CSI: Vegas was dealt a king and a queen in its hand last season with the return of original cast favorites William Petersen and Jorja Fox. Now, following their exit, the reboot pulls an ace by bringing back Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows — blood spatter expert, former stripper, and all-around badass.

“She gets wind of some illicit dealings at the Eclipse,” executive producer Jason Tracey says of the casino Catherine’s crooked father built. “Harm has befallen some of her friends. Enemies have been made.”

Bonus: Hers isn’t the only familiar face we see in Season 2. For one, Katie Stevens, aka Catherine’s daughter Lindsey, appears in a spotlight episode written for Helgenberger by series creator Anthony E. Zuiker.

“It’s always fun to catch up with CSI legends,” Tracey teases. But first, the legendary Helgenberger tells us more.

What were those early talks like?

Marg Helgenberger: The first season, it would have been more of a recurring situation, but the timing wasn’t right. Then they came back to me for the second season. Getting back into Catherine’s tight pants, boots, leather jackets, and her swagger with a whole new group of people and this set that’s 10 times as big as the original, glass everywhere — that’s just mind-blowing.

What brings Catherine back?

That was a big question I had: Why would Catherine return after all these years in a job that’s hard? I brought my idea to Jason, and he had already thought of how to bring her back in, so we married our two ideas.

Mine involved Catherine having a scholarship program and a young woman she’d cherry-picked to bring into the CSI fold. One of the things I’m most proud of about what CSI accomplished in its long run was the impact it had on women going into the field of forensic science.

A lot has changed in the work and technology. Does Catherine have to play catch-up?

A little bit, sure. Back in the day, we always got all this state-of-the-art equipment, but now it’s on steroids!

Has Catherine herself changed?

She’s wiser and more mature. But she still has that intensity and fortitude and stamina and doggedness in regard to solving a crime — especially if it’s something that touches her deeply. That would never change, I don’t think, as long as she has her wits about her and her physical strength.

Do you have action scenes?

Minor sequences here and there. Today the director goes, “Let’s give Catherine more action.” I said, “Yeah, I love it. But I’ve got to go slowly — I don’t want to pull my hamstrings.”