CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is celebrating 25th anniversary, and series creator Anthony E. Zuiker recently shared an answer to one mystery that has been unresolved for decades – the reason why rookie investigator Holly Gribbs was mercilessly killed off after just two episodes.
Played by Chandra West, the character of Gribbs was planned to be one of the main investigative team of the show and appeared in the pilot episode. However, in Episode 2, “Cool Change,” her character was shot and died, shocking many early fans of the crime procedural. It seems though that this was not a scripting decision made by Zuiker, and he was forced to “get rid of her” as she looked too good to be a believable CSI agent. Speaking to TV Insider, Zuiker recalled:
“The whole Chandra of it all was challenging because we brought her in for casting for names that shall go unnamed who are making decisions. And this individual said, “What is this, Playboy? Is someone this good looking going to really be a CSI?” And that individual got their back up pretty bad. Anyway, we try to bring her back and we kind of try to dirty her up and not make her as attractive and brought her back again with our other actresses. And she still got hired, but it was still an ax to grind with who said yes for Chandra. So we brought her back for the pilot. She did a nice job, and then we got the direction, “Get rid of her.” So that’s why I had her killed in “Cool Change,” Episode 2. And that firing allowed us to hire Jorja Fox.”
Holly Gribbs Was Meant to Be the Audience’s Guide into the ‘CSI’ World
While Fox’s Sara Sidle became a favorite for many fans, Zuiker still feels that West was dealt a rough hand, as her character had already been set up as the audience’s lead in to the world they were creating. He added:
“She was the vehicle for the audience. She was the way into the show. She comes in first day of work, she goes, talks to Grissom, she eats the grasshopper. She was literally Screenwriting 101, Teleplay 101, “Audience, come with me. Let me introduce you to the world.” That’s what it was. And me being a new writer in television, I fell for that trope and it was a good mechanic. In the end, I felt like if she’s new and the audience is new to forensics, what a great matchup for the audience to play along with her. But she got caught up in the politics of casting, and it worked out for us in the end, but she kind of got a raw deal.”
CSI obviously did not suffer from the switch of character, but it is a harsh reminder of just how fickle the world of casting can be for actors. Even when you have been given the job, the word of one person can seemingly still get you the push. West did find plenty of other roles in the 25 years that followed her short-lived appearance in CSI, including, ironically, as part of a Covert Investigations Unit in the series Played, and as an FBI agent in one episode of Chicago P.D.
- Release Date
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2000 – 2015
- Network
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CBS
- Showrunner
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Carol Mendelsohn
- Directors
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Kenneth Fink, Richard J. Lewis, Alec Smight, Danny Cannon, Brad Tanenbaum, Louis Shaw Milito, Jeffrey G. Hunt, Philip Conserva, Martha Coolidge, Bill Eagles, David Grossman, Duane Clark, Eagle Egilsson, Michael Nankin, Paris Barclay, Terrence O’Hara, Christopher Leitch, Deran Sarafian, Karen Gaviola, Lou Antonio, Michael Slovis, Peter Markle, Thomas J. Wright, Matt Earl Beesley
- Writers
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Jerry Stahl, Ed Whitmore, Michael Frost Beckner, Corey Miller, Jack Gutowitz, Chuck Lorre, Ethlie Ann Vare, Jacqueline Zambrano, Lee Aronsohn, Marc Dube, Mary Leah Sutton, Deanna Shumaker, Thomas Hoppe, M. Scott Veach, Areanne Lloyd, Fulvia Charles-Lindsay
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Eric Szmanda
Greg Sanders
