Deadline claims that CBS is attempting to bring back another 2000s-era crime procedural produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Television following the success of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation with CSI: Vegas. According to Deadline, the network is in talks with Warner Bros. TV about bringing back Cold Case, which ran on CBS for seven seasons between 2003 and 2010. Executive producer and series creator Meredith Stiehm (Homeland, ER) is the one who wrote the reboot. 

The untitled Cold Case reboot would follow a new team of determined detectives who look into cold cases throughout the Southwest, and it would be set fifteen years after the last episode of the original series.

Deadline claims that this is a new location because Philadelphia was the setting for the first Cold Case. This change would enable the prospective new show to focus on solving cold case homicides while presenting a fresh cast of characters.

The reboot is being written by Steihm, according to Deadline. She is co-producing for WBTV and CBS Studios as an executive producer alongside Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun: Maverick, Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End) of JBTV and Kristie Anne Reed (Lucificer, Hightown). There is no close agreement between WBTV and CBS despite weeks of talks between the two networks, according to sources. Representatives of the studios and the network did not wish to comment.

The original show centers on Kathryn Morris’ (Mindhunters, Minority Report) Detective Lilly Rush, a homicide detective with the Philadelphia Police Department who specializes in cold cases. Danny Pino’s (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Mayans M.C.) Detective Scotty Valens was Detective Rush’s partner for the majority of the show’s run.

Deadline reports that no talent is presently attached to the reboot, but there have reportedly been informal discussions about Pino reprising his beloved role of Det. Scotty Valens—possibly in a big way. Despite leading the original series for seven seasons, Morris has not been contacted about the reboot but is aware of it and may make an appearance in a limited capacity to add extra continuity.

The main cast of Cold Case also included Tracie Thoms (9-1-1, The Devil Wears Prada), John Finn (Catch Me If You Can, Glory), Jeremy Ratchford (Fly Away Home, Angel Eyes), and Thom Barry (The Fast and the Furious, Space Jam).

According to Deadline, WBTV needs to finalize a deal with CBS before moving forward with talent discussions. Sources claim that some of the issues that the two parties disagreed on during the renewal negotiations for WBTV’s then-freshman East New York last spring—among them, a request for more streaming rights—are among the points of contention. 

Following months of back and forth, those negotiations came to an end. The studio’s first drama sale to CBS since then would be the Cold Case revival as the two parties work to finalize a new deal structure. The studio and network maintain a comedy relationship through Chuck Lorre’s (Two and a Half Man, Young Sheldon) Big Bang Theory franchise, which recently received a second spin-off series renewal for its upcoming season Georgie & Mandy.

There’s no rush because CBS has three new drama series on the schedule for 2024–25: Matlock, which was pushed back because of strike delays, Watson, and NCIS: Origins.

Deadline reports that Stiehm co-developed and executive produced FX’s The Bridge, which is based on the Danish-Swedish drama series, in addition to serving as an executive producer on Showtime’s Emmy-winning drama Homeland since the conclusion of Cold Case after 156 episodes. Bruce Gellman, an attorney, and UTA represent her.

JBTV’s sophomore CBS drama series Fire Country, which has been renewed for a third season and is exploring a possible Sheriff-centered spinoff, is in addition to CSI: Vegas, which is presently in its third season. CAA is the company’s representative.