Be careful, the distracted viewer might think this is yet another rebroadcast. The Experts: Las Vegas is, however, a new part of the saga, which began in 2000…
She took us around the United States with hundreds of ever more heinous and technical crimes. The series The Expertswhich has been breaking longevity records since its creation in 2000, made its return some time ago across the Atlantic. After four parts of several seasons each and hundreds of episodes spanning Las Vegas (“The Experts” simply from 2000 to 2015), Miami (2002-2012), Manhattan (2004-2013) and Quantico (“The Experts: Cyber” in 2015-2016), the saga returned in 2021 across the Atlantic, with three new seasons.
TF1 has finally programmed this fifth part of the enormous American franchise, entitled The Experts: Las Vegasfrom Wednesday October 30, 2024. And the program takes place where it all began almost 25 years ago, in the “Crime Lab” in Las Vegas, where viewers will find part of the original team.
Historical actors returning to the cast
In The Experts: Las Vegaswe therefore find characters whose faces almost everyone has already seen on television, but which only seasoned fans could name: the “boss” Gil Grissom (William Petersen), David Hodges (Wallace Langham), Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle), Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger), Greg Sanders (Eric Szmanda) and Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox).
By achieving the small feat of bringing together so many actors from the 2000 cast, The Experts: Las Vegas So everything about the reboot is perfectly put together. This direct sequel to the very first variation of Expertsbroadcast until 2015, duly introduces new characters, played by Paula Newsome (Virginie Emane, or Maxine “Max” Roby, new head of the Las Vegas Crime Lab), Matt Lauria, Mel Rodriguez and Mandeep Dhillon.
What does CSI: Las Vegas say?
The Experts: Las Vegas begins with very heavy stuff from the first episode of the first season: Jim Brass is attacked at his home by a stranger, whom he kills in self-defense. Given the serial numbers of the notes found on the attacker, the former captain is convinced that it was sent by Lucky, a kidnapper active in the 90s.
Jim then decides to bring Sara Sidle to Las Vegas to work with the new forensic team to find the criminal. It is then that Max, the new head of the laboratory, receives the decomposed head of the last woman kidnapped by Lucky. The latter continues to rage by kidnapping a policewoman and thanks to his partial DNA, the investigators manage to identify him: it is Bill Dwyer. Old and new teams will pool their talents to track down the criminal and in the process try to save a lab that is increasingly threatened.
What do the critics think of CSI: Las Vegas?
The Experts: Las Vegas (CSI: Vegas according to its original name), it is 3 seasons and 41 episodes which have already been broadcast in the United States, from 2021 and until May 2024, on CBS and on Paramount+. Enough to have many critical opinions on this new variation. Some have also praised an “intelligent reboot that introduces strong new actors and an intriguing storyline”. Variety particularly liked the very beginning, with this “violent attack on a returning character” then a series which “attempts to balance a classic dynamic with a new energy”.
Others are more mixed or even downright disappointed. If the presence of the old guard seems to maintain the interest of the fans, the new team struggles to stand out according to several opinions. “This CSI is indistinguishable from all the others: the same spectacular camera zoom and the same splashy horizon shots. The same disturbing obsession with corpse porn,” lists one of the American reviews.
More harshly, USA Today points to a plot “so absurd and confusing that even the characters engage in logical acrobatics to justify their actions.” “All the kinetic tics from before are there: the swooping camerawork, the sparkling nighttime cityscapes, the rapid editing… But where those elements once seemed fiercely modern and exciting, even if they were still a little zany , they now seem dated and even crazier today,” the newspaper continues.
In short, the crime scenes are back, but nothing has really changed since 2000, according to many chronicles. Eventually, The Experts: Las Vegas is undoubtedly reserved for those who liked the original series from 2000 to 2015. They will perhaps be the only ones to appreciate this sequel.