CSI Season 12 DVD Box Set
Now, however, in a clever piece of casting (that may just be the spark needed to get over the absence of a particular cast member), CSI has chosen to bring television veteran Ted Danson to the scene of the crime.
Danson’s role will be more akin to Peterson’s Gil Grissom, and less that of Fishburne’s darker Ray Langston character. According to the network’s announcement, “He comes to the team as they are still grappling with the professional and personal fallout from last season’s take-down of serial killer, Nate Haskell.”
Danson is best remembered for his Emmy winning role on the long-running NBC sitcom Cheers. In fact, Danson was nominated 11 years in a row for his portrayal of former major-league-pitcher-turned-bar-owner Sam Malone (he won twice).

After Cheers, Danson worked at CBS on the sitcom Becker, then the short-lived sitcom Ink. The actor briefly jumped to ABC for Help Me Help You, but like Ink, the show didn’t go anywhere. Recently, Danson won acclaim (and yet another Emmy nomination) for his role in the former FX series As of late, however, he’s been hanging with the HBO crowd – in appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm and sharing the screen with Jason Schwartzman and Zach Galifianakis on Bored to Death.
Whatever the case may be, the fact remains that CSI is the most watched show in the world. That alone bolsters the belief held by both CBS and the show’s producers that there is enough left in the tank for a few more laps around the track.