McDowell was one of several big-name guest stars who participated in the episode. “I had a great time because of my friend Rob,” McDowell told Fangoria. “If it hadn’t been for him, of course, I wouldn’t have gone near it. To be honest with you, I’m used to doing Heroes and Entourage; that’s cutting-edge stuff. [The CSI: Miami team] do a terrific show for what it is, but I wouldn’t want to do another one.”

The episode gave Zombie a chance to try his hand at directing a crime drama instead of his usual horror films. “I believe Rob wanted to show that he can do something besides a horror movie, which he can; he’s a damn good director,” McDowell said. “But unless you actually show it to people, for some reason they can’t connect the dots. He did a fantastic job, and the episode was really good, we had some fun and he let me improvise a bit, which I was amazed at for network television.”

“The writer, Barry O’Brien, was there and he’s a very nice guy, the producers were great and we had a very good crew,” he continued. “I believe it was smart of them to get somebody like Rob to take them out of their comfort zone. Maybe some of the [regular] cast didn’t appreciate that, but it sure worked.”

In the episode, Stella Bonasera (Melina Kanakaredes) winds up in danger when she pursues a case which, at first sight, appears to be suicide. “[It is] one of the most exciting TV episodes I’ve ever read,” guest star Moran Atias, who plays Marina, told Fancast. “There’s an action sequence of a large-screen scale, high emotions, and great suspense. I can’t wait to see it.”

Atias also said that Kanakaredes is “an extremely generous actress.” Working with New York’s leading lady as well as the episode’s director, Allison Liddi-Brown, created an experience that Atias described as “truly about women helping women, which probably breaks the cliché of the opposite.”

Source: Fancast. Thanks to Kristine from TalkCSI for the link.

Tilly will play a former showgirl with a sex obsession and a penchant for popping pills. The character will be suspected of murder during the sweeps episode. Conway will play her husband.

Thanks to perlnoir on TalkCSI for the heads up.

Starting out the week on Monday at 10:00pm ET/PT, the CSI: Miami team investigates which coworker took his or her anger too far in “Getting Axed”:

The CSIs unravel a workplace murder mystery when a hated receptionist is murdered.

The episode was directed by Carey Meyer, who has helmed five previous episodes of the series, including “Dude, Where’s My Groom?” earlier this season. Krystal Houghton has 15 writing credits for Miami, most recently for this season’s “Point of Impact”.

The episode will feature the following guest stars:

• Christian Clemenson as Tom Loman
• Wes Ramsey as Dave Benton
• Christopher Redman as Michael Travers
• Bridget Ann White as Renee Dorsett
• Kaylee DeFer as Valerie Metcalf
• Daniel Roebuck as Mark Bullock
• Matthew John Armstrong as Jeffrey Lipton
• Adam Wylie as Teddy Enwald
• Bryan Callen as Kent Ackerman
• Daniel Zacapa as Luis Velasquez
• Raquel Bell as Paramedic

Christian Clemenson, Wes Ramsey and Christopher Redman are reprising established recurring roles. Raquel Bell played an EMT in the season eight premiere, “Out of Time”. Bridget Ann White appeared in the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode “Fallen Idols” during the show’s seventh season, Daniel Roebuck was in the season six episode “Rashomama” and Bryan Callen guest-starred in “Last Laugh” during season three. The other actors are new to the franchise.

On Wednesday at 10:00pm ET/PT, CSI: New York sees green in “Pot of Gold”:

When a double homicide involving two young journalists who are investigating a story about gold fraud occurs on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day, the CSIs must find the clue at the end of the rainbow.

ER actor Eriq La Salle directed this episode, which marks his first time behind the camera for the franchise. Trey Callaway has written eight previous episodes, including “Manhattanhenge” earlier this season.

The following actors and actresses will appear in guest-starring roles:

• Kyle Gallner as Reed Garrett
• Mädchen Amick as Aubrey Hunter
• Kieren Hutchison as Finnegan Hansard
• Ian Ziering as Thom Weir
• Aaron Ashmore as Cam Vandemann
• Erin Cahill as Agent Pangle
• John Barbolla as Phil
• Jina Song as Real Estate Agent
• Sarah Karges as Drunk Girl
• Kanin Howell as Charlie Cooper

Kyle Gallner is back as Reed Garrett, who was last seen in season four’s penultimate episode, “Taxi”. Mädchen Amick is making her first appearance in a recurring role as a potential love interest for Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise). Kanin Howell has been in two previous episodes of New York (“Officer Blue” and “Risk”), as well as episodes of CSI (“Sounds of Silence”) and Miami (“Urban Hellraisers”). Erin Cahill was in the Miami episode “Miami Confidential” during the show’s sixth season.

Rounding out the week on Thursday at 9:00pm ET/PT, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation will look into the past in “Neverland”:

When a young boy is found murdered, the CSI team uncovers evidence that may link his death to an old case that recently resurfaced.

Alec Smight has directed 12 previous episodes of CSI, including “Long Ball” earlier this year. Tom Mularz has two writing credits for the show, including this season’s “Better Off Dead”.

“Neverland” will feature the following guest stars:

• Jorja Fox as Sara Sidle
• Archie Kao as Archie Johnson
• Faith Prince as Lynn Stagner
• James Keane as George Anderson
• Valerie Dillman as Rebecca Sutter
• Aidan Gould as Will Sutter
• Nathan Kress as Mason Ward
• Noah Gray-Cabey as Steve Reppling
• Eddie Jemison as Craig Lifford
• Jason Brooks as Simon Rose
• James Macdonald as Officer Kenneth Ward
• Edward Gusts as Trustee
• Gabriel Salvador as Corrections Officer

Jorja Fox and Archie Kao are reprising established roles. Eddie Jemison has appeared in two previous CSI episodes (“Chasing the Bus” and “Eleven Angry Jurors”), and he was also in “Dead Woman Walking” during the first season of Miami. Jason Brooks was in the Miami episode “Bait” during season two, and he guest-starred in “Stealing Home” during New York’s second season. Noah Gray-Cabey appeared in the Miami episode “Pro Per” during the show’s third season.

“Getting Axed”, “Pot of Gold” and “Neverland” begin airing March 8 on CBS.

As CSI Files previously reported, the band members were thrilled to take center stage on CSI. “We get to step out, do something different,” lead singer Gary LeVox told Entertainment Tonight. “We’ve all had the drive to try to maybe do some acting… It’s kind of a win-win for everybody.”

It was a win for the CSI stars as well. “I always like working with musicians, especially country musicians,” Marg Helgenberger (Catherine Willows) said. “I think these guys have been a joy to work with. They’ve been just cool and fun and funny … so it’s a mutual admiration society going on here.”

The band members were fans long before they got invited to guest star on CSI. “It was a ground breaking show for television, I think, and I’ve been watching it since the very first season,” explained bassist Jay DeMarcus. “So, to have followed all those characters for so long and end up being on the screen with them is a really, really big honor.”

Don’t forget that you can watch the full video of “Unshockable” right here on CSI Files!

Source: Twitter. Thanks to Shane on TalkCSI.

When the band was contacted about doing a guest appearance, they met with the CSI producers. “We went down there, sat down, kind of got an outline of the story and just talked about what we wanted to do, what their ideas were,” lead vocalist Gary LeVox told CMT News. “We were thrilled to death that they called.”

“It was really cool because we get to play our parts, but the drama stuff was really interesting,” explained guitarist Joe Don Rooney. “We’ve never done this stuff before, so it’s been fun to play ourselves but play different emotions within ourselves towards each other—and aggressive ones, at times.”

CSI actors Marg Helgenberger (Catherine Willows) and George Eads (Nick Stokes) enjoyed having the band on set. “These guys are so amazing,” Helgenberger said. “They’re so down to earth and sweet, fun, cute and funny. They’re real naturals.”

“They’re really good sports,” Eads added. “I think they were fans of the show before they came on. They were very familiar with it, as I’m familiar with their music. I know they have a big fan base, and I think it will maybe bring a bigger audience to the show. That’s kind of the idea.”

Bassist Jay DeMarcus said the band might enjoy doing more acting. “Our main focus is getting out on the road and making records,” he said, “but as we have time and time goes on and we have more opportunities that come up, we’ll probably do a little bit more of it. I certainly enjoyed my experiences. I think we all did.” LeVox added, “Thank goodness we don’t have to rely on making a living off at that. We’re better musicians than we are actors—I think.”

As CSI Files previously reported, the band will perform in “Unshockable”—but something goes terribly wrong, and one member finds himself in the hospital. The other members become suspects as the CSIs try to get to the bottom of what happened. “They are the crime story,” executive producer Carol Mendelsohn told TVGuide.com. “This is not just them playing a concert.”

“This episode is a lot of fun,” added co-producer Phil Conserva. “[The band] approached Carol and I to see if we’d be interested because they are such fans. Their fans will be able to tune in and watch them perform a song they haven’t performed yet. It’s going to be a very fun Thursday night.” He continued, “They are on their 10th year as a band, and we’re on our 10th season. It’s a real nice union between the two forces.”

Elsewhere in the episode, Dr Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) gets an interesting offer from CIA Associate Director Craig Halliday (played by Will Patton). Halliday, it seems, knows something about Langston’s father. The pair will cross paths when Langston and Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) investigate the death of a former CIA officer.