CSI: Vegas Star Paula Newsome Reveals Why CBS Cancellation Was 'Very Suprising,' And Why She's Staying Positive About It
As it happens every year, we now know that there are a lot of shows canceled and ending in 2024, with NCIS: Hawai’i delivering a frustrating finale cliffhanger after its time was cut short, and shows such as the wonderful So Help Me Todd (which wasn’t even canceled because of ratings) and CSI: Vegas setting their unexpected series finales to air over the next few days. Paula Newsome, who starred on the three-season run of Vegas as Maxine Roby, has opened up about why the cancellation was “very surprising,” and why she’s able to stay positive about it.
What Did CSI: Vegas Star Paula Newsome Have To Say About The Cancellation And Staying Positive Afterward?
The 2024 TV schedule is just giving fans blow after blow, right? CBS, especially, is seeing a number of shows complete their long runs, like hit comedies Bob Hearts Abishola ending on an emotional finale and the “beautiful ending” of Young Sheldon coming up on May 16. Of course, those series both had a chance to end with completed storylines, whereas the CSI: Vegas cast, crew and fans got news it was “unfortunately” canceled when the season was already done filming, meaning that the Season 3 ending will be the series finale. Star Paula Newsome recently spoke to TVLine about the cancellation, and said:
I got the news from my showrunner [Jason Tracey], and I was very surprised, because our ratings are so good. . . . Our numbers were much higher than a lot of shows on other networks that had been picked up, so that was very surprising, but I know the business is tough.
As she noted, business is very tough. Not only are the networks competing with each other, but we all know that there are innumerable streaming shows premiering on a regular basis that take away valuable eyeballs. And, the network that was home to Vegas really had some deep cuts and hard decisions to make, choosing to bid adieu to a number of shows with solid fanbases, including Newsome’s series.
In fact, the viewing numbers for the latest CSI franchise entry were actually up by 4% in Season 3 (compared with its second season), with it averaging a bit over 5.9 million viewers this season. However, despite that solid viewership and the number of fans who are upset about it ending, it was still last in viewers overall for CBS dramas, and that just wasn’t good enough.
Newsome continued, and talked about why she’s able to be “surprised” about her show ending, but not be too upset by it, noting:
The truth about part of what we do as actors is we sometimes have to ‘wait in the hallway’ [between roles], and it’s about enjoying the time in the hallway. Before I got CSI: Vegas, two minutes before that call I didn’t know a thing about it! Before I got the call for Spider-Man [No Way Home], I didn’t know anything about it! There’s always time in the hallway, and the most important thing is to enjoy that time, because something is always coming. So make sure that when you have the time off, enjoy it. Travel, relax, work out more.
What a zen and serene way to look at not knowing whether or not (or when exactly) you’re going to get another job so you can pay bills and buy food and whatnot! But, that really is the waiting game one signs up for when one decides to become an actor.
Hopefully, you audition a lot, and will eventually land jobs you like, and even ones that keep you employed for a while. According to Newsome, in between that is kinda a sweet spot where you should set yourself up to enjoy the freedom while you have it. While our time with Maxine Roby will be over soon, at least her portrayer is set to move on without too much stress.
