Melina Kanakaredes Leaves CSI: NY

[Desertwind]

I feel all your pain fans, I'm a CSI/Vegas major fan, & was devastated when Jorja/Sara left, so I know how you all feel, but I loved watching Melina/Stella on NY. Her whole persona was provacative and sensual. She was beautiful, and sweet, but a pit-bull-dog on her cases, tough as nails. What a loss and a shame. I don't think anyone can really ever replace her. She was one of a kind. This is sad She claims she left to be with her children more, so who can blame her for that? Good luck to her in her future endeavors:bolian:

 

[Lori K.]

The family thing that Hill is spinning? Hooey! Melina has always said they have gone out of the way to make her girls "at home" on the set. Gary even helped make a play house for them and they had a "home away from home" area so Melina could have them close by. Besides if that was the case she would have said it strait up! I am quite suspicious of the timing and her finality in her exit. Something unpleasent happened along the way because I get the feeling from the tweets of Gary and Hill that it wasnt expected. It is two weeks out to filming season seven and all of a sudden this? I think money may have something to do with it but I think the way they have been writing her character this last season maybe even more. They let her write an episode and she enjoyed that as well as Carmen. You can tell how much she loves playing Stella doing her own stunts when she can. No I think they not only had monetary issues but more likely writing problems which have been quite evident this last season. Since they have been shoving Danny and Lindsey down our throats the past two seasons someone must think we all just love them since they devoted the finale to them. They better wake up because they just lost a whole fan base and the "Messers" just dont cut it. That and all the Blitz and Bling guest stars they paraded out.The only thing that could save this series is Melina takes a leave and this gets resolved. I may be in denial but the love she has for her character and her coworkers is evident. And I cant believe something could not be worked out. It looks like the line had been drawen in the sand. And WT*? are they trying to shove Sela Ward into another CSI series? First Miami then NY? Marg better look out!

 

[Lori K.]

TRENDS
Will Melina Kanakaredes Succumb to the CSI Casting Boomerang?

Written by Julie Miller | 12 Jul 2010, 7:30 PM | 4 comments

Earlier this afternoon, CBS delivered a shocking blow to CSI: NY fans: Melina Kanakaredes is hanging up her fake badge after playing the role of Detective Stella Bonasera for six seasons. Movieline’s sister site Deadline reported that Sela Ward is being considered as Gary Sinise’s new partner, but not for long if Kanakaredes falls victim to the same phenomenon that’s afflicted other actors who’ve tried to leave the franchise: the CSI casting boomerang.
The Victim: Jorja Fox
The Series: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
The Circumstances: After she and her CSI co-star George Eads were briefly fired from the show in 2004 (four years after debuting her role as a Las Vegas forensic scientist named Sara Sidle), CBS execs resolved the issues they had with the actors inside of a week and re-upped both contracts without giving either actor a raise. In 2007, Fox told Entertainment Weekly that she wanted a break from a weekly television commitment and returned for only a few of season eight’s episodes.
The Return: After producing a musical for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center and guest-starring in Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva, CSI executive producer Carol Mendelsohn announced that Fox would be returning for the show’s tenth season “indefinitely.”
The Victim: Adam Rodríguez
The Series: CSI: Miami
The Circumstances: For seven seasons, Rodriguez played Detective Eric Delko, a fingerprint and drug identification expert of Russian and Cuban descent, before his character was shot by a friend and replaced by Eddie Cibrian in the show’s eighth year. During that season, Rodriguez’s character announced that he was leaving the team because “life is too short.”
The Return: After wrapping a guest arc on Ugly Betty in February, the actor announced via Twitter that he was returning to the procedural (meanwhile, Cibrian was bounced).
Will Kanakaredes have better luck outside of the crime world? She has only starred in one film in the last five years — Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief — but the Daytime Emmy-nominated actress, who recently supported another successful network drama, Providence, has the best resume of the three (now, if she can just avoid that damn boomerang…).

Sorry for the "double post" but I for one would love to see the boomer...rang

 

[Top41]

And yet we're most likely stuck with Anna Belknap for another f***ing season?

That thought crossed my mind as well! :lol: There truly is no justice. :lol:

I don't think this bodes well for the series - Friday nights without one of the major players? I wouldn't be surprised if season 7 was the last, but I hope I'm proven wrong.

Another thought that crossed my mind--the time slot move and the departure of a lead doesn't bode well for the show. Obviously, I hope next season isn't the last--and I hope there's a creative rebound from this season as well--but I wouldn't be shocked if it was. Not that there's any shame in ending after seven years--that's a totally respectable run.

Melina is amazing, and I totally respect that she chose to leave - I wish her the best. Still, I'm sad to see that she won't be on the show anymore.

I hope they give her a proper exit, but the Ausiello article implied that she won't be back at all, which sucks because the character and actress deserve more than an abrupt offscreen exit.

Agreed and agreed. I think it will be a shame if the character doesn't get any kind of send off at all. I hope they can make a deal for her to return for at least one episode.

Sela Ward is great, and NY could do far worse than bring on such a talented actress to replace Melina - if that rumor turns out to be true (which it might not), I hope it all works out for the series. If not, I hope they find a good replacement to keep things moving smoothly. There are a lot of talented people on NY, and I want the show to last as long as possible.

Sela Ward is awesome. I've been a fan of hers since Sisters. I think she'd be great. Personally, I wish they'd get Kristen Dalton to come back as Quinn--I liked her immediately and I think she'd be a great replacement because she's neither a clone of nor polar opposite of Stella. And she's already established in the series. But I bet they want a name actress.

(Also, what the hell, female characters are dropping like flies at CBS.)

Indeed. :shifty:

Why is it that the females (except Marg, I guess) are the ones expected to take the hits? Well, I guess most of the showrunners are male and sexism is rearing its ugly head again. I can't do much to impact their decision making, but (despite adoring Gary Sinise) I can withold my viewership. I will no longer watch the series because I interpret this as TPTB forcing MK to make an unacceptable choice. I don't blame her for refusing a pay cut. Had she chosen to leave for some other reason, I could watch the show but, in all honesty, it will never be as good without her. The chemistry (friendship, professional relationship, et al) between Stella and Mac is irreplaceable. Pity because it had become my favorite of the three CSIs. Principles matter to some of us, even if not among the Hollywood powers. *shakes head in sadness*

I don't blame her for not wanting to take a pay cut either--especially if she was the only lead asked to do so. But it's not the showrunners' call--that's totally in the hands of the studio. But yeah... given how many women CBS has axed or scaled back the contracts of, it's really hard not to see the sexism in it.

But she's been acting Stella for 6 years! If I were Melina, I think I'd like to give Stella a proper closer. But they say she's just leaving. I think the pay cut rumor makes sense.

You would think if there was any truth to the rumor they'd keep it as part of the story.

Not necessarily. It might be that they can't prove it, or that they were asked by either Melina's people or CBS to remove that bit.

 

[robotnik22]

Sorry for being off-topic but CONGRATULATIONS CHARLIE SHEEN! LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO THE CAREERS OF 4 SUPERB ACTRESSES BECAUSE OF YOUR 1.5 MILLION DOLLAR SALARY!:scream::scream::scream::scream::scream::scream::scream:

 

[Maya316]

I've aired my feelings on this elsewhere already, but this blows. There's not much else to say. Other than not getting why Melina (or any of the actors) would even be asked to take a pay-cut, with all the other "changes" they've made (a quarter of NY's cast not even appearing in some of the episodes, four other actors cut from CBS). I clearly don't know what's going on at CBS, but any way I look at it it doesn't make sense.

What makes the least sense: in what world it would cost less to bring Sela Ward on as a lead than it would to keep Melina's contract the same?

^ETA: I know off-topic, but agree so muchabout Charlie Sheen. Gah.

 

[flying mouse]

Aiden, Angell, Payton(NY), Speedle, Eric(Miami), Sarra, Warrick, Grissom(Original) got decent and touching closing episode. Even Marty Pino got one. Now they say her last episode already aired and she's just leaving. What would have happened between Melina and CBS regarding the deal? Maybe bad enough so she wouldn't even star just one more episode to close. Or maybe Melina never look back. If that's the case she's the coolest person I can imagine.

TRENDS
Sorry for the "double post" but I for one would love to see the boomer...rang

Rather, I want to wish her success of George Clooney and Jennifer Aniston.

 

[Top41]

Sorry for being off-topic but CONGRATULATIONS CHARLIE SHEEN! LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO THE CAREERS OF 4 SUPERB ACTRESSES BECAUSE OF YOUR 1.5 MILLION DOLLAR SALARY!:scream::scream::scream::scream::scream::scream::scream:

Apparently, it pays to be a wife-beater, but if you have two X chromosomes you're screwed.

 

[Cyn-B-Demented]

Haven't been here in ages but... this deserves a short comeback (and the last).

Melina sudden exist doesn't make sense. Money could be it but I suspect, like most of you, that there is way more to it. If it was family matter, I doubt Melina would have been shy to say it or have her PR say it. To have a long-time actress with a leading role leave after 6 good years of work... it smells for CBS. And smells very bad. All their "pay cuts" is driving me nuts and unfortunately for the rest of the casts of the shows, I hope their ratings suffers from their bad decisions and hopefully can bring back some characters.
ETA : I can only imagine the heart-breaking adieux they had on the set. The guys must be feeling very down from Melina's departure...

Also, I think it's unacceptable to have her exit the show WITHOUT even an exit episode for her. Maybe it was Melina's choice to just get the fuck out with whatever happened with CBS execs, or they simply added insult to injury because she wasn't satisfied with whatever they were "offering". A background explanation won't cut it. The very LEAST they own to the audience and fan base is a decent exit episode. And now we won't even have that? Bullshit. I won't even hope they'll give her an open ending in case things -could- get better between Melina and CBS.

In overall I was greatly disappointed with the writing of S6 that I suspected I wouldn't bother with S7. What made me stick around is the characters. But seeing what few is left of them after baring the entire S6 and now that Melina will leave a big hole to the cast and the CSI:NY team (I'm left with the same interrogation : why Melina and not Anna?!) , I can't say I'd be watching the show anymore. I'll probably download some episodes that sounds decent from their summary but will not watch it live ever again. It will hurt the ratings thus hurting the rest of the cast and the crew, and I'm sorry about that, but the Melina Debacle is the last straw for me. CBS cannot fuck with everything they have and expect the audience to shrug it off and swallow whatever shitty alternatives they shove down its throat.

Anyways...
I'm gonna leaven saying I still can't believe all that has happened to CSI:NY and I do hope it will get better... one day... eventually... or I'll just remember their best seasons.

Apparently, it pays to be a wife-beater, but if you have two X chromosomes you're screwed.

Another reason why the audience/fans needs to shake things up at CBS. They have proven time and time again that value, integrity and respect is not part of any deal they have unless their greedy wallets are fed. I know it's a business but c'mon.

 

[Blinded By Smoke]

I've not been home all day, and I got back to this news....I'm SHOCKED. This is terrible! I don't know what happened to make her actually NOT have a proper send off!!! Both the character of Stella AND Melina deserve that.... at the very least, she should have made an appearance, to let everyone know what was up!!! If it were her choice, really, or CBS', I do not know--- but either way it's a horrible move on SOMEONE's part! She was my absolute favorite on the show, and will be sorely missed. I feel like I could cry...

Sorry that this isn't to constructive... it's been a very long day and I just had to put in my two cents. It could have already been said before, I'll be honest, I haven't read all the post yet.... but I'm going to.

Sad, sad news. Sorry to see her go, whatever the case.

 

[~Sarah~]

Sorry for being off-topic but CONGRATULATIONS CHARLIE SHEEN! LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO THE CAREERS OF 4 SUPERB ACTRESSES BECAUSE OF YOUR 1.5 MILLION DOLLAR SALARY!:scream::scream::scream::scream::scream::scream::scream:

What makes you think the two are related?

 

[Karlia]

this show is done for me! Adios!

 

[vegaslights]

Aiden, Angell, Payton(NY), Speedle, Eric(Miami), Sarra, Warrick, Grissom(Original) got decent and touching closing episode. Even Marty Pino got one. Now they say her last episode already aired and she's just leaving. What would have happened between Melina and CBS regarding the deal? Maybe bad enough so she wouldn't even star just one more episode to close. Or maybe Melina never look back. If that's the case she's the coolest person I can imagine.

TRENDS
Sorry for the "double post" but I for one would love to see the boomer...rang

Rather, I want to wish her success of George Clooney and Jennifer Aniston.

Let me add others that were amongst the three shows at one point who did not get a fond farewell:

CSI: Sofia; who did not even get an explanation on why she left.
Riley; who apparently did a 360 and had bad things to say about Catherine's leadership.

Miami: Megan Donner; I don't remember much about her exit, but if I recall, it was hardly mentioned.

NY: Not so many, but whenever there is a cast member leaving it's usually in a bad light (Aiden and Angell getting killed).

 

[Theresa]

She is just being a smart business woman. She saw the handwriting on the wall when it was moved to Friday's and wanted to leave on a high note before the show got cancelled.

 

[talkingtocactus]

Well, I think the pay cut wasn't the true reason and there was more to it. She would have known that she wants to spend more time with her kids before contract negotiations, wouldn't she? So why negotiate at all and not say she's leaving after season six? In which case, they could have given her a proper exit with season six. So, in my eyes, it doesn't make more sense that she wants to spend more time with her kids.

it's probably a bit of both, i guess. maybe her kids are getting to an age where she feels it's more important to spend more time with them - after all, gary said one reason he took the csi job because his filming schedule on movies was too chaotic for him to spend time with his kids and they were getting to an age he wanted to - so although it's in reverse i think it's plausible. i guess we'll see more of the truth when we see whether she takes other work now, and how any upcoming filming schedules in new work compare; if those allow her less time with the kids, i think that reason can be discounted.

I think that if she left under friendly conditions (not a pay cut problem) then she would be willing to come back for a proper closure of her character.

I agree. That's the weird part. That this seems to come as a complete surprise to anyone.

yeah, that is really weird.... and as someone said, the tweets from gary and hill didn't sound pre-planned so maybe it was a surprise to them? i mean, i assume they've known a little while but even so, it's not like there have been nicely worded press releases etc, it all seems quite sudden.

2) Best wishes to Melina on all her future projects. Her time on NY has ensured I will be curious about whatever she takes on. Startled and disappointed she won't be returning to the show for S7. Affectionate support for her where ever she decides to go next.

definitely

7) Selfishly & perhaps on teh ebil side: I will not miss the Smack debate of the sort that was recently fed by Twilit hype. At least, I will not miss that there will be no new fodder for it. I'm sure in itself and in FF that it will continue merrily on regardless. (Just IMO folks, nuthin more).

I will miss the dynamic that Stella created/contributed to, with regards to how she played among the cast of characters, and within stories.

agreed!!

Also, I think it's unacceptable to have her exit the show WITHOUT even an exit episode for her. Maybe it was Melina's choice to just get the fuck out with whatever happened with CBS execs, or they simply added insult to injury because she wasn't satisfied with whatever they were "offering". A background explanation won't cut it. The very LEAST they own to the audience and fan base is a decent exit episode. And now we won't even have that? Bullshit. I won't even hope they'll give her an open ending in case things -could- get better between Melina and CBS.

yeah, i think we might have to accept it but it's pretty shoddy....

Apparently, it pays to be a wife-beater, but if you have two X chromosomes you're screwed.

probably! maybe mel gibson will be given a recurring role too :scream:

She is just being a smart business woman. She saw the handwriting on the wall when it was moved to Friday's and wanted to leave on a high note before the show got cancelled.

i'm inclined to agree with that actually - i think the decline over the last season's been pretty obvious, i know if it were me i'd want to quit while i was ahead!

ps: hi shippyangel! nice to see you