Veasey: She Becomes A Person Of Interest

See Also: 'Pay Up' Episode Guide

CSI: New York will add a new character in season six to attract younger viewers and show a different type of forensic scientist.

As CSI Files previously reported, Sarah Carter will join New York as a clean-up technician with a secret. "When you first meet her she doesn't have a job with us," executive producer Pam Veasey told TV Guide Magazine. "She becomes a person of interest—not as a criminal. She's an eager CSI wannabe, who insinuates herself into our lives, and because of her brilliance and her wit and her charm she sort of becomes part of the system. She's not a CSI and it doesn't happen right away."

The character is a reference to people that have chosen a career in forensic science since the CSI franchise gained in popularity. "All of our team are cops or went to medical school and they had other jobs that brought them in," Veasey explained. "This is someone who's only been a textbook learner. There's a whole bunch of forensic graduates coming out and they're young people—how do these people get their first job. That's our angle on the new character."

The entrance of Carter's character comes on the heels of the exit of Emmanuelle Vaugier's Detective Jessica Angell, who was killed in a diner shooting during the season five finale, "Pay Up". Angell's death was originally reported to be a result of budget cuts, but Veasey explained that the situation became more complex because New York cut their overall budget. These changes led them to add a new character despite recently cutting one from the cast. "There was a huge budget cut with actors and salaries and writers, but ultimately, after we'd done that, what do we still need? We still needed the 18-25 demographic, and we'd been trying to get that with guest stars," Veasey explained. "And it was our plan to kill someone on our season finale. We chose her character because of what effect it has on another character. It was good storytelling. But we miss her, we love her talent."

The original interview is from TV Guide Magazine. Thanks to JellyBelly on TalkCSI for the heads up.

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