Smith Leaves 'CSI'

Lauren Lee Smith's Riley Adams will not return for the tenth season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Smith joined CSI in the ninth season episode "Art Imitates Life". She took the place of Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan), who was killed in the season nine premiere, "For Warrick". Less than a season after her addition to the series, Smith is saying goodbye. "She's not going to be back for Season 10," executive producer Naren Shankar told TV Guide Magazine.

"It was an issue of how we were feeling the ensemble was working," Shankar continued. "When we brought in the character of Riley, it got lost in the shuffle a little bit because we had lost Warrick, we had lost Sara [Sidle (Jorja Fox)], and then in the middle of last season [Gil] Grissom (William Petersen) finally left. I think, as a result, the character never quite found its footing in terms of the rest of the gang."

As CSI Files previously reported, Fox will return for several episodes during season ten, including the season premiere. According to Shankar, Riley's departure will allow for Sara to come back to the crime lab. "She shows up because the team is understaffed," he explained. "The undersheriff reaches out for a recommendation and Sara says, 'I think that person might be me.'" Shankar promised that the returning character would get plenty of focus during her time on CSI: "We're going to spotlight her for the episodes that she'll be in."

The original article is from TV Guide Magazine. Thanks to Shane from TalkCSI for the heads up.

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