Here’s why CBS pulled the plug on Cold Case Reboot after its announcement 

After successfully rebooting and expanding Jerry Bruckheimer Television-produced procedural CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the network was eyeing another of its classic series, Cold Case.

The CBS Cold Case reboot was announced in April 2024. Based on the 2003 police procedural that ran for seven seasons, the network finally decided to bring the iconic series back.

This Meredith Stiehm-created procedural followed a team of detectives as they worked on unsolved and old cases, bringing justice to forgotten victims. While the show was immensely popular, it ran for only seven seasons.

CBS and Warner Bros TV were in talks to reboot this classic with Meredith Stiehm as the showrunner and writer. However, the reboot was canceled in September 2024 because the two sides could not move past the deal-making stage.

More on the CBS Cold Case reboot's cancellation in our story.

Why was the CBS Cold Case reboot cancelled?

While the CBS Cold Case reboot sounded like an interesting opportunity to revive a classic police procedural, the project was canceled in September 2024.

According to Deadline reports, Warner Bros TV and CBS could not come to an agreement, which set the project's fate in stone. It was reported that CBS wanted additional streaming rights to the 2003 Cold Case, which was not agreeable for Warner Bros TV, thus the Cold Case reboot never saw the light of day.

This was not the first time this issue and disagreement had caused a project to be canceled. Earlier, when the two sides were in talks about rebooting another classic series, East New York, there were challenges regarding the original show's streaming rights.

While CBS wanted the streaming rights for the original series, Warner Bros TV was not ready to give them up, and thus, the reboot was canceled in September 2024.

What was the Cold Case reboot about?

While the reboot was still in its early stages of development when it was canceled, some plot details were revealed. Similar in structure to the original series, the reboot was envisioned as a police procedural in which the team solved old and forgotten cases.

While the original show was set in Philadelphia, the reboot would have been set in the Southwest. A new location would have brought a fresh perspective and added a unique layer to the story with new characters.

Considering the reboot's setting, new characters would have joined the team, but no cast members were finalised or announced. Kathryn Morris and Danny Pino from the original series were in talks to reprise their characters in the CBS Cold Case reboot. It would have been interesting to see how Lilly Rush and Scotty Valens transferred to the Southwest.

Jerry Bruckheimer, the executive producer of the original series, was also set to fill in the same role for the reboot show.

While Cold Case concluded almost two decades ago, it was a well-received show with unique storylines. The show's popularity even inspired its Japanese and Russian adaptations, but unfortunately, its reboot was canceled prematurely.

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