Back to the Crime Lab: Marg Helgenberger Is Returning to CSI

Sara Sidle may be out, but Catherine Willows is in.

On Friday, Feb. 11, CBS announced that Marg Helgenberger is joining Paula Newsome, Matt Lauria and Mandeep Dhillon in season two of CSI: Vegas. The network shared the news by posting a photo of Helgenberger in character to the show’s Instagram, writing, “I have something to tell you. Catherine Willows will be joining us for Season Two of #CSIVegas.”

This is huge news for fans of the CSI franchise, as Helgenberger played a dedicated crime scene investigator between 2000 and 2012 for 12 seasons on the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Helgenberger has returned to the franchise on a couple occasions, including an appearance in CSI‘s 300th episode and the two-hour series finale.

Rumors of Helgenberger’s return began circulating last week following Jorja Fox‘s unexpected announcement that she was departing the sequel series. Fox, who starred as Sara Sidle off and on throughout CSI‘s original 15 season run, said in January that she had “decided not to ‘Sidle up'” for another season as her on-screen husband William Petersen also exited the show.