George Eads will cross the crime scene tape one last time when "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" closes its 15th season early next year.
The last original series regular will exit the CBS procedural at the end of this season, according to TV Guide. Eads has played Nick Stokes since the show premiered in 2000.
His exit will connect to the resolution of the Gig Harbor Killer case. How the show will send off Eads' character has yet to be determined. His former co-star Gary Dourdan's character Warrick Brown was gunned down at the end of season eight.
William Peterson left the series during season nine when his character Gil Grissom left the crime lab to live with his love interest Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) in Costa Rica. Marg Helgenberger left during season 12 when her character Catherine Willows joined the FBI.
CBS cut the episode order for "CSI" from 22 to 18 earlier this fall, but Eads' exit is unrelated to that decision. He and the show will part amicably.
The 47-year-old actor has appeared in nearly every episode except for a brief hiatus last year due to a reported dispute between him and a writer. The network also fired him and his co-star Jorja Fox before season five. They were both hired back before missing any episodes.
Fox exited the show in season eight and rarely appeared during season nine and ten. She has since returned to the show as a series regular.
The episode cut may signify an end to "CSI," but no decision has been made by CBS.
