The CSI Star Fired For Sleeping In
The original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation changed the shape of television when it premiered in 2000, becoming an instant hit thanks to the strength of its formula and premise. Behind the scenes, the success led to a cast upheaval only a few years into its run, with audiences wondering why, all of a sudden, Sarah Sidle (Jorja Fox) was being written off the show and Nick (George Eads) vanished into thin air. In real-life, Fox left over money, and Eads was fired by CBS when he slept in on the wrong morning.
George Eads Firing
George Eads was stunned by his firing, which the studio claimed was because he had joined in with Jorja Fox’s demand for more pay, and his absence from the set was a holdout. Eads has kept to his story about sleeping in over the years, even as different trade publications kept referring to it as a holdout, but the misunderstanding was soon cleared up, and he returned to CSI. At the time, he described the situation as “It’s a big misunderstanding, straight up. I want all this to work out. ‘CSI’ is a part of who I am.”
Hired Back By CBS
As it turns out, CBS approached Jorja Fox first and asked her to return, but part of the deal she eventually reached with the studio included them hiring back George Eads. The season ended with one of the best episodes in CSI history, “Grave Danger, Part 1,” directed by Quentin Tarantino and putting the spotlight squarely on Nick, so the bad blood didn’t last for that long.
Eads losing his job for sleeping in didn’t stop him from signing up for more seasons, as he ended up becoming the longest-tenured member of the original cast.
That Other Leave Of Abscene
Though George Eads stayed on CSI, his oversleeping firing wasn’t the only behind-the-scenes drama he got caught up in. Three episodes into Season 14, Eads argued with one of the show’s writers (who happened to be eight months pregnant at the time) over the direction of Nick’s stories, and the argument soon blew up, with the actor threatening to quit. Taking a short leave of absence, Eads was gone for a few weeks, which you can tell, as Season 15 Episodes 4 through 8 don’t include Nick.
CBS Found Stars For The Series
The treatment that the stars of CSI received from CBS was notably different from that of their other shows, notably in the case of Everybody Loves Raymond’s Brad Garrett, who held out for more money right before Jorja Fox did, and unlike her situation, the sitcom star received a raise.
As a police procedural with a sprawling cast, the studio thought the stars of the show were all replaceable, which led to the eventual revolving cast that brought in Laurence Fishburne, Ted Danson, and Elisabeth Shue.
The CSI: Vegas Comeback
CSI, which provided the template for a generation of television, is still one of the most-watched shows on the planet. The revival series CSI: Vegas proved there was still a desire for this type of police procedural, even if Nick didn’t return. This time, it’s safe to assume it was mutual and not from hitting snooze a few too many times.
