TheCSIfranchise began in 2000 whenCSI: Crime Scene Investigationpremiered its first episode. It soon became one of the most-watched franchises on TV expanding into different cities and even beyond geographical borders with the premiere ofCSI: Cyberin 2015. Many actors joined the franchise, portraying crime scene investigators for multiple seasons.
In 2004,CSI: NYjoined the famous franchise withGary SiniseandMelina Kanakaredesin the lead. The show focused on crimes committed in New York City and gave viewers an insight into how crime scene investigators worked alongside NYPD to solve different cases.
10Peyton Driscoll
Peyton Driscoll (Claire Forlani) joined the show during Season 3 and only stayed for two seasons. Originally from London, her character moved to the US where she became a medical examiner and worked for many years alongside members of the CSI team in New York.
Fans may remember Peyton’s short-lived appearance for her relationship with Mac Taylor (Sinise). She was one of the few romantic relationships that were shown in the series regarding Mac’s personal life. After two seasons, Peyton returned to London.
9Sheldon Hawkes
Sheldon Hawkes (Hill Harper) started on the show from Season 1, but his role changed throughout the years. In the beginning and up until Season 2, he was a medical examiner. Later on, Dr. Hawkes moves on to become a crime scene investigator, joining the rest of the team on the field and in the lab.
Many may remember Sheldon as the child prodigy of the series, graduating from college at 18 and becoming a board-licensed surgeon by the age of 24. However, he left surgery behind to become a medical examiner.
8Sid Hammerback
Sid Hammerback (Robert Joy) joinedCSI: NYin Season 3 and he remained the medical examiner until the end of the series in Season 9. Sid left his career as a chef behind to become a medical examiner and ended up becoming one of the most gentle members of the team, always caring about the rest of the detectives.During Season 8, Sid becomes a millionaire by selling the patent to a pillow he invented based on what he has seen in the morgue.
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In Season 9, it’s revealed that he donated part of his money to 10 different strangers. It is also during this season that Sid tells Jo Danville (Sela Ward) that he has cancer.
7Danny Messer
Like the majority of the crime lab detectives, Danny Messer (Carmine Giovinazzo) was a part of the team from Season 1. Danny has been known for relying more on his intuition than the evidence and being very understanding of individuals who committed crimes in an act of revenge.
This behavior usually makes him butt heads with Mac Taylor.During the series, Danny becomes a husband and a father. Towards the end of Season 7, the audience discovers that Danny has taken the test to become a sergeant and in Season 8 he is seen as a patrol sergeant. However, due to a case going south, he decides to return to the lab.
6Don Flack
Unlike the rest of the team, Don Flack (Eddie Cahill) does not work at the crime lab. He is a homicide detective for the NYPD who works very closely with the crime scene investigators, partnering with them to solve crimes. Flack comes from a family of law enforcement officials which means he constantly battles between the old school NYPD ways and the more modern ways of the CSI.
One of Flack’s closest relationships is his friendship with Mac which can sometimes be tested by the job. The series also introduces two girlfriends (Jessica Angell and Jamie Lovato) and his sister, Samantha (Kathleen Munroe).
5Adam Ross
Adam Ross (AJ Buckley) joined the team during Season 2, Episode 8, “Bad Beat,” as a lab tech. Adam is never your typical crime scene investigator and spends most of his time in the lab instead of going to crime scenes. He is usually anxious and skittish and very insecure about his job even though he is good at what he does.
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There are two storylines that make Adam’s own story stand out. The first one happens when the audience discovers Adam and Stella Bonasera (Melina Kanakaredes) have slept together. The second one is when Adam witnesses a murder through a video chat and makes the case a personal matter.
4Lindsay Monroe
Lindsay Monroe (Anna Belknap) — later Lindsay Monroe-Messer — is one of the few female crime scene investigators on the show. She made her first appearance during Season 2, Episode 3, “Zoo York,” after leaving Montana and accepting her first job as a CSI in New York.Most of Lindsay’s career is determined by the case of Daniel Katums whom she testifies against during Season 3 and attends his execution in Season 9 before the series finale.
During these seasons, she becomes a wife and a mother, and towards the end of the show she tells her husband, Danny Messer, they are expecting their second child.
3Stella Bonasera
For six seasons, Stella Bonasera was assistant day shift supervisor which positioned her closer to Mac Taylor in ranks and many of the lab members saw her as a boss as well. Before working for the crime lab, Stella was a patrol officer and also worked for Narcotics in Brooklyn.
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At the end of Season 6, Stella makes her exit and her character heads to New Orleans where she would become head of the crime lab. After spending six years working onCSI: NY, Melina Kanakaredes joinedthe cast and characters ofThe Residentas the villain.
2Jo Danville
It’s never an easy task to join an already established cast, but Sela Ward did a great job after beingconfirmed to replace Melina Kanakaredesafter her exit in Season 6. Ward became Jo Danville, making her big entrance during Season 7, Episode 1, “The 34th Floor,” setting the chemistry with Gary Sinise from the very beginning.
Jo used to work for the FBI in Virginia before transferring to the New York crime lab. She had to leave her job after letting the defense know during a case that the lab had messed up the evidence against a rapist who had attacked a senator’s daughter. The same case comes back to haunt her when the rapist attacks Jo in Season 8, Episode 9, “Means to an End.”
1Mac Taylor
From the very beginning, Gary Sinise (who was one of the10 stars who were guest callers on theFrasier) played Mac Taylor, the head supervisor of the New York City crime lab. He was always firm but fair, managing his team sternly but caring about each individual personally as well.Mac lost his wife during 9/11 which is revisited during Season 8, Episode 1, “Indelible,” as the show honored the victims of the terrorist attack ten years later.
Since his wife’s passing, Mac isn’t seen involved in many other romantic relationships besides Peyton Driscoll and Christine Whitney (Megan Dodds) on the final two seasons of the show.
