CSI: With or Without Marg?
The original interview was published in the French Télé 7 Jours magazine, issue dated May 14-20, 2011. This English version was translated by Angela.
Revelations from the showrunner.
By F. Rapilly, L. Casanova and E. Ducasse | Translated by Angela
Télé 7 Jours – May 14-20, 2011
Over 10 years after its creation, CSI is still the second most watched show in the world. Yet, it is looking for a new breath. Marg Helgenberger, who just spent a few day in Paris, still hasn’t re-signed for the new season. How is the show going to evolve? Is it ever going to make a stop in Paris?
As TF1 started airing the 10th season of CSI recently, the finale of season 11 will be aired in the U.S. on May 12. In recent years, several significant faces (Gary Dourdan, William Petersen, Jorja Fox…) left the show —their choices or not— to work on other projects. Since two years ago, Marg Helgenberger, 52, who plays Catherine Willows, night shift supervisor of the Las Vegas CSI unit, has been saying that she’s “tired”. Last July, she even announced that she would leave the show this spring. Télé 7 Jours talked exclusively to executive producer Carol Mendelsohn (co-creator of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY), who runs the writer team of CSI.
How are things with Marg Helgenberger? Is she returning as Catherine Willows in the 12th season?
Carol Mendelsohn: Every year, when a season ends, the new contracts are negotiated between the actors and the CBS network. The last episode of the 11th season will be aired on Thursday, May 12 in the United States. I hope that Marg will stay with us. We’ll do everything to keep her on the show.
What if Marg chose not to stay? Would it be a disaster for the future of the show?
I don’t want to think about that. We’re like a big family. Since the show was created, we’ve filmed about 250 episodes together…
What would happen if Marg, one of the lead actors, decided to quit now?
You know, several actors already left and the show is still going strong.
When will you know whether Marg will be back in season 12?
Negotiations will probably go on until late May so we should know at the beginning of June. This is the time when the writers return to work. They usually have a month to write the first episodes and then we resume filming in mid-July.
Give us at least one scoop on next season!
Since you insist… Let me think. Okay, no one knows about it yet but the new season will be focused a lot on the comeback of that slick, elusive and all dressed-in-latex serial killer called Sqweegel. This character was created by Anthony Zuiker, the creator of the show, for his book Level 26. We saw this killer in the 4th episode of season 11 (unseen in France, the episode aired in October 2010 on CBS).
Anthony Zuiker said that he wanted to use this character in an upcoming CSI movie. Is a CSI movie still in the works?
I’m sure there will be a movie. When? I don’t know yet.
We heard that you wanted to film it in Paris. Is that true?
It is just a plan so far, but we talk a lot about it with William Petersen (who played Gil Grissom and left the show during season 9). We’re also working on doing one episode that would take place in Paris.
Will Gary Dourdan, who was fired from the show in 2008 due to bad behaviors, come back?
His character, Warrick Brown, died in season 9, but everything is possible. He could come back in dream sequences or something like that. I’m going to start thinking about it now that you mentioned it.
In the U.S., the ratings regularly drop on CBS. They went from 23.7 million viewers in 2000 to an average of 13.6 million in 2011. What are your solutions to stop the decline?
I don’t agree on the term decline. People don’t watch television the way they use to. Today they can either record the episodes, or watch them online or on their iPad. Generally, the show is still largely watched (in 2009, each episode was seen by 73.9 million viewers worldwide). In season 11, we invited Justin Bieber, who is a fan of the show, to join us, as well as Dita von Teese. The show is still very popular and is as exciting to do as it was during the first season. We came back to the roots of the show by creating mysterious, dark and complex plots.
The last time we spoke with Anthony Zuiker for Télé 7 Jours, we suggested him a cross-over between CSI and The Mentalist. Is that ever going to happen?
He didn’t tell me about that, but it’s definitely possible. Is The Mentalist popular in France?
Yes. It’s one of the best rated shows on TF1!
I need to talk to Anthony about it, then.
There are two CSI spinoffs already (CSI: Miami and CSI: NY). Are you planning to develop another spinoff in the U.S.?
In season 11, one of our last episodes will take our investigators to Los Angeles to look for a serial killer. They will meet a new character there, Morgan Brody (played by Elisabeth Harnois), their alter ego in California, who is also a crime scene investigator. We’ll see her often in season 12 as well. However, whether there will be a new CSI spinoff such as CSI: Los Angeles is up to CBS. Personally, I prefer having CSI: Paris. That would be much more original.
Do you already have a cast in mind?
What is the name of this French actor? Oh, yes, Jean Reno. And the one who played Edith Piaf, she’s fantastic…Marion Cotillard! But I guess she’s unavailable. I would love to have Juliette Binoche and, of course, Catherine Deneuve. We really need to talk about that with Anthony Zuiker. I know that he would love to have Gérard Depardieu to guest-star on the show. ♦
When CSI Meets Real CSI
Yolanda McCleary, criminalist in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, gave Marg Helgenberger advices on portraying her character. The two women met for Télé 7 Jours exclusively.
Yolanda, what were your thoughts when you were watching the first episode?
Yolanda: I thought that Catherine was a bit abrupt and rigid towards everybody. I said to myself, “This is not me!” and 50 people replied in unison: “Yes it is!”.
Do you have memories from patrolling together?
Marg: 9 years ago, a dead body was found at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas and I was there during the whole process: from the discovery of the corpse to the lab tests and the autopsy. I was in awe of Yolanda’s composure.
Yolanda: When my boss said that I had to take Marg with me, I wasn’t happy. Besides doing my job, I had to play the bodyguard and make sure nobody would leave their DNA at the crime scene.
Are there more people interested in becoming criminalists because of the show?
Marg: The show has “glamoured up” a mentally and physically exhausting job that pays very little.
Yolanda: Since a few years ago, we have been receiving 500 job application letters…every hour.
