'CSI' to end run with 2-hour movie

The crime series that influenced a generation of DNA sleuths — and was one of the top hits of the 2000s — is coming to an end.

As expected, the original CSI series, set in Las Vegas but filmed in Los Angeles, will end its run this fall, as a two-hour movie set to air Sept. 27, the first Sunday of the new TV season. And original stars William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger will be back for the sendoff.

The show, a surprise hit on Fridays in the fall of 2000, was quickly moved to Thursdays, where CBS challenged then-dominant NBC's "must-see" lineup, along with Survivor. It lasted 15 seasons, peaked at 31.5 million viewers in 2004 and spawned three spinoffs. CSI: Miami, starring David Caruso, and CSI: NY, starring Gary Sinise, both came and went, but a third, CSI: Cyber, with Patricia Arquette, was introduced in March, and will move to Sundays this fall.

Ted Danson, a recent-vintage CSI star, will join Cyber next season.