Extended Openers for Currently Airing Crime Shows
To Be Added as Extended Scenes in Their Current Seasons
Designed to Seamlessly Merge with the Scorpion Crossover Event
FBI
Extended Opener: "La Chiave" (The Key)
INT. FBI HEADQUARTERS – NEW YORK – MORNING
Special Agent Maggie Bell stands over a whiteboard filled with photos and timelines. OA Zidan enters, holding a folder.
OA:
We've got another one—victim with no digital footprint, no ID, nothing.
MAGGIE:
That's the third this month. Something's not adding up.
OA (reading):
The only thing we found on her was a postcard. Italian. "La verità è la chiave." The truth is the key.
MAGGIE (thoughtful):
Why would a New York victim have an Italian message?
OA:
Maybe the key isn't just the truth. Maybe it's in Italy.
MAGGIE:
Let's get Forensics on the card. And OA—call Interpol. I want to know if anyone in Rome is missing a Jane Doe.
NCIS
Extended Opener: "Il Fantasma" (The Ghost)
INT. NCIS HQ – WASHINGTON, D.C. – DAY
Special Agent Torres reviews a case file. Knight walks in with a cup of espresso.
KNIGHT:
You look like you've seen a ghost.
TORRES:
That's the thing. Our dead petty officer? He's supposed to be alive and stationed in Naples.
KNIGHT:
Napoli? Did you call the base?
TORRES:
Yeah, and they said he checked in this morning. But his body's in our morgue.
KNIGHT (sipping):
Un fantasma. A ghost.
TORRES:
Or a cover-up. Either way, someone's lying.
KNIGHT:
Let's talk to Vance. If this goes international, we'll need the Italian Navy.
Law & Order: SVU
Extended Opener: "La Famiglia" (The Family)
INT. SVU SQUAD ROOM – NEW YORK – NIGHT
Benson and Rollins review a case involving a missing child. Fin enters with a report.
FIN:
Got a tip from a guy in Little Italy. Says he saw the kid with a woman speaking Italian.
BENSON:
La famiglia è tutto. Family is everything. That's what the mother kept saying.
ROLLINS:
Maybe she's hiding the child with relatives.
BENSON:
Or maybe there's more to this. Find out if any Italian families in the area have connections to missing children.
Blue Bloods
Extended Opener: "Il Codice d'Onore" (The Code of Honor)
INT. REAGAN FAMILY DINNER – EVENING
Frank Reagan sits at the head of the table. Danny, Jamie, Erin, and Henry discuss the latest string of robberies.
DANNY:
Perp left a note. "Rispetta il codice." Respect the code.
JAMIE:
Sounds Italian. Mob?
ERIN:
Maybe, but the MO doesn't fit. No violence, just precision.
FRANK:
The old families had a codice d'onore. Maybe someone's reviving old traditions.
HENRY:
Or using them as a cover.
FRANK:
Either way, we find out who's behind this—before the city gets nostalgic for the wrong kind of history.
9-1-1
Extended Opener: "Sotto Copertura" (Undercover)
INT. LAFD STATION 118 – DAY
Bobby Nash briefs the team after a suspicious fire at an Italian bakery.
BOBBY:
Arson at Pasticceria Bellini. Owner says he's been threatened—someone wants him to pay for "protection."
BUCK:
Mob shakedown?
BOBBY:
Maybe. But the accelerant was high-tech, not old school.
HEN:
The owner said, "Non fidarti di nessuno." Don't trust anyone.
EDDIE:
Sounds like he's hiding something.
BOBBY:
Let's keep our eyes open. And someone call the arson investigator—preferably one who speaks Italian.
CSI: Vegas
Extended Opener: "La Maschera" (The Mask)
INT. CSI LAB – LAS VEGAS – NIGHT
Maxine Roby examines a mask found at a crime scene. Folsom reads the inscription inside.
FOLSOM:
"La maschera nasconde la verità." The mask hides the truth.
MAX:
Victim was at a Venetian masquerade party. Guest list includes half the Italian consulate.
FOLSOM:
So, what are we looking for? A killer or a diplomat with secrets?
MAX:
Both. Let's check security footage and see who was hiding behind the mask.
Criminal (2025)
Extended Opener: "Radici" (Roots)
INT. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION UNIT – NIGHT
Detective Leo Patterson studies a wall covered in family trees and crime scene photos. His partner, Detective Sofia Russo, enters holding a file.
SOFIA:
Another victim found near the docks. No ID, no prints. But there's something different this time.
LEO:
What's that?
SOFIA (showing a photo):
A small medallion with an Italian inscription: "Famiglia è destino." Family is destiny.
LEO (thoughtful):
This case... it's connected to the past. To our families.
SOFIA:
We're chasing ghosts, Leo. But maybe the ghosts want to be found.
LEO:
Then let's give them a reason.
SOFIA:
Get me everything on Italian organized crime families in the area—old and new. And check with Interpol. If this goes beyond the city, we need to know.
LEO:
Good. And keep your guard up. This isn't just a murder case—it's a message.
Note:
These extended openers are designed to be added into the current seasons of each show as cold opens or extended scenes. They introduce Italian elements and thematic clues that tie into the larger "Vanished With a Trace" crossover event led by Scorpion. This approach allows each show to maintain its unique style while contributing to the shared universe and overarching storyline.