CSI: NY fans can expect Mac Taylor to carry on his detective duties until 2011.  His portrayer, Gary Sinise, has just struck a new deal with CBS/Paramount which extends his contract with the crime-solving series for a couple more seasons. In line with the negotiation, the 52-year-old actor will also be getting a raise.

The network previously had chosen to lock Sinise to CSI: NY through spring 2010 but has decided to add another year to that option.  In exchange for extending his contract, the studio has increased Sinise's salary to around $5 million per year, translating into a little more than $200,000 per episode.  The deal with Sinise comes despite the fact that CBS has not renewed CSI: NY beyond the current season.

Sinise joined the CSI spin-off in 2004 to play a 1st Grade Head Investigator Detective, a role previously turned down by Andy Garcia (The Godfather III, When a Man Loves a Woman, Ocean's Eleven) and Ray Liotta (Field of Dreams, Goodfellas).

On CSI: NY, he leads the NYPD CSI team, consisting of Stella Bonasera, played by Melina Kanakaredes, Danny Messer, played by Carmine Giovinazzo, Dr. Sheldon Hawkes, played by Hill Harper, Donald Flack, Jr., played by Eddie Cahill, Lindsay Monroe, played by Anna Belknap, Adam Ross, played by A.J. Buckley, and Dr. Sid Hammerback, played by Robert Joy.  Sinise, whose credits include Forrest Gump, The Human Stain, Mission to Mars and Ransom, has not only received upbeat reviews for portraying the lead on CBS series but for producing at least 37 episodes of CSI: NY as well.

Apart from Sinise, costar Melina Kanakaredes is also in the midst of negations.  However, no deal has officially been set. Kanakaredes currently plays Mac Taylor's second-in-command and right-hand woman in the New York Police Department's crime lab.

Fans can catch a new episode of CSI: NY season 4 every Wednesday at 10pm ET/PT on CBS.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: EW
(Image courtesy of TV Guide)