NEW YORK — There were five “CSI” shows with actors playing forensic experts – “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “CSI: Miami”, “CSI: New York”, “CSI: Cyber” and “CSI: Vegas”. Now it’s time for the real experts to bask in the spotlight.
“The real CSI: Miami,” Premiering on CBS Wednesday night, it’s a documentary-style look at the hunt for real criminals as told by the cops and professionals in lab coats who actually solved the murders.
“’CSI’ has the ability to live on different spectrums,” says writer and producer Anthony E. Zuiker, who created the hit franchise. “It made perfect sense to try the unscripted version of the show because the format could still be relatively the same.”
The series uses real 911 calls, actor impersonations, surveillance videos, interrogation and body camera footage, crime scene footage, interesting graphics, and recreations. There are also interviews with survivors and family members to highlight the pain of loss.
“I know what makes ‘CSI’ work and what doesn’t. And what doesn’t work is when the episodes become emotionally empty,” says Zuiker. “It is very important to have survivors and emotion. That was one of my No. 1 mandates.”
Technicians and police officers explain their thinking on motives and clues and return to the main crime scenes. So if a detective dives in search of a vital clue, we see him back in the water describing how he found it.
“You need to make sure you still sound like a ‘CSI,’ but you also don’t have the ability to be more creative with your writing because you need to stick to the genuine facts of the case,” says Zuiker. “That was the challenge.”
One of the first episodes revisits the 2015 shooting murders of couple Tara Rosado and Carlos Ortiz in the Florida Keys. Their bodies were found in a bedroom, showing signs of a struggle, but no weapons were recovered. “That tells me there was someone else in the room. And that’s when the hunt for the killer began,” says investigator Mary’s Martinez.
Viewers watch as authorities watch for an ex-husband before the discovery of an ancient weapon in a canal leads dive teams to find a submerged iPhone nearby that reveals the motive for the murders may have been a fight between friends over a load of cocaine.
Another episode examines the Murder of rapper XXXTentacion in 2018, shot dead in front of a motorsports store. Authorities are investigating whether it was the result of a rap fight or a simple robbery. GPS and smartphone metadata, surveillance video, and the discovery of a live cartridge help identify the suspects.
“A lot of what I had to do with the show’s producers was give them confidence that the forensics weren’t boring and that the forensics drove the narrative,” Zuiker says.
In many ways, “The Real CSI: Miami” is an homage to the forensic sciences that sparked the birth of “CSI.” Zuiker was inspired after watching an episode of “New Detectives” on the Discovery Channel about a cheerleader killed by an obsessed photographer.
In that case, detectives found the dead woman’s hair follicles in the suspect’s car, determined that the body had been repaired and that she was not wearing makeup, undermining the killer’s alibi that she was doing a photo shoot.
“I think when these three specific pieces of evidence were explained to me, as a newbie in forensic science, I realized that the body was a perfect specimen for solving crimes,” says Zuiker. “That’s how ‘CSI’ was born.”
Zuiker was 28 when he realized he had a potential gig on his hands. Now he’s 55 and has an Emmy-winning hit franchise that rivals “Law & Order” and is broadcast in 171 countries and several languages. “Did I think we would make it past 13 episodes? No. Did I believe we had something special? Yes,” he says.
“CSI” has indeed proven to be a durable property, moving from the desert of Las Vegas to the waters of Miami to the urban jungle of New York and even online.
“This is a specific franchise that can live and be malleable in scripted, unscripted and documentary series, film formats, game formats,” he says. “I think for me personally, this ‘Real CSI: Miami’ is a tremendous pivot in the right direction to keep the entire franchise healthy.”
Zuiker is an active producer, always looking for plots for his shows. He was inspired to write an episode of “CSI: Vegas” after learning about a metal drum with a body inside and another gig when discovering someone micro-crocheted koalas on Etsy. He thought little koalas could be an interesting “cry for help” from a fictional killer to leave at crime scenes.
“I was always hopeful that ‘CSI’ would be a crime deterrent. I sit as the creator of the franchise and have to laugh to myself every morning when I read crime stories about the colossal mistakes people make when they commit a crime, as if the series never existed. If they would just take the time to watch my show, they would probably think twice about it.”
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