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Exclusive: CSI Vegas star Paula Newsome breaks down Eric Szmanda's return as Greg Sanders - and the 'gift' of episode 17

CSI: Vegas airs on CBS at 10/9c

Erica Szmanda returns as Greg Sanders in CSI: Vegas
Rebecca Lewis
Rebecca Lewis - Los Angeles
ReporterLos Angeles
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CSI: Vegas fans will see Eric Szmanda return to the crime scene on Thursday March 30, as the iconic actor - who played Greg Sanders in the CBS police drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation for 15 years - joins Max Roby and her team in Vegas. 

"It was fun. He's very good friends with the cast so I knew we'd get along like peas and carrots - and our first scene together was the scene where we're walking down the hall and it was so very easy. Joyful - he's a lovely man," shared Paula with HELLO! ahead of the episode.

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March 30's episode, 'The Promise,' will see Max and her team find justice for a grieving mother after over 40 years. 

The episode follows the team as they discover the body of a young girl at the bottom of Lake Mead, who was killed in the early 1980s. But when her mother, played by Regina Taylor, appears in Max's office, they quickly realize there are deeper cultural issues surrounding the death. 

Paula, who stars as Max, told HELLO! that she asked the creator of the hit CBS series for an episode like this one when she watched episode four of season two, 'Koala'.

Regina Taylor and Paula Newsome in CSI: Vegas© CBS
Paula Newsome says CSI: Vegas episode with Regina Taylor is like a 'two-hander'

"Anthony Zeiger, the creator of CSI, wrote a script that was centred around Marg Helgenberger''s character Catherine. It was episode four, it was called 'Koala' and I read it and I was like, 'I want a Koala! How are you gonna make a Koala for her and not for me?'" Paula quipped before sharing that when CSI was given an additional three episodes for their sophomore season, Anthony then presented her with this "beautiful storyline". 

"It was important to me that stepping into this role we invite people to come play with us that we haven't seen in a while who are really amazing actors. And I was like, 'Let's get Regina Taylor to do it,'" said Paula.

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Regina Taylor makes a guest appearance on CSI: Vegas© Michael Yarish
Regina Taylor makes a guest appearance on CSI: Vegas

"I had met her decades ago at a fundraiser and I saw her across the room and it was like seeing Santa Claus, 'Oh my God!' And I realized I'd never seen her work - but I knew her, and I knew her talent. So, playing these scenes, it felt like almost a two-hander at some point. It's a gift and a promise." 

Regina, 62, is an actress and playwright who won a Golden Globe Award and NAACP Image Award for her work in the early 1990s drama, I'll Fly Away.

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