Last Remaining Original CSI Cast Member to Exit Series at Season's End

TVGuide reports exclusively that George Eads, the last remaining original cast member on CBS's CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION, will exit the drama at the end of the current season. The actor portrays CSI Nick Stokes on the show.

According to sources, Eads decision to leave the show was "amicable and that his character's exit will be connected to the resolution of the Gig Harbor Killer case." No details have been revealed as to how his character will be written out of the show. Eads has not commented on the report.

Eads joins fellow original cast members William Petersen, Gary Dourdan, Marg Helgenberger and Paul Guilfoyle who have all left the series. In 2004, Eads was temporarily fired from the series for not showing up for filming on the onset of Season 5. The actor, who was eventually allowed to return, had insisted his tardiness was due to oversleeping.

About the show:

CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION is a drama about a team of forensic investigators trained to solve crimes by examining the evidence. They are on the case 24/7, scouring the scene, collecting the irrefutable evidence and finding the missing pieces that will solve the mystery. D.B. Russell, the CSI Supervisor for the grave shift, is a family man and scientist. Son of hippie parents, he's a left-coast SHERLOCK Holmes who devours crime novels and looks at every crime scene as if it were a story waiting to be told. The team's other members include CSI Julie Finlay, a blood spatter expert who always speaks her mind, regardless of the consequences; Nick Stokes, often driven by his emotional connection to the victim to always get the job done; Sara Sidle, RELENTLESS in her pursuit of criminals and the moral compass of the team; Greg Sanders, once an off-beat tech analyst and now an experienced and intuitive crime solver; and Morgan Brody, an exile from the Los Angeles Crime Lab and the daughter of Undersheriff Ecklie. She's a natural-born investigator who still has a lot to learn about department politics and family. The CSI team members work closely with Dr. Albert Robbins, the ever-professional medical examiner; his wise-cracking assistant, David Phillips, and the CSI Lab Technicians: David Hodges, a tech of many talents who often rubs people the wrong way, but never fails to deliver, and Henry Andrews, the DNA specialist who always cracks the code.