'CSI' premiered in 2000 and quickly became a hit television staple, spawning numerous
spin-offs for various cities. But with all that success, why have so many stars left
the 'CSI' franchise? We'll tell you exactly why they decided to hang up their badges.
For nine seasons, Gil Grissom led the "CSI" team in investigating some of Las Vegas' most
gruesome crimes. The socially awkward, witty cop was a fan favorite and has repeatedly
been voted one of TV's top sleuths. So, it came as a shock to many when William Petersen
announced he was leaving "CSI" in 2009.
The actor told Entertainment Weekly -
"The reason I'm leaving is because I'm afraid I'm becoming too comfortable. It's 'CSI' — they
pay me a lot of money, and I don't have to work very hard anymore. I've got it all figured
out. And I just realized, God, as an artist, I'm going to atrophy."
Petersen expressed that he wasn't interested in keeping the job for money or convenience,
saying -
"It was too safe for me at this point. So I needed to try and break that, and the way
to do that, for me, is the theater."
Unlike many of his cast mates, Petersen didn't seem especially sad to leave his character
behind, telling Entertainment Weekly -
"I won't miss Grissom […] And I hope that the audience won't miss him either."
The audience, however, did seem to miss the unflappable leader, with 23 million viewers
tuning in for William Petersen's final episode.
Some "CSI" stars' exits have been bitter, but Marg Helgenberger's departure was not
among them. After her character, Catherine Willows, was promoted to night-shift supervisor,
Helgenberger spent three years leading the cast, leaving in the middle of Season 12.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Helgenberger said of leaving the series,
"I instinctively felt it was time to end that chapter of my career. I'm 53 now, and I feel
like I'm still young enough to switch it up."
Although she decided to ultimately trust her gut and say goodbye to her character and the
work, leaving wasn't easy.
"So I'm, you know, very aware of how special it's been so that's - that's the way I'm feeling."
The actor noted that she enjoyed her time with the cast and with the show. Her son,
Hugh, with whom she shares a close relationship, was working in the "CSI" production offices
at the time, and we can't imagine that losing that working relationship was easy on the
pair.
Lauren Lee Smith spent only a single season on "CSI" before getting the boot. The decision
came from upstairs, with producer Naren Shankar explaining to TV Guide -
"It was an issue of how we were feeling the ensemble was working. When we brought in the
character of Riley, it got lost in the shuffle a little bit because we had lost Warwick,
we had lost Sara, and then in the middle of last season Grissom finally left. I think,
as a result, the character never quite found its footing in terms of the rest of the gang."
Smith seemed to enjoy her time on the series, regardless of the duration. She praised her
good fortune in an interview with CBS that she was able to join the show and credited
the cast and crew for making her feel welcome.
Another actor with a short-lived stint on "CSI" is Laurence Fishburne, who departed
after only two-and-a-half seasons. The network didn't seem all that surprised when Fishburne
opted out of renewing his contract in 2011. An insider explained to Deadline -
"Nobody expected him to be on the show for seven years, it's Laurence Fishburne."
Even though his time as Raymond Langston was brief, there are no hard feelings between
the actor and the franchise. Since his departure, the actor has mostly returned to film work,
though he has done significant stints on series like "Black-ish and "Hannibal". Unfortunately
for Fishburne fans the world over, he has not appeared in either the "CSI" or "The Matrix"
revivals.
Jorja Fox left "CSI" twice: once of her own volition, and once against her will. In 2004,
the actor took what amounted to a brief sabbatical after contract negotiations went awry. According
to Variety, a misunderstanding about her willingness to sign a letter saying that she wouldn't
skip work as a salary negotiation tactic led to CBS firing Fox, only to rehire her soon
after the incident.
Things went smoothly from there, until 2007, when Fox decided she'd be leaving the series
for good. She elaborated on her choice to Entertainment Weekly, saying -
"It's one of the hardest decisions I've made in my life. It has nothing to do with my contract,
nothing to do with money. […] There are so many things I want to do! Some are personal.
Some are professional. And I really need to do some of them before I get too old."
Fox was able to reprise her role, however, for the 2021 "CSI: Vegas" revival series.
Kim Delaney was the first actor fired from "CSI: Miami." After just 10 episodes, CBS
announced that Delaney, who played Megan Donner, was being written out of the show. The reason
behind the drastic move? Per Entertainment Weekly, there was an apparent lack of chemistry
between Delaney and the cast.
"See if you can find me a copy of the flight plan."
"It's nice to see you too."
An alumnus of another crime procedural, "NYPD Blue," Delaney was a late addition to the
"Miami" cast. Fans were originally ecstatic about her casting, hoping that the leading
duo of Delaney and David Caruso would click in the same way Marg Helgenberger and William
Petersen had on the original "CSI." In the end, however, it didn't pan out that way.
CBS issued a statement that said -
"The network, the production companies, and the producers jointly arrived at this decision
upon recognizing that the character of Megan Donner was becoming less integral to the series
as the season progressed."
For years, Khandi Alexander played the sweet-talking, empathetic medical examiner on "CSI: Miami."
Then, in 2010, she shocked fans by hanging up the scalpel and riding off into the sunset.
The decision seems to have been entirely her own so that she could reportedly pursue new
and more creatively challenging roles.
Alexander jumped right into her next project, HBO's "Treme." And from there, she spent five
years playing Maya Pope on "Scandal." In an interview with The World, Alexander recounted
how she had not seen any, quote, "consistent through-line of employment for Black actresses,"
which led her to doubt, for years, whether she could make a real career out of the small
screen. This fact underscores just how important her role, and the representation it provided,
was.
A star who had a more brief tenure on "CSI: Miami" is Eddie Cibrian, who was fired after
just one season. A few months after joining the cast in 2009, CBS announced that they
wouldn't be renewing his contract.
Though the studio declined to comment on the decision, Deadline claimed that the return
of original cast member Adam Rodriguez was the primary driver in deciding to drop Cibrian
as a regular.
Fans had been split on Cibrian's character, Jesse Cardoza, who is perhaps best described
as morally gray. However, Cibrian held firmly to the belief that he was ultimately a hero,
telling TV Guide -
"Jesse was always a good cop and still is a good cop"
One of the franchise's more private stars, Louise Lombard, hasn't ever been particularly
forthcoming about her reasons for leaving the "CSI" franchise in Season 8. A 2011 interview
with fan site CSI Files, after Lombard's surprise guest appearance in a Season 11 episode, might
help shine a little light on her decision. She said -
"I joined the show when I was pregnant with my first child and had a nursery set up in
my trailer after he was born. So my time on 'CSI,' playing Sofia Curtis holds a special
place in my heart."
Whatever her reasons, it doesn't seem that she's entirely ruled out appearing in the
franchise at any point in the future. In the same interview, she emphasized how much she
loved the series, producers, and her cast mates. In reference to her 2011 guest appearance,
Lombard said she loved executive producer Carol Mendelsohn as well as the series.
Liz Vassey found herself let go from "CSI" in 2010 after CBS opted not to renew her contract.
Per Entertainment Weekly's source at the time, the decision was made in favor of, quote,
"a different creative direction." It came as a total surprise to both the actor and
her fans, especially because her character, Wendy Simms, had seemingly been on the verge
of a relationship with fellow investigator David Hodges.
The news of Vassey's departure caused a bit of a hullabaloo after it was leaked via a
Facebook post from her private account, but in an interview with CSI Files, the actor
has seemed open to returning to the series, so perhaps a "CSI: Vegas" appearance isn't
out of the question.
Gary Dourdan's "CSI" character, Warrick Brown, was complicated — a devoted cop who struggled
with a gambling addiction and had difficulty maintaining intimate relationships.
"Twenty bucks, by the end of shift, I'm the man."
"Is there anything you won't bet on?"
"Nah. It's college football season man. I won 8 of 10 this weekend."
It was this multifaceted nature that drew Dourdan to the character in the first place.
He told Red Carpet News -
"When I got the show, it was a great challenge. To be an actor and to be in a drama, you want
to be able to play a character that has dimensions, and I was able to do that with that show."
It seemed that the thrill of the challenge wore off, and Dourdan announced he was leaving
"CSI" at the beginning of Season 9. Entertainment Weekly reported that his exit was a mutual
decision between CBS/Paramount and the actor. The reasoning behind Dourdan's on-screen death
is unclear. The actor was arrested in 2008 on drug possession charges, but his exit from
"CSI" was reportedly announced before his arrest.
One of the very few "CSI" actors to last all 15 seasons of the show's original run, George
Eads never technically left the series. However, he did take two notable leaves of absence
for two very different reasons.
The first came at the start of Season 5, when he was fired after missing the first day of
filming. Eads claimed he had merely overslept, while CBS viewed the incident as a dispute
over his salary. Eventually, Eads was rehired at his original salary. Then, at the start
of Season 13, Eads once again missed several episodes after getting in a heated argument
with a pregnant writer.
Despite the drama the actor continued to portray Nick Stokes to the very end. But his endurance
might have been more a twist of fate than actual dedication. In late 2014, Eads announced
that "CSI's" 15th season would be his last, but eventually, CBS reported that they'd be
ending the series altogether.
By Season 14 of "CSI," Paul Guilfoyle, aka Captain Jim Brass, was one of the last original
cast members remaining on the series. Over his years on the show, Guilfoyle had starred
in more than 300 episodes, an impressive feat for any actor.
It came as a shock to Guilfoyle and fans alike when CBS executives announced he'd be making
his departure at the end of that season. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the decision was the
producers' call, and while no specific reasons were given, we can only assume it was because
they felt the character had reached the end of his arc.
After many other projects in his career, Guilfoyle returned to the role of Jim Brass in 2021
for "CSI: Vegas."
After six years of fighting crime on "CSI: New York," Melina Kanakaredes decided to turn
in her badge and pursue other opportunities. We know the decision was hers, thanks to a
statement from CBS that said in part -
"We hoped Melina would return to 'CSI: NY' for another season, but respect her decision
to move on."
The "why" behind the exit is murky.
Kanakaredes' own statement doesn't offer many clues. Per Deadline, the actor simply said
-
"I made some amazing and lifelong friendships during my six seasons on 'CSI: NY,' and I
will treasure them forever!"
However, Forbes reported that the actor's move likely had something to do with money.
Apparently, Kanakaredes was only making $200,000 an episode, which was significantly less than
her co-star Gary Sinise, who was making at least $250,000 an episode.
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