Rade Serbedzija [Photo: Bauer-Griffin]

Diddy [Photo: Bauer-Griffin]

It seems that spoilers for CSI: Miami are all over today. Here’s a hat trick of them for you! The first one is a notice of a new guest cast member. …Horatio just keeps having to fight the Russian mob… Who knew there was so much of that in Miami?

Spoiler:
Rade Serbedzija will appear in an upcoming episode of CSI: Miami. “I will play the role of agent Aleksandar Sarapov in CSI: Miami, a Russian who grew up in Texas, so the role is very complex, because some consider him a Russian, and other think of him as an American,” Serbedzija told Blic Online. [Source: CSI Files]

And this is a spoiler from Kristin that gives us a bit more information about Diddy’s upcoming guest appearance on CSI: Miami. Go figure…he’s going to play an arrogant lawyer. I’m not sure he’ll even have to really act for this one… Don’t get me wrong, I respect the man. He’s very talented, but he does have a bit of an ego. If you know what I mean.

Spoiler:
Kristen in Missouri: CSI: Miami scoop?
P. Diddy’s guest spot is set to air on Feb. 9. As I reported before, Diddy plays a lawyer who goes head-to-head with Horatio (David Caruso). Says Diddy, “I’m a very, very wise lawyer. I understand the law, understand how it works, its imperfections, its limitations, and I know how to use them to my advantage. I know how to work the system. I’m just a very know-it-all, arrogant lawyer.” So who will win the battle of Caine v. Combs? “At the end of the day, it’s his show, so at the end of the day he’s going to win, but I’m giving him a run for his money as far as being his nemesis,” adds Diddy. [Source: E! Online]

And even though I am unable to find a photo of Dave Benton, if he does become a new lab rat, I’ll definitely be able to find them then. I guess that character would be recurring, but not in every episode like Archie Kao is for CSI: Vegas. It should be interesting to see a new lab rat in Miami.

Spoiler:
Question: Anything on CSI: Miami? — Tim
Ausiello: Only that the show is casting a new lab rat who just might become a new recurring techie. According to my sources, said newbie Dave Benton — a twentysomething who’s like a cross between Dave Navarro and Mr. Wizard — helps Ryan crack a case. [Source: EW]

CSI: Vegas - Episode 9.10 - One to Go
Air Date: January 15, 2009

This Thursday we will see Gil Grissom leave CSI: Vegas. CBS will air part on of the episode, 19 Down, then follow with the new episode coninuation, One to Go. There’s a lot of speculation around about what we can expect from that evening, and who better to taunt us with a spoiler than Michael Ausiello… Here’s the latest from him:

Spoiler:
Question: Any scoop on Grissom’s last episode of CSI? — Nicole
Ausiello: Just a tip: Set your DVR to record a few minutes past 10 pm on Jan. 15, just as a precaution. You do not want to miss the final scene. Trust me. Also, you’ll want to pick up a copy of the new EW when it goes on sale this Friday. I think you’ll fancy the cover subject. [Source: EW]

I was heartbroken when I read this from Michael Ausiello at EW.com. He says that there may have been a way for CSI: Vegas to keep William Petersen in the show’s cast. Why didn’t they think of this back then? And, hey, why don’t they come up with something like this now!?!

See what I mean:

Question: Can you give me a CSI: Miami Scoop? — Bryan

Ausiello: Would you settle for something on the mothership? ‘Cause I was just combing through the transcript from my month-old exit interview with William Petersen and stumbled upon this tasty little morsel: Turns out, a dream scenario existed that might have kept Petersen on CSI. Unfortunately, it died two years ago with Liev Schreiber’s character. You see, had the show kept Keppler alive, Petersen (only half-jokingly) said he and Schreiber “could have swapped every four months. He does a play, I do CSI. I do a play, he does CSI. It would’ve been like a professional relationship between two scientists that go off on field trips and sabbaticals and then come back. But I don’t know that the network would have wanted that.” All of this begs the question: What the hell else is in that transcript?!

[Photo: © 2008 CTV]

We’ve been told that Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) will be back in CSI: Vegas season 8 for at least the first episode For Warrick. But the number of episodes she will be in has not been revealed to us until now. Here’s what Michael Ausiello has to say about it in his usual evasive style:

Question: Please set the record straight. Is Jorja Fox doing just the season premiere of CSI, or will she be in additional episodes? — Shane
Ausiello: I don’t want to give away the exact number, so let’s just say she’s doing two more than Gary Dourdan and seven less than William Petersen.

[Photo: © 2008 CTV]

I know, I’m still trying to digest the news that William Petersen is leaving the cast mid-season. So now I guess it’s important to find out how the writers & producers plan to handle all the big changes to CSI: Vegas’ cast in season 9.

Executive Producer for the show, Carol Mendelsohn, told the plans for the show to Michael Ausiello over at EW.com. Last season, Sara (Jorja Fox) left the show, then the finale saw the brutal shooting of Warrick (Gary Dourdan.) Now with Grissom (William Petersen) leaving, they have a lot of changes in store for us! Here’s the run-down of what we will need to expect in CSI season 9:

• We’ve already been told that Jorja Fox will be back for the season premiere, but now we find out that she will be in several of season 9’s episodes. I’ll report the details to you as they are released.
• Gary Dourdan will be back for the premiere only. According to Mendelsohn, “We’re not saying whether or not Warrick lives or dies, but we will say that the premiere may be the last time our loyal fans see the entire original CSI cast together.”
• Lauren Lee Smith (The L Word) joins the cast in the third episode as new CSI Riley Adams. Carol Mendelsohn: “She has a very distinct personality… a very wry sense of humor. She doesn’t take herself too seriously.” Executive producer Naren Shankar: “This is a person who, unlike the rest of our gang, has not had Grissom as a mentor. So there’s a very different relationship between Riley and Grissom.”
• A new male CSI, a professor of pathology will enter the cast sometime during the season. We don’t know the actor who will play this Grissom replacement yet, but the show has considered the likes of John Malkovich and Laurence Fishburne. This CSI may not be a supervisor like Grissom, but will fill the hole in the cast left by him. The character is said to also have “a very rare genetic abnormality,” whatever that means.
• Liz Vassey (lab rat Wendy) and David Berman (coroner David) will become regulars each week and Hodges (Wallace Langham) will have a more integral part in the cast.
• Somehow, the Miniature Killer will make another appearance and Grissom will be involved with that. (Very cool!)

I’m worried about the future of the show, but know that major cast changes were inevitable at some point. Hopefully, the integrity of the show will remain and we will come to love the new CSI as much as before. But don’t worry, as more information is released, I’ll report it here.

[Photo: © CTV]