CSI Cast News, Spoilers: George Eads Leaving - Last Original Member Departing Show

George Eads, one of the longstanding cast members of the crime drama TV series "CSI," is reportedly leaving the show and moving on to other projects. This is not actually surprising as several members of the original cast have already left since the show started 15 years ago.

Over the last six years, "CSI" has seen several of its cast depart, including William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Paul Guilfoyle and Gary Dourdan. These departures left only Eads and Eric Szmanda as the stars from the first season of the show. However, Szmanda only joined as a recurring cast member in the first season while Eads has been a member of the regular cast since the first season.

News that Eads was leaving was first reported by TV Guide, which noted that he is the last remaining cast member from the pilot episode.

In the show, Eads plays forensic investigator Nick Stokes who analyzes crime scenes and often ends up empathizing with the victims, a trait that very often helps him solve the crimes.

Eads has been a major part of the show and has appeared in the most number of episodes compared to other current cast members. Over its 15-year run, "CSI" has seen several cast members join and leave the show including Laurence Fishburne and Liz Vassey. Currently the cast includes Ted Danson, Elisabeth Shue, Jorja Fox and Robert David Hall.

Over the years the viewership of "CSI" has fallen although the show still brought in around 11 million viewers per episode during its 14th season. At its heyday the show was often referred to as a "ratings juggernaut" and was a favorite with critics who labeled it as "crisp and technology driven."

However, it seems Eads was not happy with the direction his character was going. He even quit the show for a few weeks last season because of dispute about his character. Variety is reporting that Eads' character will be written out or be killed off.