CSI: Miami

TV review by Sierra Filucci, Common Sense Media
CSI: Miami Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 15+

Lesser cousin of mature, top-rated crime show.

A&E, CBS Drama 2002
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Parents say

age 14+

Based on 11 reviews

Kids say

age 12+

Based on 28 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this Miami-set spin-off of the original CSI is just as violent and mature as the original. While the series focuses on solving crimes, scenes of fast cars, bikini-wearing women, and big houses offer a more glamorous backdrop to the search for justice than the original's gritty Las Vegas setting.

Community Reviews

simpsonsfan22
simpsonsfan22 Adult
March 26, 2016
age 12+

Great CSI is great

CSI is a great tv show I have been watching this since I was 10 it's eleven years now because I am 21. I would like to be a CSI crime scene investigation lady forensic science and do autopsys on corpses that have been murdered accidentall or natural causes. I love the idea but living in warrnambool ballarat is 2 hours away and Geelong 2 hours and a half hope this tafe university course comes to warrnambool. Or local police station would have it without tafe

This title has:

Great messages
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1 person found this helpful.
sarahs20
sarahs20 Adult
February 15, 2011
age 15+

LOVE IT!

My mom is my best friend and we watch this show together all the time I don't think I have missed a show. Sometimes I run home just to watch it. Well now my work schedule changed. Working with DISH the schedules do change just like any job. For me to miss watching CSI: Miami is not something I want. My mom has Xfinity and was going to get TV everywhere with it and allow me to view it but I know DISH has TV everywhere as well. I looked it all up and found out that with DISH you can view LIVE TV everywhere you go. With Xfinity you can only watch it inside the home. So of course I got TV everywhere with DISH and I'm happy I did. Now my mom and I can still talk about the show!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
See all 11 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Like CSI: NY, CSI: MIAMI is an offshoot of the original, Las Vegas-set CSI. As in that series, the action here follows the city's crime scene investigators as they attempt to solve crimes using forensic evidence. The team employs science and technology -- as well as good training and smarts -- to unpeel layers and sort out scenarios until they reveal the truth. Unlike the largely nighttime setting of the original CSI, CSI: Miami plays out in the daylight, with sweeping views of gorgeous blue ocean and busty, bikini-clad women on the beach. Like CSI's Gil Grissom (William Petersen), CSI: Miami team leader Horatio Caine (NYPD Blue's David Caruso) is an intense, wise, and solemn man.

Is It Any Good?

Staying consistent with the CSI franchise, the crimes the Miami team investigates can be gruesome and scary, and are not recommended fare for younger viewers. Many of the crimes involve women and sometimes children as well. The action largely follows the investigation -- rather than focusing on playing out the crime on the screen -- but viewers still see dead bodies, tortured victims, and violent crimes occurring in cinematic flashbacks.

While CSI: Miami has its avid followers, unlike the original CSI's Grissom, Horatio doesn't compel the same attention and affection. And the rest of the team seems less of an integrated whole than a bunch of independent characters -- some more interesting than others.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the show's violence. Do you think the kinds of victims depicted on the show reflect real-life crime? Families can also discuss how science and technology are used to solve crimes. Does this series make teens more interested in what's going on in science class? Is forensic science something they might want to pursue as a career?

TV Details

Our Editors Recommend

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