How CSI Fans Really Felt About The Post-Grissom Era

In "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," few characters have been as universally loved by fans as Gil Grissom (William Petersen). The sharp-witted, unemotional Night Shift Supervisor served as a key friend and leader to the Las Vegas Crime Lab for nine straight seasons. After those wonderful nine, however, Gil departed, leaving both the crime lab and fanbase without one of their favorite figures.

After Grissom left his position at the crime lab, the series saw multiple other characters step into leadership roles. Both Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) and D.B. Russell (Ted Danson) eventually became Night Shift Supervisors. Meanwhile, characters like Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) and Nick Stokes (George Eads) played leaders even without supervisor positions. But while "CSI" continued as a popular series long after others took Grissom's place, many fans still felt that his departure left the show lacking in some way. He was, to put it lightly, an integral part of the show's character.

However, that's only one perspective on the issue. Since "CSI" maintained its popularity throughout the post-Grissom era, it would be inaccurate to say the show wasn't doing something right. Thankfully, fans on Reddit have discussed ad nauseam how they really felt about "CSI" after Grissom left.

Cutting straight to the point, it's clear that Gil Grissom did not make or break "CSI." A large number of fans, whether they loved Grissom or not, continued to love the series through and through. This remained true even if they preferred Grissom to his numerous replacements.

"I liked Season 9 onward," wrote a now-deleted Reddit user. "I felt Ray became too much of a wunderkind after his 'CSI' intro episode. Then the show kind of played out like he was in charge despite Nick and Catherine being the bosses. I felt that DB was like [Grissom] 2.0 with a family, but I really liked him."

"The new additions were okay, but I feel like a big reason why people didn't like it as much is that they kept feeling the need to replace Grissom instead of letting the team grow," wrote u/BavelTravelUnravel. "Like they always needed some sort of patriarch."

Patriarchs (or, in Catherine's case, matriarchs) aside, fans can be thankful that Season 9 of "CSI" technically would not be the last they would see of Grissom. Thanks to "CSI: Vegas," Grissom made a triumphant return. Unfortunately, however, it was short-lived, and he will not be returning for the second season (via Deadline). Instead, fans will have to make do knowing that William Petersen will merely act as executive producer, even if they would love to see Grissom in the spotlight just one more time.