CSI - Season 10 *Spoilers*

[Chloe O'brien]

I think this may be the last season if any more cast members leave. But I doubt they will be able to tempt Grissom back.

[Perdita]

CSI episodes specially selected by viewers will be screened on Channel 5 over the coming weeks, it has been announced.

The special run of episodes will mark ten years since the US drama first aired on the channel in 2001.

CSI star Marg Helgenberger (Catherine Willows) said: "I would never have guessed [the show] would have gone [on for] ten years. I would never have guessed it would become a show that would inspire young people to become criminalists."

She continued: "I think a good mystery show will always be in vogue. It's just a matter of how you execute it and this was 21st century Sherlock Holmes."

Helgenberger also admitted that she personally enjoys the "wacky and fun" episodes of CSI.

"Sometimes those are a relief when you're doing some [other] episodes, especially the ones that are based on real cases," she said. "Those are very disturbing."

CSI viewer favourites due to air include the fourth season's 'Butterflied' and season three instalment 'Lady Heather's Box' on Tuesday, June 21. The third run's penultimate episode 'Play With Fire' will air in the next week, followed by 'A Kiss Before Frying' from the show's most recent season.

The seventh season's two-part premiere 'Built To Kill' will air on July 5, with season nine's two-parter '19 Down / One To Go' following on July 12. Gary Dourdan's final episode, 'For Warrick', will also air that night.

The celebratory season will conclude with Quentin Tarantino's directorial effort, the two-part season five finale 'Grave Danger'.

[Perdita]

Marg Helgenberger has revealed that next season will be her last on CSI.

The actress, who first revealed her intention to leave the CBS procedural drama last year, announced the news during the network's TCA presentation in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

CSI execs will prepare for Helgenberger's departure by writing in the arrival of a new character played by Ted Danson in a manner that causes Helgenberger's Catherine Willows role to be "moved around" in the ranks.

Helgenberger explained: "There is a little resentment, but Ted's character so far is endearing and has a unique way of looking at a crime scene. It's a nice fresh perspective and it kind of gets under everyone's skin a little bit, in a good way.

"I think Catherine is very intrigued by him. I think ultimately Catherine is a team player and they took some liberties last season the way the crime came about or was solved and she was willing to admit it. And this is the fallout."

Helgenberger also insisted that the decision to leave the show was her own, adding that while she will miss the "family" of her crew, she is looking forward to pursuing other projects.

"I've been itching to get back on the stage, but it's been hard. The commitment on this show and then raising a son, who's now 20, a production assistant on CSI! He was nine when I started the show," she said.

"That's one of the cute things about being on this show as long as you've been on. A lot of crew members' children who were all little kids at the time are now working on staff. That's what makes it even more of a family and even harder to leave."

Helgenberger also hinted that she could return to CSI in some capacity in the future.

[Perdita]

CSI producer Carol Mendelsohn has claimed that the show's 12th season will be "lighter" in tone.

She told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour that the crime drama will change following the departure of Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) and the introduction of new investigator DB Russell (Ted Danson).

"Last season we were chasing a serial killer [but] that arc has come to an end," said Mendelsohn. "With the introduction of our new CSI superior who has his own process, I think you can say it's a lighter season."

Fellow executive producer Don McGill also revealed details of DB Russell's unusual background.

"[He] grew up with counter-culture parents and travelled around with them," explained McGill. "They were folk singers. He wasn't just home-schooled, he was van-schooled."

CSI star Marg Helgenberger recently revealed that the show's eighth season will be her last. The actress is currently expected to appear in the first 12 episodes of the new run.

CSI returns to CBS on Wednesday, September 21.

[Perdita]

CSI producer Carol Mendelsohn has hinted that William Petersen could still return to the show.

She told TV Line that the actor is frequently asked to reprise his role as Gil Grissom on the CBS drama.

"Every year we go to Billy," she explained. "It's sort of like a pilgrimage [and we] say, 'Will you come back?'. Last year we were successful, and he came back for that one episode."

Mendelsohn added that an appearance from Petersen in the show's upcoming eighth season is not out of the question.

"We talked to Billy a few weeks ago... so you never know," she said. "I mean, [Gil and Sara] are married, and we'd like the audience to be able to see [them together] sometime."

It was recently announced that Ted Danson will join CSI as the show's new lead investigator, replacing Petersen's original replacement Laurence Fishburne.

CSI returns to CBS on Wednesday, September 21.

[Perdita]

Marg Helgenberger has said that the timing is right for her to leave CSI.

The actress has played stripper-turned-investigator Catherine Willows for nearly 12 years, but will exit the CBS crime drama later this month.

Helgenberger appeared on CBS This Morning today (January 17) and revealed that she wants to pursue new career challenges.

"I felt the need to kind of step back, because I had been playing this character for 11 and a half years, to reassess and regroup and - as scary as that is - I'm also very excited about the great wide open, the future and all the possibilities," the star told hosts Gayle King and Charlie Rose.

Helgenberger also revealed that she is planning to watch her character Catherine Willows's CSI farewell when it airs on Wednesday, January 25.

"I will watch the last episode. Whether I want to see it by myself or with a group of people, I'm not really sure because I know there will be some tears," she said.

CSI airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on CBS.

[Chloe O'brien]

Any idea when the new series of CSI & CSI New York will be back on channel 5?