Laurence Fishburne is in talks to succeed William Petersen as the star of CBS' veteran crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

CBS's search has been shrouded in secrecy, but sources say Fishburne is being heavily courted to play the new character, described as a doctor/scientist outsider to the CSI unit who has the same genetic profile as a serial killer but hasn't previously acted on any homicidal impulses.