TV PRESSTOUR: Clues about new “CSI” character revealed

  CBS hasn’t yet announced William Petersen’s “CSI” replacement, but Nina Tassler, the network’s entertainment president, revealed some clues about the new character. And while she downplayed a reporter’s suggestion of the headline “Would-be serial killer joins ‘CSI,’” it does sound like the long-running series will be getting a little more “Dexter”-y.
  “They’ve created a great character. He’s a doctor, a scientist, who’s got a very interesting DNA that is going to inform the duality of the character,” she told reporters this morning.
  “What I know of him so far, and (executive producers Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar) are still working on him, he is an outsider coming into the CSI unit. He comes in not immediately as the boss. But he has an interesting genetic profile that in certain sort of medical contexts, they’ve noticed that many times serial killers have that same genetic profile. And this gentleman knows this about himself and is sort of on this journey to discover who his true character will ultimately become.”
  She also cautioned that while the new actor may be seen as a replacement for Petersen, the character won’t take over for Peterson’s Gil Grissom.
  “He will certainly be an actor of stature, but … when Grissom leaves, he’s the head of the unit. This character doesn’t come in at the beginning as the head of the unit. He comes in a little bit of an outsider, someone who is ultimately going to work his way up within the team and ultimately become the head of the unit.”
  Petersen is leaving after episode 10, so the new character will have to be introduced soon. “I think there are a couple of episodes they are going to be in together,” Tassler said. “Right now that’s the plan.”