Mendelsohn: I Love The Blood, Guts, Gore And Mystery

Carol Mendelsohn, executive producer and show-runner of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, talks about how she began working on CSI and what she loves about the show.

Mendelsohn got her start as a lawyer in Washington, DC. She decided to move out to Los Angeles, where she got a freelance job working on Fame. "At the time I think my family thought it was reckless, but it was my passion," she told Los Angeles Confidential Magazine. In the beginning, Mendelsohn said that her "goal was to just be on staff somewhere. As a writer in television, if you succeed and have any longevity, you eventually move up to producer."

Mendelsohn worked on Melrose Place for five years. She was fired from the next job she had, and she thought her career was over. "Of any show that could have come along, CSI was the perfect one for me," she said and noted that "getting through that first season of CSI" was a milestone for her. Now that she is a show-runner, it's challenging to find enough hours in the day. "[T]he job is so complex and there are so many different areas that you have to worry about," she said. "You just have to figure out how to manage your day."

"I love the blood, guts, gore, and mystery of CSI," Mendelsohn said. She also has a soft spot for the show's main character. "I love Gil Grissom [William Petersen]. Even apart from working on CSI, I love him as a fan. To have been able to help develop that character over time has been a remarkable experience." For her, the highlight of any day is "[a]ny time I can be in the writers’ room, actually writing. In my heart, the passion still lies there." Mendelsohn will be bringing that passion to upcoming episodes of the show. "My head, my heart, and my soul at the moment, as they have been for the last seven years, are with CSI," she said. "I think this season, season eight, we’re going to try to take two of our characters to San Francisco for an episode. In the future, we’re going to take Grissom, whom we believe is the modern-day Sherlock Holmes, to London." Her ultimate goal, she says, is to "evolve CSI and have season after season where stories are still inspired and creative."

The original interview is from Los Angeles Confidential Magazine. Thanks to Al Forno for sharing this news.

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