Tension on scene of ‘CSI’

The set of CBS’ whodunit “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” has become a perilous, suspenseful place lately -- and the cameras haven’t even been rolling.

TV’s most-watched drama is scheduled to resume production for its fifth season Wednesday, following a 10-day shutdown that has been publicly attributed to a complicated string of salary-related clashes involving CBS management and cast members George Eads and Jorja Fox, who were swiftly fired and just as quickly rehired in recent days. What’s received less attention is the absence of William L. Petersen, who stars as “CSI” investigator Gil Grissom.

Shortly before shooting started earlier this month, Petersen notified the network that he would temporarily miss work due to a recently discovered medical condition. Three sources familiar with the situation say that Petersen was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. A Petersen representative confirmed that the actor has “some health-related matters” but declined to offer specifics. A CBS spokesman declined to comment on Petersen’s health.

While nobody’s predicting an untimely end for the highly lucrative CBS franchise, the health and salary matters are rocking the boat just as the flagship show enters a new season, and the network, which has launched one spinoff, is preparing another to debut this fall.

CBS says the “CSI” actors and crew are to receive instructions today about returning to work later this week. “Billy and the rest of the cast are expected back on the set this Wednesday,” network spokesman Chris Ender said Sunday. “Everyone is excited to resume production and get started on the fifth season.”

This fall’s “CSI: New York” will star Gary Sinise. “CSI: Miami,” which premiered two seasons ago, is a hit on Mondays. But growth has slowed for the original “CSI,” with ratings flat at 23 million total viewers for the season to date compared to last year, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research. Still, the series is the linchpin of CBS’ Thursday night, which Viacom’s co-president and co-chief operating officer, Leslie Moonves, has said earns more money than any other network lineup on any night.

With half the series’ six principal actors out of service -- in addition to Petersen, Eads and Fox, the others are Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan and Eric Szmanda -- shooting stopped after July 16 and has not resumed. Although Helgenberger is also in salary talks, sources said, she worked as scheduled before the shutdown and is expected to return when called.

Actors’ negotiating tactics are a sensitive subject for networks and studios, especially because so many hit shows depend heavily on the chemistry of the cast. Brad Garrett, who plays Ray Romano’s brother on the hit sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” won a pay hike last year after missing a few days of work. Jane Kaczmarek, the mother on Fox’s “Malcolm in the Middle,” reportedly skipped work due to migraine headaches during a 2002 salary dispute.

Eads and Fox were fired earlier this month after their representatives tangled with the network over the stars’ salary demands. The network said it axed Fox after failing to receive timely assurances that she would report for work as planned. Eads was dismissed after not showing up for work the morning of July 15, the first day of production. The actor later told reporters he overslept.

Moonves, who oversees CBS, told reporters last week that lawyers for Eads and Fox had made “certain veiled threats about their not showing up.” “A deal is a deal,” Moonves said, adding that the network started looking to recast the roles and the writers began revising scripts.

“Les was really looking to make an example of somebody,” one agent involved in the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said of Moonves. “Les felt he’s been taken advantage of in some of these renegotiation situations.” After extensive coverage of the firings in the entertainment media, the network felt its point had been made. Late last week, after a public apology from Eads, the network rehired both actors at an estimated salary of $95,000 each per episode, the figure each was making before the firings.

Petersen, who earns an estimated $350,000 per episode on “CSI,” including a producer’s fee, has also been seeking a raise from the network. The actor received a substantial pay hike two years ago, after “CSI” became a major hit.

But by all accounts, Petersen is not staging a “sickout” in an effort to win new salary concessions. In fact, a doctor hired by the network is said to have discovered the heart problem, although a CBS spokesman would not confirm this.

Jennifer Allen, Petersen’s publicist, confirmed that there have been “some health-related matters that have kept Billy at home.” She declined to elaborate, but said that Petersen, 51, had not been hospitalized.

While Hollywood insiders will happily discuss money and contract terms off the record, health matters are often off-limits. That’s especially true for actors, who typically have a vested interest in projecting an image of health and vitality.

Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 but did not disclose the condition for seven years, as he continued starring in the hit ABC sitcom “Spin City.”

Several people in a position to know specifics of Petersen’s health, including Jonathan Littman, president of Jerry Bruckheimer Television, which produces “CSI,” the show’s executive producer Carol Mendelsohn, and Petersen’s agent, Marty Lesak of UTA, did not return calls.