“CSI” OG Marg Helgenberger will return to the role of Katherine Willow for “CSI: Vegas,” a continuation of CBS’s long-running forensic crime franchise, this fall, and on Friday the actress revealed the reason you’ll be seeing her. Back is because he remembered his character.
“When I left, in the middle of Season 12 of the original series, I needed to step back because I had played the role for so long, and it had become such a part of my life that I felt it became part of my identity. It’s gone a little bit,” the actress said during a CBS presentation at the Television Critics Association Virtual Summer Press Tour. “Because of that attitude of being away from her and then coming back and being in a big way like this, I really miss her. I missed him; I missed his passion; I missed his swagger; I missed his courage.”
Helgenberger was an original starring member of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” in its 2000 debut, with cast members George Eads, Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall and Paul Guilfoyle. The actress left the show in 2012, three years before its finale.
Coming back for “CSI: Vegas” “wasn’t ‘instant’ hell, yeah,” Helgenberger said, “simply because I wanted to make sure Katherine was a reason to be back at this job.”
She mentioned her real-life counterpart with whom she rode for the role, Yolanda McCleary, had stepped down at age 50, citing a difficult and intense career. In the series, Helgenberger wanted to make sure she and the show’s creatives approached her character’s return the right way.
“CSI: Vegas” Season 2 begins with the return of Katherine Willow as she persuades Maxine Robbie (Paula Newsom) to rejoin the respected CSI team in Las Vegas. CSI investigates the murder of a Dominatrix found near her secret sex dungeon at the Season 2 premiere, which begins live-streaming and on-demand Paramount+ on September 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.