Various sources confirmed Tuesday that Laurence Fishburne will not renew his deal to continue as the lead on CBS’ veteran procedural “CSI.”
The show, which has seen its ratings decline following the replacement of William Petersen with Fishburne, exits its long-standing Thursday night timeslot this fall. Faced with struggling ratings for the series, CBS decided to move “CSI” to Wednesdays at 10PM, clearing the 9PM slot on Thursdays for new series “Person of Interest.”
Fishburne’s recent contract renewal kept him on board for last season, which brought his lifespan on the show to about two-and-a-half seasons. Specifics regarding talks of extending Fishburne’s deal through next season, which are obviously moot at this point, have not yet emerged.
Deadline, however, notes that executives on the show were not caught off-guard by his departure.
Co-star Marg Helgenberger has also talked about her role reaching its end-date, although the expectation is that she will be back in at least some capacity next season. Obviously, the various “CSI” casting developments suggest new characters could be entering the fold.
