July 16, 2008
William Petersen is leaving CSI. Peterson, who has played investigator Gil Grissom on the CBS procedural since its premiere in 2000, will make his exit from CSI in the middle of the 2008-2009 season. Petersen will return occasionally to make guest appearances, and he will stay on as a producer. The decision to leave was wholly Petersen's, who has previously shown signs of CSI fatigue – the actor took a break from CSI in the 2006-2007 season to perform in a play. He was replaced by Liev Schreiber. The final episode for Gil Grissom will be the tenth episode of next season, and will most likely air in the early parts of 2009. Former co-worker and flame Sarah Sidle (Jorja Fox) and Lady Heather (Melinda Clarke) will both be involved in Grissom's final episode.
July 10, 2008
After the highly devastating WGA strike, another impasse, this time in the contract talks between the 120,000-strong Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), representing the American film producers, production companies, and movie studios, is threatening to wreak havoc in Hollywood. So far, negotiations were for nil, as an agreement was not reached before the June 30 deadline. The strike stemmed from the current handling of royalties from the sale of films distributed through new media methods, such as via Internet distribution services like iTunes and DVD sales.
If the extent of the writers' strike's effect on television were any measure, this one could be very big as well. As such, former and present CSI stars William Petersen (Gill Grissom), Marg Halgenberger (Catherine Willows), and Jorja Fox (Sara Sidle) have expressed their support for the SAG cause via creating short video clips to be posted on the SAG website. They are also imploring others to do the same. Needless to say, CSI fans don't want another WGA-like hullabaloo to affect their favorite show.
July 3, 2008
William Petersen, who plays forensic entomologist and CSI's central character Gil Grissom, is set to get his own star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year. The honor is in part due to CSI's massive stranglehold in the title of the world's most watched show, which it has held for two years in a row. The Illinois-native is one of the 25 celebrities who will have their names and persons immortalized in the famous walk, as picked by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Walk of Fame Committee. Chuck Lorre, who also had a stint writing for CSI, will also be receiving his star.
According to statistics from ratings firm Eurodata, CSI: Las Vegas was watched by an estimated average of 83.9 million viewers worldwide, edging out CSI: Miami and House. Desperate Housewives, who remains to be the most watched series in the U.S. attracted some 61.5 million viewers.
July 1, 2008
Just like other networks, CBS has revealed its premiere plan for this fall. While we can expect several fresh pilots to debut, there are also many returning favorites to look forward to such as CSI, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY.
First up is CSI: Miami, which is set to return for its seventh season on September 22. The series that stars David Caruso, Emily Procter, and Jonathan Togo, among others, will be occupying the Monday slot at 10pm, serving as lead-out to the premiere of the Kyle Bornheimer comedy series, Worst Week.
June 26, 2008
Earlier today, CBS announced the Fall launch dates for their 2008-2009 television season schedule. Nothing totally out of the ordinary in CBS's announcement, and the schedule has not been altered from the one presented during their up-fronts. Survivor: Gabon, the first edition of the reality series to be shot entirely in HD, will premiere a week earlier (on Thursday, September 18) than the bulk of the CBS schedule. Some shows, including CSI and Ghost Whisperer, will return later than usual to accommodate the Presidential Debates. Below you will find the full list of premiere dates for CBS's prime-time slate.
June 26, 2008
Jorja Fox left CSI last November, leaving fans with a promise that it wouldn’t be the last time they would see her character Sara Sidle. For seven months now, the 39-year-old actress has savored the “break from the commitment of a weekly television series.” Although not yet ready to do a new television show, she’s ready to hold up to the end of her bargain as she returns for the ninth season of CSI.
”It will be so hard to follow up CSI," Fox told TV Guide. "No matter what I do, it's big shoes to fill. If I'm going to do TV, then my loyalty and my heart belong to CSI."
Warning: May contain spoilers.