<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> External links </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Website </Td> </Tr> <P> CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, also referred to as CSI and CSI: Las Vegas, is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series which ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons . The series, starring William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Ted Danson, Laurence Fishburne, Elisabeth Shue, and Jorja Fox, is the first in the CSI franchise . The series concluded with a feature - length finale titled "Immortality". </P> <P> Mixing deduction and character - driven drama, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation follows a team of crime - scene investigators, employed by the Las Vegas Police Department, as they use physical evidence to solve murders . The team is originally led by Gil Grissom (Petersen), a socially awkward forensic entomologist and career criminalist who is promoted to CSI supervisor following the death of a trainee investigator . Grissom's second - in - command, Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger), is a single mother with a cop's instinct . Born and raised in Las Vegas, Catherine was a stripper before being recruited into law enforcement and training as a blood - spatter specialist . Following Grissom's departure during the ninth season of the series, Catherine is promoted to supervisor . After overseeing the training of new investigator Raymond Langston (Fishburne), Willows is replaced by D.B. Russell (Danson), and recruited to the FBI shortly thereafter . Russell is a family man, a keen forensic botanist, and a veteran of the Seattle Crime Lab . In the series' 12th season, Russell is reunited with his former partner Julie Finlay (Elisabeth Shue), who like Catherine, is a blood - spatter expert with an extensive knowledge of criminal psychology . With the rest of the team, they work to tackle Las Vegas' growing crime rate and are on the job 24 / 7, scouring the scene, collecting the evidence, and finding the missing pieces that will solve the mystery . </P>

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