The CSI Franchise You Likely Forgot Featured Giancarlo Esposito
The "CSI" franchise started in 2000 with "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," and due to its runaway popularity, it created several spin-offs like "CSI: Cyber," "CSI: Miami," and "CSI: NY" (via IMDb). Blending elements of police procedural with much more of a focus on scientific and analytic skills, the "CSI" family of television shows still tends to follow a format that sees a crime resolved within an episode or two. This allows guest actors to enter the series for a brief window and highlight their skills for a set duration, with a clearly defined start and end point.
Giancarlo Esposito is one of those actors that is immediately recognizable, and these days Esposito has a reputation of an incredibly effective villain. Known for his ruthless roles in "Breaking Bad," "The Boys," and "The Mandalorian," Esposito's characters are usually marked by a calm and cool demeanor that is offset by an untold and intimidating savagery which boils beneath the surface (via IMDb).
However, some fans of both Esposito and "CSI" may not have realized that he actually appeared in one of the spin-offs.
Giancarlo Esposito appears in two episodes of CSI: Miami
Giancarlo Esposito appears in two episodes of "CSI: Miami" as Chief Braga in 2006 and 2008, and the two episodes are "Rio" and "Ambush," respectively (via IMDb). These episodes were broadcast long before Esposito started really acting in villainous roles; although the content of the "Rio" episode definitely still deals with drug dealers and corruption, Esposito is on the law-enforcement end of the spectrum and not on the peddling side like Gus Fring in "Breaking Bad."
Chief Braga is actually the police chief in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and when the crew of "CSI: Miami" returns back to the country during an investigation in the 2008 episode "Ambush," they have to once again earn his blessing to move about the city and its surrounding areas freely. Unfortunately, Horatio (David Caruso) and his fellow police officers never had to seek out Chief Braga after these episodes, but it is still interesting to see Esposito in a role that doesn't involve hunting down Grogu, Walter White, or errant superheroes in order to impose his will.