Most of the main cast of "CSI" will return to say goodbye to the show's loyal viewers through a special two-hour series finale in September, but two major characters are missing from the line-up. Elizabeth Shue and George Eads will not reprise their roles as Julie Finlay and Nick Stokes, respectively, for the "CSI" TV movie titled "Immortality."
Shue last appeared in the series at the end of season 15, where her character Julie was attacked by a serial killer and ended in a coma with no definite chance of recovering. The Entertainment Weekly exclusively revealed that the actress will not appear in the TV movie.
Meanwhile, Eads, the last remaining original cast member of CBS' long-running mystery crime drama, announced that season 15 would be the last season for his character Nick Stokes before the network confirmed that it would also be the final regular season for the show. Nick announced to his friends from the lab that he was offered to become the head of the San Diego PD Crime Lab during the end of season 15, and bade goodbye to all of his closest friends in Las Vegas.
TVLine reported that Eads opted not to return for the series finale, prompting show creator Anthony E. Zuiker to revise the already finished script at the last minute.
However, most of the original cast agreed to reprise their roles in the series one last time. Original Las Vegas PD Crime Lab Grave Shift Supervisor Gil Grissom (William Petersen) and the Assistant Grave Shift Supervisor Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) will return to wrap up the show, as well as Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox), Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle), Greg Sanders (Eric Szmanda), Henry Andrews (Jon Wellner), D.B. Russell (Ted Danson), David Phillips (David Berman), David Hodges (Wallace Langham), Morgan Brody (Elisabeth Harnois), Dr. Al Robbins (Robert David Hall), and Melinda Clarke as Lady Heather.
The "CSI" TV movie airs on Sept. 27, but a farewell panel with Petersen, Helgenberger, Danson, and Fox is slated on Sept. 17 during the PaleyFest 2015.
