CSI is about lose another of its original cast members.
George Eads, who has played criminalist Nick Stokes on the veteran CBS procedural since the pilot in 2000, is set to exit CSI at the end of this season, TVWise has confirmed.
He becomes the fifth member of the original cast to leave the series, following in the footsteps of William Peterson, Gary Dourdan, Marg Helgenberger and, most recently, Paul Guilfoyle – who exited his role as LVPD Homicide Captain Jim Brass at the end of the show’s fourteenth season.
Very little is known about how the producers will deal with the departure of the character, but TV Guide reports that it will be connected to the resolution of the Gig Harbor Killer case, which became a key story arc this season beginning with the season premiere.
Eads’ pending exit comes after he was sidelined from a number of episodes last season after a run in with one of the writers. That was, however, not the first issue Eads has faced in his time on CSI. He was fired in 2004 after demanding a pay increase and failing to show up to work, only to be re-hired shortly thereafter once a deal had been reached with series producers CBS Television Studios.
