to air on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m.