You can count the number of prime-time television shows that have produced 300 episodes on two hands. Many of them (“Gunsmoke,” “Bonanza,” “Ozzie & Harriet”) debuted when there were only three channels and series regularly cranked out 39 shows a season.
Wednesday night, the CBS juggernaut “CSI” will deliver its 300th episode. Many other, hipper critical darlings have come and gone but “CSI,” now in its 14th season, shows no sign of slowing down.
It’s an astounding global success story. “We’re in almost every country except North Korea,” says executive producer Carol Mendelsohn. “There are just two or three countries that don’t carry ‘CSI.’ ”
The success has been shared by the revolving cast and its loyal crew. Says Mendelsohn, “I have crew members who tell me, ‘I need two more years [on the show]. I have one more kid to finish college.’ In this business you never have this security.”
The actual plot of Wednesday’s hour involves a cold case concerning casino mogul Jack Witten, played by the unlikely choice of former “90210” heartthrob Jason Priestley. Mendelsohn and her co-executive producer Don McGill have created a series of false flashbacks — called “fauxbacks” — where investigator Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) helps solve the case. “We got a chance to show where all our cast members today were character-wise 14 years ago,” says McGill.
Securing the participation of Helgenberger, who left “CSI” in January 2012, was a no-brainer. “She was really excited,” Mendelsohn says. “She was excited to come back.”
But the producers couldn’t quite convince the show’s original leading man, William Petersen, who played Gil Grissom, to return. He left the show in January 2009 to concentrate on the theater.
“Billy is so sick of hearing Don and I asking him to participate. We never stop,” Mendelsohn says. “He was actually on stage in Chicago in a Steppenwolf production when we were filming the last episode.”
Producers also tried to bring Petersen back when Helgenberger was leaving but there were other scheduling problems. “But he has been on the show,” Mendelsohn says. “Sometimes, it’s only his voice and he Skyped once with his wife, Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox). We only had him for a couple of hours.”
Fans will have to settle for Petersen’s presence in flashbacks in the episode.
As part of the celebration of the show’s milestone, McGill and Mendelsohn have added the number 300 to the episode. Eagle-eyed viewers will see it appear 14 times, one for each season.
Asked to hazard a guess on how “CSI” has impacted television, Mendelsohn has said the show’s visual storytelling, with closeups of forensic evidence as one example, has been the most influential.
After 300 episodes, it’s going to be hard for “CSI” to top itself, but McGill and Mendelsohn are planning the show’s first Christmas episode. “Misfortune befalls Santa and the reindeer in Las Vegas.” McGill says.