Mendelsohn & Donahue Sign New CBS Deals

CSI franchise showrunners Carol Mendelsohn and Ann Donahue have signed new eight-figure contracts with CBS, adding four years to their stay with the network.

Donahue will continue to serve as executive producer and showrunner for CSI: Miami. Mendelsohn will stay on as executive producer and showrunner for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She will also serve as executive producer on the new CBS series The Defenders, which debuts this fall on Wednesdays at 10:00pm ET/PT.

According to CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler, “Carol and Ann are two of the best showrunners of this decade.” She continued, “The ongoing success of CSI and CSI: Miami is testimony to their incredible creative talents and leadership skills. It gives the network great confidence having them at the helm of these two important series.”

“Carol and Ann are among the elite showrunners in our business,” said CBS TV Studios president David Stapf. “They were with CSI from the beginning and each still runs their respective show with amazing creativity, precision and vision. Every studio dreams of having producers with this kind of passion and leadership on the set and in the writer’s room.” He added, “It was very important to us that Carol and Ann remain not only part of CSI, but the CBS family too.”

Sources: Deadline Hollywood and The Hollywood Reporter