Rodriguez: There Was Something Missing

Adam Rodriguez (Eric Delko) gives the fans a lot of credit for his upcoming return to CSI: Miami.

As CSI Files previously reported, Rodriguez will be a series regular again starting in season nine. The actor was going to leave after a limited number of episodes this season, but the plan changed. “[W]e got to a crossroads last year where [CBS and I] wanted different things,” Rodriguez told Entertainment Weekly. “And one thing that was important was going back to finish the character properly. I think when the fans got the news that Delko wasn’t going to be back full-time and when they actually saw he wasn’t back full-time, they felt there was something missing from the show. They were very vocal about that and I have to give credit to CBS that they paid attention to it.”

“I think, you know, a lot of it had to do with both parties even being willing to hash something out,” the actor continued. “[The first] time, it was really CBS that walked away [from negotiations] quickly. I’m not going to pull any punches, that’s just the way it was. I think that fans really made it known that the show wasn’t the same without Delko. And like I said, CBS was wise enough to pay attention to that and make sure that they kept the chemistry of the show the way the fans wanted it.”

Miami added several new characters to the fold this season, but Rodriguez hopes that nobody has to leave to make his return possible. “I would be very, very disappointed if that was the decision that was made,” he said. “I can certainly tell you that the agreement we came to should not warrant that happening at all.” While he hopes everybody is able to stay in front of the camera, Rodriguez will also be spending some time behind the scenes next season as part of his new deal with the show. “One of the things [they did] to sweeten the deal was they’re allowing me to write and direct at least one episode next season,” he explained. “That was something that was really attractive to me.”

Rodriguez doesn’t know which direction Eric’s story will take, but he assumes the character will leave the District Attorney’s office in order to return to the crime lab. “I don’t have confirmation of that, but I don’t know what else [they could do],” he said. However, he doesn’t want them to rush the transition. “I think it might be interesting to explore [his current job] a little further before he actually comes back to the team.”

The future of Eric’s relationship with Calleigh Duquesne (Emily Procter) remains unknown at this point as well. “I’m curious to see what they have in mind,” Rodriguez said. “But I think we have to go all the way down the road at this point. I would really love to explore the relationship fully and see what it’s like to have these people that have had this attraction to each other and are finally getting into this relationship for real after all this time. It certainly took a long enough for it to actually happen.”

“I think we owe it to the people who wanted to see it happen to give them the whole ride as opposed to making it a short one, [especially since] it’s not about me leaving now,” he continued. “Now that I’m going to stay, I think that we’ll have a little more latitude as far as what we can do with the relationship.”