CSI through the years — TIMELINE

By Chris Lawrence Las Vegas Review-Journal

10 years ago

Chauntray Johnson and Katrina Mims look around at CSI: The Experience, located at the MGM Grand hotel-casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. Joshua Dahl/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Ceri Legg and her husband Peter look around at CSI: The Experience, located at the MGM Grand hotel-casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. Joshua Dahl/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Yolanda McClary investigates a cold case during a scene from TNT‘s "Cold Justice." "CSI" character Catherine Willows, portrayed by Marg Helgenberger, was loosely based on McClary. (MELISSA LYTTLE/TNT)

The "CSI" cast is shown in 2000 at the beginning of its first season. Front: Marg Helgenberger and William Petersen. Back, from left: Paul Guilfoyle, Jorja Fox, Gary Dourdan and George Eads. (Monty Brinton/CBS)

Anthony Zuiker, a Chaparral High School and UNLV graduate earning $8 an hour as a Mirage tram driver, created "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." (ROBERT VOETS/CBS)

Oct. 6, 2000: “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” makes its debut with cast members William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads and Paul Guilfoyle

Oct. 13, 2000: First appearance by Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox)

Nov. 3, 2000: First appearance by assistant coroner David Phillips (David Berman)

Nov. 10, 2000: First appearance by Chief Medical Examiner Al Robbins (Robert David Hall)

Feb. 1, 2001: Series moves to Thursdays

May 16, 2002: Finishes the season as nation’s most-watched drama for the first of seven times

Sept. 22, 2002: Wins its first of just six Emmys, for Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Non-Prosthetic); it later won Emmys for sound editing, sound mixing, cinematography and visual effects

Sept. 23, 2002: “CSI: Miami” makes its debut

Jan. 9, 2003: First appearance by trace technician David Hodges (Wallace Langham)

May 15, 2003: Finishes the season as the nation’s most-watched show

July 2004: Eads and Fox are briefly fired amid reports of a work stoppage

Sept. 22, 2004: “CSI: NY” makes its debut

Nov. 11, 2004: First appearance by Detective Sofia Curtis (Louise Lombard)

Nov. 18, 2004: 100th episode

May 12, 2005: First appearance by toxicologist Henry Andrews (Jon Wellner)

Nov. 3, 2005: First appearance by DNA technician Wendy Simms (Liz Vassey)

Jan. 18, 2007: Liev Schreiber briefly joins the cast while Petersen takes a break to star in a play

June 2007: Named the most-watched show in the world for the first of five times at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival

Nov. 15, 2007: Fox leaves the series

Oct. 9, 2008: Dourdan leaves the series

Dec. 11, 2008: First appearance by Dr. Raymond Langston (Laurence Fishburne)

Jan. 15, 2009: Petersen leaves the series

April 2, 2009: 200th episode

Nov. 18, 2010: After making several recurring appearances, Fox officially rejoins the main cast

Feb. 3, 2011: Petersen returns as a guest star

May 5, 2011: First appearance by Morgan Brody (Elisabeth Harnois)

May 12, 2011: Fishburne leaves the series

Sept. 21, 2011: Series moves to Wednesdays; first appearance by D.B. Russell (Ted Danson)

Jan. 25, 2012: Helgenberger leaves the series

Feb. 15, 2012: First appearance by Julie Finlay (Elisabeth Shue)

April 8, 2012: “CSI: Miami” ends after 232 episodes

Feb. 22, 2013: “CSI: NY” ends after 197 episodes

Oct. 23, 2013: 300th episode; Helgenberger guest stars

May 7, 2014: Guilfoyle leaves the series

Sept. 28. 2014: Series moves to Sundays

Feb. 15, 2015: Eads leaves the series

March 4, 2015: “CSI: Cyber” makes its debut

May 13, 2015: CBS cancels the series

Sept. 27, 2015: “Immortality,” the two-part “CSI” finale and 336th and 337th episodes of the series, airs