The New CSI Honcho???

[Luna]

Laurence Fishburne is reportedly 'close to signing a deal' to join the CSI cast, according to TV Guide.

The show's looking at Fishburne to fill the void that will be left when series vet William Petersen steps down after this season's 10th episode.

Peterson will return for occasional "special" appearances.

What do you CSI fans think about the new casting?

[Abigail]

Laurence Fishburne will replace William Petersen as the lead in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, confirms The Hollywood Reporter.

The actor will enter the show in episode nine of the upcoming ninth season. He will portray a pathologist who is working as a college lecturer specialising in criminalistics. During the course of a murder investigation, his character joins the Las Vegas Crime Lab as a Level-1 CSI.

CSI executive producer Carol Mendelsohn said: "This has been months in the making. We have been talking about the character we wanted to create and pursuing our dream casting, which is Laurence Fishburne."

Fishburne's character, known only as "the professor" at this point, will appear with departing lead Petersen (Gil Grissom) in two episodes.

"[Gil] will definitely have an opinion on who this guy is," said executive producer Naren Shankar. "The idea is to see a lot of Billy and Laurence together."

[Chloe O'brien]

Oh God CSI is gonna be strange without Grissom.

[Luna]

Oh God CSI is gonna be strange without Grissom.

personally i think they are wrong to replace him!!

[Jojo]

:hmm:

Don't like it..but will give the benefit of the doubt until I've actually seen it in the making and working.

[Chloe O'brien]

The more Ithink about it,the more Ithink it may be a good thing for CSI depending on how Laurence plays the role. From my point of view I got hooked on CSI because of the science not the romance of the characters. Although I don't mind the romance, it would not have bothered me for it to remain in the background and in my imagination. If they have Laurence's character who is a misreable sod who is focused on doing their job then it may just work. For me CSI went downhill when the writers succumbed to the Grissom/Sara romance when Brass was shot. I will admit that I was 100% agreement that Grissom & Sara were an item, but I would have been more happy if they just accepted it and casually passed it off in one of the episodes.

[Perdita]

Laurence Fishburne is closing the file on his CSI: Crime Scene Investigation career.

The actor will not be back in the next series of the CBS crime drama, according to a source, who spoke anonymously because CBS has yet to announce the star's departure.

Laurence joined the CSI cast as Dr Raymond Langston midway through the 2008-09 season. He stepped in to replace departing star William Petersen.

The source said CBS and the show's producers are taking his departure in their stride, aware that his film career made a long TV tenure unlikely.

CSI is set to return for its 12th season and continues to rank among the 20 top-rated shows in the US.

Laurence's credits include The Matrix films, and he is also in the forthcoming Contagion with Matt Damon.

[Chloe O'brien]

Do we think that this may be the end of CSI. Laurence is not returning, Marg who plays Catherine Williows is leaving. They no longer have a fearless leader unless William returns as Grissom I can see the show being dumped, which i would be p1$$ed of about but I'd rather it went out on a high than dwindled on. CSI hasn't been the same since Grissom left again a quality drama was spoiled with romance. I never had a problem with Grissom and Sara being in a romantic relationship. It just killed the show when it became public. I'm a fan of American dramas and one of the best things about 24 was that they never bowed to viewers request to hook Jack & Chloe together, but CSI did and it may be there downfall

[tammyy2j]

Sam Malone's gone procedural: Ted Danson is returning to broadcast TV, joining the cast of CSI in a leading role.

According to CBS, Danson will play the new grave shift supervisor, moving to Vegas from the Portland crime lab. "He comes to the team as they are still grappling with the professional and personal fallout from last season's take-down of serial killer, Nate Haskell," the network says.

Danson will fill the void left by the departure of Laurence Fishburne, who announced last month that he would depart CSI after two and a half years on the veteran crime procedural. (Fishburne, in turn, replaced original star William Petersen).

The actor just wrapped season three of HBO's Bored to Death, which returns in October. Under the deal to join CSI, he'll still also continue as a regular on Bored to Death.

Last seen regularly on CBS in the sitcom Becker, Danson more recently earned raves (and an Emmy nomination) for his dramatic turn as Arthur Frobisher on FX's critically acclaimed Damages. (Bored to Death also regularly injects plenty of drama into its comedy.)

Danson's busy TV plate also includes occasional visits to HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. The actor, perhaps still best known for his iconic portrayal of Sam Malone in the sitcom classic Cheers, also starred in the short-lived sitcom Ink for CBS (as well as the more recent Help Me Help You at ABC). Danson received two Emmy Awards as best actor in a comedy series (out of 11 consecutive nominations) for his work on Cheers.

In creating Danson's role, CSI executive producer Carol Mendelsohn is said to have drawn up a new character that is a bit more light-hearted than Fishburne's Ray Langston character (and more in the vein of his predecessor, William Petersen's Gil Grissom).

"You can create a new character on the page, but until the perfect actor comes along and breathes life into it, it's just words," Mendelsohn says. "We're very excited Ted Danson came along."

CBS kicked around the idea of bringing in another major movie star for the role, but later shifted gears and started looking for someone with seasoned TV chops. Danson more than fit that bill — and may even bring a humorous touch to the role.

"From the moment we all started talking about the role, it was clear he couldn't be more perfect," says exec producer Don McGill. "Intelligence, wit, warmth, depth of character and emotion, he brings it all. And now he'll have to bring latex gloves, too."

Danson will also add a star presence and a bit of buzz as CSI makes the move from its longtime Thursday home to Wednesdays, where it will now air at 10 p.m. The show will return for its 12th season starting Sept. 21.