Stephen: Hey, everybody, welcome back! Folks, my next guest is an Actress you know from “ER,” “The West Wing,” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” She now stars in “CSI: Vegas.”

[clip of “Long pig”]

Stephen: Please welcome Jorja Fox.

Jorja: Are we in heaven?

Stephen: We might be. We might be in heaven.

Jorja: I might be in heaven. I really might be in heaven.

Stephen: So nice to meet you. Thanks for being here.

Jorja: Wow, thank you so much for having me. It’s a thrill. I haven’t been in New York in two years.

Stephen: Oh, wow, welcome back.

Jorja: I’m a New Yorker and I’m back.

Stephen: Welcome back.

Jorja: It’s magic.

Stephen: You were on “CSI” for 15 years, and you’re back for a 10-episode run, it looks like.

Jorja: Yes.

Stephen: For the first time in six years.

Jorja: Yes.

Stephen: What’s it like to step back into your character of Sara Sidle after that period of time. I’m sure at a certain point you said, “I’m hanging up my spurs.”

Jorja: Oh, yeah, we thought we were done, done, done. We had an amazing run. We had a finale.

Stephen: And that was the original “CSI” they created the entire thing.

Jorja: They created this thing. And Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle sailed off into the sunset. It was a great way to go out. And the book is closed, that’s it. I was completely surprised and floored. I thought fans had moved on, audiences. And I was like, “No one wants to see this ‘CSI’ stuff anymore,” Right? And we got a call. And it was perceived as a 20th Anniversary, and we couldn’t shoot it because of covid, and Now it’s “CSI: Vegas.”

Stephen: Do you actually shoot “CSI: Vegas” in Vegas?

Jorja: Sometimes.

Stephen: Sometimes.

Jorja: Not for super long periods of time, because things happen in Vegas –

Stephen: That should stay in Vegas.

Jorja: That should absolutely.

Stephen: It’s also a very busy city.

Jorja: Yeah, and it doesn’t stop.

Stephen: It’s hard to be low key there.

Jorja: It’s not like you sort of close things down and you shoot. You sort of shoot in the midst of Vegas. Casinos stay open, people are drinking, they’re gambling.

Stephen: Now, after all those years of being– are you a Forensic pathologist? Is that what your character is?

Jorja: I’m so much smarter on the show than I am in real life. I’m a forensic scientist.

Stephen: After all those years of doing and deal with that jargon and understand what your character is saying, do you think you could have any chance at actually trying to solve a crime or, barring that, do you think you could get away with murder?

Jorja: Well, you know, when the show started in 2000, right, the science was absolutely cutting edge. You know, every day there was new science coming out, and you could determine without any shadow of doubt, whether something happened or it didn’t happen. And 21 years ago, I said you can’t get away with anything. It’s not even worth it. Now, 21 years later, the advancements in last five years make what we did in 2000 seem, you know, elementary. So, no, I don’t think that anyone could ever get away with anything. I don’t think they should try.

Stephen: Really? Think they should try. Where do I find the courage?

Jorja: I also wish that we actually didn’t even have a show, right, that we didn’t have these stories, you know, if we lived in a peaceful world, we wouldn’t have these amazing stories to tell, but we don’t –

Stephen: But it’s such a good show.

Jorja: Exactly.

Stephen: It’s almost worth having the crime at this point.

Jorja: And it’s fun trying to solve them.

Stephen: We both work for CBS. Don’t kill this. You’re a good lead-in. You and I both attended the White House correspondents’ dinner at various times. You were last there in 2000.

Jorja: 2000 with “The West Wing.”

Stephen: What was the night like? Did you enjoy it?

Jorja: It was– it was definitely my Cinderella moment. There was no question. I came from a very small town. I didn’t go to college. I never imagined in my life– First of all, that I would be here, but certainly they would end up in D.C. At this dinner for journalists, for the President of the United States. And it came up kind of last minute the the entire cast of “West Wing” was there shooting the series finale, and we got calls. Literally like, “You’re going to go to the ball.” And I brought jeans and sneakers, and they flew in all these gowns for us to wear. It was magic. Jay Leno hosted it. And it was the year– you may remember– that Bill Clinton, President Bill Clinton, made this mockumentary about his last days in office which was really funny.

Stephen: Did you guys do any sight seeing around Washington?

Jorja: Oh, yes, we did. Actually one day– we were stationed– I was playing the Secret Service agent to the President’s daughter so I spent some time with the Secret Service, amazing people. And we were shooting very close to the white house, you know. And several days, one afternoon, Bradley whitford, he’s on the show, phenomenal man –

Stephen: Sure, Josh.

Jorja: Yes. And he got late dialogue. Aaron Sorkin sometimes has great ideas. He was outside the White House and in his suit, took his jacket off, was running his lines as we do sometimes, talking to himself, emoting, putting it into movement. And the Secret Service totally descended on him and took him in and thought he was a mad man. They let him go.

Stephen: did Aaron Sorkin have to go and spring him?

Jorja: They figured it out pretty quickly that there had been a mistake. They were doing their job. Thank god they were keeping the White House safe.

Stephen: This is the essential question here, because, again, there are two great CBS crime-solving franchises here. There’s “CSI” and “NCIS.” if those two–

Jorja: I feel this is a setup.

Stephen: If you “CSI” people fought the “NCIS” people, who would win?

Jorja: Well, as much as I would like to say that “CSI” would win, you know, we don’t carry guns. We have magnifying glasses.

Stephen: Sure.

Jorja: You know, we’re flawed heroes.

Stephen: Sure.

Jorja: That solve crimes with our minds and our hearts, and they’d totally kick our buts.

Stephen: they have LL Cool J.

Jorja: They do, they have flak jackets and big guns.

Stephen: Can you answer this: why is there so much naval crime? It’s Naval Crime Investigative Service. Why why is there so much naval crime in Los Angeles?

Jorja: I’ve asked myself that question.

Stephen: No one can answer that question for me.

Jorja: Yeah, there’s a lot of crime there?

Stephen: Jorja it is so nice to have you there.

Jorja: Thank you.

Stephen: “CSI: Vegas” airs Wednesdays at 10:00 on CBS and is streaming on Paramount+. It’s Jorja Fox, everybody!