CSI: Unlimited

During the 1990s, Anthony Zuiker caught producer Jerry Bruckheimer's attention after writing his first movie script. Bruckheimer wanted an idea for a television series. Zuiker didn't have one but his wife told him about a Discovery Channel show she liked about forensic detectives who used DNA and other evidence to solve cold cases (The New Detectives)[1]. Zuiker started spending time with real-life LVPD crime investigators and was convinced that there was a series in the concept, Bruckheimer agreed and arranged a meeting with the head of Touchstone Pictures. The studio’s head at the time liked the script and presented it to ABC network executives, who decided to pass. The head of drama development at CBS saw potential in the script, plus the network had a pay or play contract with actor William Petersen who said he wanted to do the CSI pilot. The network's executives liked the pilot so much, they decided to include it in their 2000 schedule immediately, airing on Fridays after The Fugitive, a remake of the sixties show. Initially it was thought that CSI would benefit from The Fugitive, which was expected to be a hit, but by the end of the year 2000 CSI had a much larger audience.

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