CSI: Miami

Production

On April 17, 2002, CBS Television Studios announced plans for a spin-off originally titled CSI: Miami-Dade. Co-creator Carol Mendelsohn stated that she, Anthony E. Zuiker, and Ann Donahue felt "Miami was the most happening place [...] Miami is so rich as a character. There is so much water.

There are so many different cultures here all colliding. Its politics are so interesting. All that gives Miami an edge." CBS ordered 22 episodes, with Zuiker stating that whilst he intended for the series to look "ridiculously gorgeous", he felt that the "show [was] not about women walking around in bikinis.

It's about science." The series was launched as a second-season episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and originally featured a cast led by Caruso, Procter, Rodriguez, Alexander, with Cochrane. Delaney joined the series following the pilot episode's broadcast. The series is executive produced by creators Carol Mendelsohn, Anthony E. Zuiker, and Ann Donahue, with Ann Donahue acting as show-runner.

Jerry Bruckheimer also executive-produces the series. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation stars William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger expressed their displeasure at CBS' launch of Miami, with Petersen stating that "[they] should have waited five years for a CSI spinoff." Helgenberger supported Petersen's comments during an Emmy acceptance speech, noting that "as far as [she was] concerned, there's only one CSI." Petersen jestingly referred to the series NYPDCSI, as it initially featured both Caruso and Delaney, of NYPD Blue fame.

In 2002, CSI executive producer Anthony Zuiker began casting for the then-unnamed Miami based spin-off. First cast was Procter, as Calleigh Duquesne. Regarding her decision to leave The West Wing and join Miami, Procter stated that "It was like choosing between a boyfriend that wants to be with you casually or a man that says I love you." She described her character as "a weird girl [...] bright and very nerdy.

She wears a lot of boot-cut corduroy pants and turquoise necklaces and looks like a hippie. I just like to pretend I'm Velma in Scooby-Doo."

Cast and characters

David Caruso is the only actor to appear in all 232 episodes of the television series, portraying Lieutenant Horatio Caine. Through his history as a bomb-disposal expert, Caine has gained specialized knowledge in explosive forensics. Horatio believes that "evil is" and lives "between the perpetrators of this evil and the people who try and come between that evil and the citizen". The New York Sun has described Caine as an amalgam of "the spirits of all the laconic American law men who preceded him".

Emily Procter plays Detective Calleigh Duquesne, described by the New York Post as "a bilingual Southern beauty with a specialty in ballistics". Adam Rodriguez portrays Detective Eric Delko, an underwater recovery expert. The team also includes Lieutenant Megan Donner (Kim Delaney), conceived as "a strong woman [who could] duplicate the chemistry that Caruso displayed with Marg Helgenberger" during "Cross Jurisdictions"; Walter Simmons (Omar Miller), a detective who forces the "CSIs to do more science and research instead of relying on databases"; Los Angeles Police transfer Jesse Cardoza (Eddie Cibrian); former FBI agent Natalia Boa Vista (Eva LaRue); and Ryan Wolfe (Jonathan Togo), a master of genetics recruited following the death of Detective Timothy Speedle (Rory Cochrane).

The team are assisted by Medical Examiner Alexx Woods (Khandi Alexander), who began her career as a medical Examiner in New York, and her replacement Tara Price (Megalyn Echikunwoke), Miami Dade Police Sergeant Frank Tripp (Rex Linn), and Horatio's sister-in-law, Detective Yelina Salas (Sofia Milos). During their investigations, the team cooperate with both allies and nemeses, including Internal Affairs Lieutenant Rick Stetler (David Lee Smith), States Attorney Rebecca Nevins (Christina Chang), Medical Examiner Tom Loman (Christian Clemenson), and newly minted detective Sam Owens (Taylor Cole).

Reception

Following the series finale, Nina Tassler credited CSI: Miami as a "key player in CBS's rise to the top", stating that the series "leaves an amazing television legacy—a signature look and style [and] global popularity". In 2006, BBC News published an article stating that CSI: Miami was the world's most popular television series, featuring in more countries' top ten rankings for 2005 than any other series.

Adaptations and spin-offs

CSI: Miami is the first direct spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The series ended on April 8, 2012, after 10 seasons and 232 episodes. On May 8, 2024, CBS announced that the series would be revived as a true-crime series known as The Real CSI: Miami, which premiered in June 2024.