William Peterson Leaving “CSI:” “Gil Grissom” “CSI” Exit

July 15th, 2008 by Castina

Tagged as: TV News

CSI staple William Petersen is leaving CBS’ forensic crime drama this season. The actor, well known for his role as philosophical science wiz Gil Grissom, will appear in his last scenes as a regular on the long-running series during the tenth episode of the season.

“Billy is leaving,” says CSI executive producer Carol Mendelsohn tells EW. “But he will remain throughout the run of the series an executive producer. And he will, whenever CBS asks, come back. I don’t think you’ve seen the last of Gil Grissom.”

William assures fans that he will return to CSI periodically for special guest appearances:

“I’m in a great place in terms of knowing that I’ll be more free to make choices. And I’m responsible enough to not do it in a way that would hurt [the show]….I want it to work for the writers, I want it to work for the cast, and, most importantly, I want it to work for the audience,” he added. “I don’t want them to abandon the show.”

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16 Responses to “William Peterson Leaving “CSI:” “Gil Grissom” “CSI” Exit”

On July 15th 2008, maybel nickell wrote:

i realy will miss william and i miss jorja fox they made the show i hope they will pick someone intersting.
On September 25th 2008, Edna Havens wrote:

The show is no good without Warrick anyway so if William Peterson leaves, might as well cancel the show.
On October 10th 2008, marie wrote:

I will continue to watch CSI as long as I know ” Grissom ” will be making guest appearances. He truly is a great actor & last nights performance of the eulogy to Warrick brought tears to my eyes.
I remember when William Petersen played in an old western, he was so young & naive looking, but I must say that he has grown more handsome with age. Goodbye Gil.
On November 28th 2008, salina lee wrote:

first sarah then warrick now grissom, I don’t like this,hope the show don’t change that much,I will continue to watch because i love the show even though all my favorite are gone,but if it change a lot then channel switching here i come.
On December 2nd 2008, Trish Schiesser wrote:

I think CSI is making a huge mistake in letting Grissom go. Warrick was a big mistake to kill off. Two fine, fine actors in a program which is one of the few (NCIS is great) decent shows left on television.
CSI Miami and CSI New York are terrible programs but CSI is the best.
On December 12th 2008, Cindy Yee wrote:

I am truly an advocate for CSI: Las Vegas with their orginal cast Gil, Sarah, Nick, Warrick, etc. The only thing that kept me watching CSI is the ray of hope that one day Sarah and Gil will seal their relationship. Since Sarah’s departure, I thought she would’ve returned. But now that Gil is leaving too, I am very disappointed in the writers of the show. If Gil leaves without closure with Sarah, I might just not watch CSI anymore. I don’t want to watch something that reminds me of disappointment.
On December 12th 2008, Kathy wrote:

I love CSI Vegas, and i will keep watching. I have always hoped that Gil and Willows would have sparked a relationship, they would have made a great couple. It will be sad to see Gil go though, but to know that he will be making appearances off and on is comforting. I am curious to see the role that L.Fishburne is going to play in this. Last nights episode was very intense. Don’t like the cliff hanger though!!!!
On December 19th 2008, Betsy wrote:

Huge mistake letting Grissom and Warrick go. The plotline has gone down immensely. I watch it just to see Brass now, but the show just isn’t well written anymore. And without Grissom I can’t imagine it.
On December 21st 2008, donna wrote:

Who will take his place? Where did Warrick go? Is the series coming to an end with major players leaving? This is the best CSI on TV what is going to happen?????
On December 26th 2008, Sara wrote:

They’re slowly switching out the whole original cast and it sucks!!! That new blonde’s character is dull and annoying. If they are trying to “Hollywood” it up, they’re screwing up. A cast of all “beautiful people” doesn’t make a show good. It sucked when Sarah left, was even worse when they killed off Warrick (although he was arrested in Palm Springs for drug related something or another), and now Grissom… Guest appearances aren’t enough… screw CSI now.
On January 1st 2009, shirley block wrote:

You are crazy to take Grissom out of the series! What a stupid thing to do. Watch your ratings go down the tubes.
On January 9th 2009, sue wrote:

big big big mistake, sara and warrick are gone and you cannot afford to lose grissom. i will not watch csi if he leaves. big ratings drop…..
On January 11th 2009, wayne van tassel wrote:

My wife and I really looked forward to Thursday nights, that was the one night we put the kids to bed and relax to watch a GREAT SHOW. What is to become of the show now with these new second rate actors?
On January 14th 2009, Joey wrote:

William Peterson (Grissom) CSI, has been the actor who every cast member seems to feel as though they can have a special connection. His departure from CSI will be greatly, greatly missed… I can not imagine watching the show without Gil Grissom….have to wait & see how it goes as the other characters are also special.
Good Luck to Peterson in his new endeavours…
Maybe he will have a new series to watch for some time in the future!!
On January 25th 2009, Debbie Zaiss wrote:

Grissom made this show and letting him go will make a big difference on your ratings. There are not many actors out there that can act like he does. And to replace him with someone else will never be the same.
On April 2nd 2009, Dee wrote:

There is nothing like the original cast. When the actors start leaving the show, & get replaced, it’s just not interesting to me anymore.