Laurence Fishburne Officially Joins Cast of CSI

As we told you some time back, Laurence Fishburne was at the top of a very short list of actors who the producers of CSI wanted to land for the show now that William Peterson is leaving. Now we learn that Oscar nominee and Emmy and Tony Award winner Fishburne has made it official and will join the cast of the hit CBS television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. His character will debut in this season’s ninth episode.

Fishburne will play a former pathologist who is now working as an itinerant college lecturer, teaching a course in criminalistics. His focus is on understanding criminal behavior, how and why people commit acts of violence – tendencies he disturbingly sees within himself. In the course of a murder investigation, he comes into contact with the CSI team and ultimately joins the Las Vegas Crime Lab as a Level-1 CSI.

“CBS asked us, ‘Who’s at the top of your dream list?’ say CSI executive producers Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar. “Without hesitation, we said Laurence Fishburne. He is a powerful and intense actor, with an incredible range. We had the opportunity to see Mr. Fishburne in ‘Thurgood’ on Broadway a few weeks ago, and it was a truly profound experience. The actor disappeared and Thurgood Marshall was standing there on the stage. Mr. Fishburne is also a talented writer and director. If you distill CSI down to its essence, it’s a collaboration-and we are so looking forward to collaborating with Mr. Fishburne. For all of us at CSI, this is truly a dream.”

“I am elated and delighted to be joining the cast of CSI,” says Fishburne. “I look forward to a wonderful collaboration with the creative and talented team of such a successful and distinguished show,” he added.

Before I had said that it would take something like the casting of Fishburne to save the show now that Peterson is leaving. I still think it will take a lot of creative writing, but Fishburne definitely has the chops to make it work. I foresee the writers wrapping the show around him as much as possible and I think that’s probably a good thing at this point in time.

What do you think? Are you more likely to watch a Peterson-less CSI with Fishburne in a starring role?