Ah, the “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” character Sara Sidle — a television personality that has long divided fans and been the butt of countless “CSI” critiques. At one point, things got so bad for the forensics specialist that actor Jorja Fox, herself, had to come out and address the constant backlash.

“I think Sara is the least-liked character on the show,” Fox told Entertainment Weekly in 2015. “As much as she has a lot of fans, I think she has more who dislike her…Maybe for my own survival, I tried to see it as a compliment. Whether fans loved your or hated you, at least they were emotionally invested or feeling passionate about Sara.”

Despite all the Sara hate, Fox made the fateful decision last October to come back to the TV franchise that helped define her career and appeared in the CBS reboot “CSI: Vegas.” And when she did, something crazy happened — people actually started liking her character, with many citing multiple reasons why.

Sara has grown and become ‘more chill’ in CSI: Vegas  

According to longtime viewers, the major difference between Sara Sidle in the original “CSI” series compared to the character’s portrayal in the “CSI: Vegas” reboot is that she is much more laid back and mature now, with fans citing her marriage to Grissom and veteran status on the CSI team as reasons why.

“She’s got more chill now,” explained Redditor u/clover426 in an October 2021 discussion thread. “I am a diehard, loyal Sara stan for life but she was hard to like at a few points in the original- even I was like girl calm down and let it go in moments,” the Redditor added. “She’s older, wiser.” Another person, u/AutumnalSunshine, said: “I think the character and actress have matured. I noticed right away that not every line was delivered with an upward note (as though it were a question), which is already a nice change.”

For “CSI: Vegas,” Jorja Fox told reporters that playing Sara would be a lot more fun in this rendition, seeing how the character got her storybook ending at the end of the original “CSI” and was now happily married. “We didn’t get to play the relationship that much on screen,” Fox told the Chicago Tribune in October 2021. “We arrive as a married couple and that’s how we’re playing it, so that’s really fun.” Despite having such a blast, Fox revealed in January 2022 that she would not be returning to “CSI: Vegas” for Season 2 after William Petersen announced that he would be doing the same. “After much deliberating, I have decided not to ‘Sidle up’ for CSI Vegas,” the actor announced in a tweet. “For me CSI has always been a love story,” Fox said. “The story that people can find love in the darkest of places and times. And the story that love, even in the darkest of places and times, can expand and grow roots and endure. I personally just can’t split Sara and Grissom up again. So goes Grissom…..So goes Sara. Wherever they go, they belong together.”