TV PRESS TOUR: “CSI” will survive Petersen’s exit
Being at a TV press tour, you’d think William Petersen’s leaving “CSI” would be huge, earth-shattering news. But it’s not. Thanks to the timing of the announcement, today and Thursday are ABC’s days, so those of us here are pretty busy trying to make sense out of the network’s two new series: the Ashton Kutcher-produced game show “Opportunity Knocks,” which we’ve seen only clips of, and the remake of the BBC’s “Life on Mars,” which not only hasn’t been filmed, but only three roles of the ensemble have been cast.
Friday, when it’s CBS’ turn? It’ll be major. Ginormous even. All sorts of “Is the sky falling?” type questions followed by “The show will be just fine” responses. And it’s true. As much as Petersen has become an integral part of CBS, “CSI” will keep chugging right along. The series is all about the forensics and the tests being run, not about the people running them. “CSI: Miami” and “CSI: NY” basically are the same shows, just without Petersen, and they seem to be doing pretty well.
The actor has been grumbling about wanting out of his contract for more than four years now, and he never truly seemed happy. So maybe it’s time. When he took a few episodes off to do a play last season, viewers still tuned in to see Liev Schreiber fill in for him. And with the caliber of names CBS is pursuing -- Kurt Russell, Laurence Fishburne and John Malkovich, the last of whom reportedly had scheduling issues and passed -- the change could reinvigorate the aging drama.
And when you factor in the kind of ratings bump “CSI” will get once the network starts the “say goodbye to a trusted friend”-style promos, plus the interest someone the caliber of Fishburne would generate in casual fans or even nonfans, I don’t think CBS is all that shaken.
I’ve been saying for years it’s time for Russell to work in TV, but I don’t think “CSI” is the right fit. But Fishburne makes sense on so many levels. I'm betting on CBS to make that announcement first thing Friday morning to kick off its panels.
