Report: 13 Former Franchise Writers — Where Are They Now?
4 min readInspired by the new CSI Writers Room Twitter account, chronicling the life as a writer on set and in the office, CSI Files checked on the status of former CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY writers to see where they’re at.
JOSH BERMAN
Series: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Tenure: 2000-2006
Credits: “Pledging Mr. Johnson,” “Lady Heather’s Box,” and 25 other episodes
Where You Can Find Him Now: Berman left the series in 2006, his last writing credit for the show being “Up In Smoke.” Going on to create short-lived shows such as Killer Instinct and Vanished, the brother of actor David Berman (David Phillips) hit the goldmine with the creation of Lifetime’s well-received show, Drop Dead Diva. This year he sold a new series to FOX, The Mob Doctor, which will debut next month. He’ll serve as a writer and executive producer.
BARBIE KLIGMAN
Series: CSI: NY
Tenure: 2007-2009
Credits: “Yahrzeit” and 3 other episodes
Where You Can Find Her Now: Kligman went on to work on the first season of CW’s The Vampire Diaries, before settling in at ABC’s Private Practice in 2010. Earlier this summer, she was promoted to executive producer and co-head writer of the Kate Walsh (“Ch-Ch Changes”) series.
JENNIFER LEVIN
Series: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Credits: “Internal Combustion” and “Field Mice”
Where You Can Find Her Now: Levin was one of six writers to depart CSI at the end of Season Ten, and is now a writers assistant on the much-talked about upcoming series Last Resort.
SUNIL NAYAR
Series: CSI: Miami
Tenure: 2004-2009
Credits: “Complications,” “Rio,” and 19 other episodes
Where You Can Find Him Now: From 2011 to earlier this year, Nayar worked on ABC’s Body of Proof as an executive producer. Now, he’s currently creating chaos in the Hamptons on Revenge, working as an executive producer.
KRYSTAL HOUGHTON
Series: CSI: Miami
Tenure: 2005-2012
Credits: “Curse of the Coffin,” “Wolfe In Sheep’s Clothing,” and 20 other episodes
Where You Can Find Her Now: It’s fair to say that once you write murder you never go back: Houghton has landed a co-executive producer role on Body of Proof for the show’s upcoming third season.
DAVID RAMBO
Series: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Tenure: 2004-2010
Credits: “Butterflied,” “Built To Kill: Part One,” and 18 other episodes
Where You Can Find Him Now: The playwright will forever be known as one of GSR’s strongest advocates, as seen in his debut script and “The Case of the Cross-Dressing Carp.” And while fans surely miss his presence on CSI, Rambo has found new opportunities to creatively express himself with V and NYC 22. He’s back for the 2012-2013 TV season as a co-executive producer on JJ Abrams‘ Revolution, coming to NBC this fall.
ADAM SCOTT WEISSMAN
Series: CSI: NY
Credits: “Kill Screen”
Where You Can Find Him Now: Adam Scott Weissman served as an executive assistant on the New York spinoff, and was also a student at University of Southern California where co-executive producer Trey Callaway works as a professor. This season, he’s working on FX’s gritty drama Sons of Anarchy as an assistant to executive producer/director Paris Barclay (“Coup de Grace”).
MARC GUGGENHEIM
Series: CSI: Miami
Tenure: 2005
Credits: “Three-Way,” “Payback,” and 1 other episode
Where You Can Find Him Now: Since his Miami departure, Guggenheim has dabbled in both film and TV. He’s the co-creator of CW’s Arrow, airing this fall.
ILDY MODROVICH
Series: CSI: Miami
Tenure: 2002-2007
Credits: “Dead Woman Walking,” “Witness to Murder,” and 20 other episodes
Where You Can Find Her Now: One of Miami’s original writers, Modrovich left in 2007 to pursue new projects, finding a temporary gig on Showtime’s Californication. Since then, she has worked on Eleventh Hour, Three Rivers and is now on Neccesary Roughness as a co-executive producer.
DOUGLAS PETRIE
Series: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Tenure: 2006-2008
Credits: “Toe Tags,” “You Kill Me,” and 4 other episodes
Where You Can Find Him Now: The former Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer has gone on to pursue writing opportunities on Pushing Daisies, the Charlie’s Angels reboot, and is now on USA’s Common Law.
LOIS JOHNSON
Series: CSI: Miami
Tenure: 2002-2003
Credits: “Forced Entry,” “Grave Young Men,” and 1 other episode
Where You Can Find Her Now: Responsible for credits on Ghost Whisperer and Saving Grace, Johnson now goes by the name Elle Johnson on The Glades.
MICHAEL FROST BECKNER
Series: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Tenure: 2010
Credits: “Unshockable” and “418/427”
Where You Can Find Him Now: Beckner is teaming up with former CSI star William Petersen (Gil Grissom) on HBO’s upcoming mini-series, To Appomattox.
WENDY BATTLES
Series: CSI: NY
Tenure: 2006-2010
Credits: “Open and Shut,” “Unusual Suspects,” and 8 other episodes
Where You Can Find Her Now: After a brief stint on ABC’s ill-fated series The River, Battles landed at The Glades.
About The Author
Interesting–and some were writing for years! What makes a writer decide to leave a long-running show? Money? Disagreements? Just wondering.