William Petersen Staying On CSI Another Year

CSI star William Petersen has signed a deal to return for the crime drama’s ninth season. Under a one-year deal with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation producer CBS Paramount Network TV, Petersen will appear in a reduced number of episodes for a salary said to be in the neighborhood of $600,000 an episode. Petersen, who was reportedly earning about $500,000 per episode, making him one of the highest-paid primetime actors, also serves as an executive producer on the show.

Petersen had requested a reduced workload to accommodate his work in the play Dublin Carol. He took a break to appear in the production of the Christmas-themed play in Providence, R.I., last season when Liev Schreiber subbed for him on CSI. This time, Petersen will be putting Carol up in his hometown of Chicago. It will run at the Upstairs Theatre from November 13-December 21.

Despite the fact that CSI is a procedural in which character development take a back seat to crime-solving, Petersen’s Gil Grissom has betrayed some complex sides. Petersen was the first one cast in the project, picking CSI creator Anthony Zuiker’s script among dozens as his starring vehicle under his deal with CBS. CSI recently lost original cast member Jorja Fox, who exited in November.