‘New York’ Orchestrates A ‘Smooth’ Transition

1 min read

14 years ago Rachel

Carmine Giovinazzo (Danny Messer) reveals how CSI: New York is dealing with a major cast change—and how he’s settling into married life. (Spoilers after the jump!)

As CSI Files previously reported, Melina Kanakaredes (Stella Bonasera) won’t return to New York for season seven, and Sela Ward has been added to the cast. The season premiere “introduces the new character and deals with the repercussions of what happened in the finale,” Giovinazzo told TVGuide.com. “I think this new character is a positive thing—although the writers now have to scramble and make it work last-minute, I think in the long run, it’s inspiring and infuses something new for everybody.” He added that Stella’s absence will be explained “simply and smoothly. She’s moved on and somebody else has moved in.”

Offscreen, Giovinazzo recently got married to actress Vanessa Marcil. “[Marriage] has mellowed me out,” the actor revealed. “It’s fantastic and everything is wonderful. It’s a beautiful thing.” However, they want to keep their private lives out of the public eye. Giovinazzo explained, “She was strong about the fact that we don’t want the relationship exposed to this business.”