CBS announced today it will renew 11 series for the 2008-2009, but “The Unit” and “Shark” don’t seem to appear on this list.
The shows you will see in the fall are: “Cold Case,” “Criminal Minds,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “CSI: Miami,” “CSI: NY,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “NCIS,” “Numb3rs,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Without a Trace” and “The Big Bang Theory.”
Those series join previously announced ‘”Survivor” and “The Amazing Race”.
Want to know who’s who when your CBS shows come back this month? We also discover that there is life after “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” for one actor.
Here’s a quick rundown from the network:
CRIMINAL MINDS Wednesdays, 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT
Emmy Award nominee JOE MANTEGNA will join the cast of CRIMINAL MINDS starring as FBI Special Agent David Rossi, an original member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit who took early retirement to go on lecture and book tours, and has volunteered to return to the unit.
Mantegna is scheduled to make his first appearance in the sixth episode of the season.
“We are all THRILLED to have Joe Mantegna joining our family. He’s an incredible actor, a genuinely nice person and, as a fellow Chicagoan, I can tell you he makes fantastic Italian Beef sandwiches and Chicago Style Hot Dogs,” said Executive Producer Ed Bernero.
And the reliable actor isn’t likely to skip out on the show like Mandy Patinkin.
CSI: NY Wednesdays, 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT
A.J. BUCKLEY will become a series regular after recurring for two seasons as Adam Ross, a CSI Tech guru out of Seattle. Specializing in Computer Forensics, Ross is the go-to scientist for the latest technological applications needed to solve crimes in Manhattan.
“He was hired by Mac Taylor to stay ‘one step ahead’ of the criminals in New York City, who often use more complicated technology than the average crime lab in the country. Therefore, Ross is the X-factor in crime solving and necessary ‘ringer’ to fight the most complex and sophisticated crimes,” said Anthony E. Zuiker, Creator and Executive Producer of the CSI Franchise.
GHOST WHISPERER Fridays, 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT
JAY MOHR will become a series regular, playing Professor Payne who provides an encyclopedic knowledge of the spirit world, as well as genuine concern for Melinda’s (Jennifer Love Hewitt) safety as she puts herself in ever greater danger to protect those she cares about — even though he hides his concern behind an ever-present irreverent sense of humor.
“We’re thrilled to have Jay as a series regular this year. He’s a terrific actor who is fun to work with for the same reasons he’s fun to watch: he brings humor, energy, creativity and spontaneity to the set and to his role. He also brings sports commentary and sometimes donuts,” says Executive Producer P.K. Simonds.
SHARK Sundays, 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT
KEVIN ALEJANDRO joins the cast as Sebastian’s (James Woods) newest team member Danny Reyes, an edgy and aggressive young deputy district attorney who earned his stripes in the Organized Crime Unit.
“Kevin Alejandro is an incredibly dynamic and intelligent actor who brings great energy and attitude to the legal team,” says Executive Producer/Creator Ian Biederman. “Danny plays by his own rules — which both endears him to Sebastian and creates great conflict.”
NEW RECURRING CAST MEMBERS:
SHARK Sundays, 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT
KEVIN POLLAK joins the series in the recurring role of brash and cunning newly elected District Attorney Leo Cutler.
“Kevin Pollak is a superb actor who infuses the role of Leo Cutler with wit and a moral ambiguity that is a perfect fit for the show. Leo’s an outstanding foil for Sebastian and the team,” says Executive Producer/Creator Ian Biederman.
WITHOUT A TRACE Thursdays, 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT
Golden Globe nominee HENRY THOMAS (“E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Gangs of New York”) will join the series in a recurring role as Jack’s (Anthony LaPaglia) evil nemesis, and the leader of a human trafficking group who the FBI team is pursuing.
GUEST STARS:
CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION Thursdays, 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT
JESSICA LUCAS (“The Covenant,” “The L Word”) is set to guest star in four episodes of CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION beginning Thursday, Oct. 11. She plays the role of Veronica Lake, aka “Ronnie,” a young, overzealous new CSI in training, who is extremely bright, albeit naïve. After graduating from one of the top criminalistics programs in the country, she was offered positions at numerous crime labs, but chose Vegas due to its increase in crime rates. Now that she’s entered the throws of solving real crimes, she’s about to find out that in searching for the perpetrator of a crime, she could easily become his next victim.
WITHOUT A TRACE Thursdays, 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT
JAMES MARSTERS (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel”) will guest star in a five episode arc beginning with the season premiere on Thursday, Sept. 27. He will play Grant Mars, a detective who helps Vivian (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) with an unsolved case.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT Mondays, 9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT
Golden Globe nominee HEATHER LOCKLEAR (“Spin City”) will guest star in two episodes later this season as Barbara, the sister of Audrey (Megyn Price) who comes to town to visit. During her stay, Barbara announces that her marriage, which Audrey has always idealized, may be over. While Audrey has a difficult time dealing with the news, she is even more surprised to learn that her sister has agreed to go on a date with Russell (David Spade).
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We’re not saying anything against Mandy Patinkin, we’ll let his co-stars like Shemar Moore do that.
Shemar railed against Mandy when he decided to simply not show up for work, quitting and leaving the cast and crew in the lurch.
“I don’t think it’s right. He left us hanging… no warning, no nothing. We all showed up to work on Day 1, and he didn’t,” a testy Shemar told a group of reporters during a CBS party last month. “He needs to take responsibility for his actions. (We’re) an ensemble, a team. We just want the courtesy and the respect that we deserve. And we felt like if he had given us that initially, this would be much easier to deal with. He essentially just slapped us in the face.”
Mandy will never work in this town again. Except maybe. Because he quit CBS’ “Chicago Hope” in 1995 after one season, then returned in 1999 for the final season. And CBS execs say he’ll come back to do at least a scene that ties up his character.
But enough about the old, now we’ve got the new: Joe Mantegna will join the cast as FBI Special Agent David Rossi, making his first appearance in the fifth episode of the season.
Here’s our Joe!
“We are all THRILLED (yep, they used capitals in the press release) to have Joe Mantegna joining our family. He’s an incredible actor, a genuinely nice person and, as a fellow Chicagoan, I can tell you he makes fantastic Italian Beef sandwiches and Chicago Style Hot Dogs,” said Executive Producer Ed Bernero.
Special Agent Rossi is an original member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit who took early retirement to go on lecture and book tours, and has volunteered to return to the unit.
Joe wowed us this summer in the miniseries “The Starter Wife,” which earned him an Emmy nomination. He also won a Tony Award for her performance in “Glengarry Glen Ross.”
His credits include the CBS series “Joan of Arcadia,” and we’d like to note that he has never once walked off a TV series.
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So you may have seen those pictures splashed across the tabloids of “Criminal Minds” co-star Shemar Moore.
NOT THE NAKED PHOTO OF SHEMAR
The story that goes with those tabloid photos is that Shemar was at a gay beach in Maui and flashing his equipment for all to see.
“There’s a nude beach that we went to that day. There were men, women, children, all there,” Shemar explains. “But as I understand it, there’s an area a little bit away from there that is known as a gay beach and we were in that area when the pictures were taken.”
Now, Shemar doesn’t deny he was naked on that beach about a year ago, but he says he was with two girlfriends who were cut out of the picture.
“I’m not gay,” says Shemar. “My godfather was gay and died of AIDS. So I’m not saying there’s anything wrong in being gay, I’m just not. I’m a straight man who enjoys being naked.”
While he pondered who could have possibly taken his picture on this very public beach in Kihei, Maui, he didn’t address the question if perhaps it could have been an angry girlfriend.
In any case, Shemar has a reputation for liking to take his shirt off at public events at every opportunity. And he says he likes to bbq for pals in his own backyard sans clothing.
Which sounds really dangerous to us.
All anyone really wants to know is why he stuck around as long as he did.
Mandy Patinkin asked to be let out of his contract with ABC Studios and CBS, so he can leave the wildly successful CBS series “Criminal Minds.”
MANDY PATINKIN
In a statement from the studio and network, the word was that this was “not in any way connected to contract renegotiations or salary issues. His departure from the series will be explained to audiences in an episode to be filmed in the near future and broadcast early next season.
“We thank Mandy for helping to make Criminal Minds a strong and successful series, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. A new character will be added to the series for next season.”
As for Patinkin, his statement reads, in part:
“Due to creative differences, Mandy has asked not to return to Criminal Minds this season. Mandy would like to thank the studios and network for releasing him from the series and he wishes the cast and crew continued success in all of their endeavors and looks forward to continuing to work with the Disney and CBS companies in other capacities in the future.”
“This isn’t the first time,” deadpans Adam Arkin, who co-starred with Patinkin on the CBS series “Chicago Hope” and happened to be in the position of chatting about Patinkin when he appeared on a panel in front of TV critics gathered at the summer press tour.
Patinkin quit CBS’ “Chicago Hope” in 1995 after one season, then returned in 1999 for the final season. Critics gathered in Los Angeles for the summer TV critics press tour figured something was up with Patinkin when he was a no-show for a PBS panel.
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