“CSI” star William Petersen is returning to television with a series regular role in the WGN America period drama “Manhattan.”
Petersen joins the cast for Season Two as Col. Emmett Darrow, the enigmatic new ranking military officer at Los Alamos, site of the Manhattan Project in the 1940s. According to the announcement, Darrow is a “deeply religious and patriotic man [who] feels called by God to usher in the atomic future, and to spread American values across the globe.”
The actor had a 10-year run on “CSI” as Dr. Gilbert “Gil” Grissom, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. He left the CBS procedural in 2009.
“Manhattan” begins production on its second season in New Mexico in April and will premiere later this year. It follows the scientists of Los Alamos and their families against the backdrop of the race to build the first atomic bomb during WWII.
Its cast includes John Benjamin Hickey, Olivia Williams, Daniel Stern, Ashley Zukerman, Rachel Brosnahan, Katja Herbers, Alexia Fast, Christopher Denham, Harry Lloyd and Michael Chernus.
Sam Shaw is the creator/writer of the series and Thomas Schlamme is the director.