Laurence Fishburne Not to Return to 'CSI'

After the season finale of "CSI" involving Laurence Fishburne's character, Ray Langston, it was hard to tell if he would return next season. During the season finale, Fishburne's character committed murder in the name of justice.

Since the season finale, it was determined he wouldn't return to the show. The reasoning behind his departure seems to be he didn't renew his contract.

While Fishburne has played many roles in movies, did the writers for this pop cult show wait to late to bring the background of his character to life? It is very possible they did. It wasn't until Nate Haskell, played by Bill Irwin, did Langston come to life.

While Fishburne was seen with an object cleaning and checking it often, insight to this object would have been the first step to keeping his story line interesting. It also wasn't until the last season where his ex-wife was introduced.

When his ex-wife was introduced into the show, a bit more into their divorce would have made for an interesting story line too. All the information could have been spread out over the two and a half years Fishburne was with the show.

With this in mind, finding out what happened with Langston's in the next season could have made for filler for the show. All the other characters of the show have been releasing tidbits of their lives outside of the crime lab over the past seasons. This wasn't the case for Fishburne's character.

Now that fans of the show he won't be returning, a replacement for him has yet to be determined. This could open new doors for the show providing they bring in a strong player with an even stronger character to make up for the loss of William Peterson who Fishburne replaced.

Even though there have been glimpses of Peterson's character talking with his wife Sarah Sidle, played by Jorja Fox, he will not be returning to the show as a main character. Fishburne is the third actor to leave the show without a possibility of returning.

Although Gary Dourdon, who played Warrick Brown, was the first of the three main characters of the shows to depart, it wasn't long before Peterson left. Out of the eight original actors who started with the show, four are left to carry on. That means in nine seasons, half the original characters are no longer bringing the original fun and drama to the show.

Now with his replacement taking off, will the show recover?

More by Karen:

Meet Catherine Willows - Night Shift Supervisor from "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"

Murder in the Name of Art on 'CSI: Miami"