When CSI:NY begins its sixth season on CBS at 10 p.m. Wednesday, it will be a milestone for Akron native Melina Kanakaredes.It's not simply that the CBS police drama will have some big doings for her character, detective Stella Bonasera. The fifth season ended on a turbulent note, with the death of her colleague Jessica Angell (played by Emmanuelle Vaugier) and then an episode-ending spray of bullets into the bar where the main characters were paying tribute to Jessica.
''It was painful that they killed off the beautiful Emmanuelle,'' said the Firestone High School graduate. ''I really loved working with her, and it was sad to see her go.''
As for the season-ending gunplay, she said, ''All the characters have to deal with that near-death experience in a different way.'' For Stella, she said: ''The way she recovers is kind of shocking. She forms a relationship with someone unexpected and complicated. It's a big surprise. Before I saw the script, I thought, it's been six years. What could they do that would surprise me? This did.''
She stopped short of saying with whom Stella will be linked, but did hint that ''if you watch the teaser that's on the air, you'll probably figure it out.''
The show is also going high-definition for its sixth season, which is ''another new experience,'' Kanakaredes said. But when reminded how tough HD can be on actors' skin (with seemingly every line and blemish visible), Kanarakedes said: ''It's one of those things. I have a good makeup artist, and I have a good DP [director of photography].''
And it will have an array of cases, as well as a new and recurring nemesis, a killer played by Skeet Ulrich, beginning in the Oct. 7 telecast.
But here's the biggest thing about Kanakaredes and CSI: NY : ''This is the longest I've ever been in a series,'' she said.
In fact, it has taken up almost half of her prime-time life. That began in 1995 when she ended close to four years on daytime's Guiding Light to focus on prime-time roles and movies. At the time, she had a recurring role on NYPD Blue, and hoped for more opportunities.
September 1995 found her co-starring in New York News with a top-shelf cast including Mary Tyler Moore, Joe Morton and Madeline Kahn. But that series, about a tabloid newspaper, lasted just a few months. She was back in series TV two years later with Leaving L.A., a drama about a coroner's office, which also featured Chrisopher Meloni before Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Hilary Swank before two Oscars.
Kanakaredes showed up on the big screen with roles in Rounders, The Long Kiss Goodnight and Dangerous Beauty, and guest-starred on some TV series. But she broke through as a star in 1999 with the NBC series Providence, a family drama that was her longest run before CSI:NY. Providence aired across five seasons although both the first (which began at midseason) and the fifth were relatively brief.
And there were efforts off-camera, including two daughters — now 6 and 9 — with businessman husband Peter Constantinides; directing an episode of Providence and writing an episode of CSI:NY.
''It's all about what makes my heart sing,'' she said. And about seeing your life unfold on-screen.
She still credits Guiding Light, which ended its CBS run on Friday, with creating a bond between her and many viewers who have followed her since. That's an especially strong connection to Greek-Americans, since she and GL's Frank Dicopoulos, another former Akron resident, played not only a romantic duo but characters of Greek descent.
''I got to help in developing my character,'' she said of Eleni Andros Cooper, her GL role. ''I fought with the producers about my accent. Usually you start with an accent and after six months it's gone. I said my grandparents lived here for years and they never lost their accents.''
For viewers, she said, ''that became not so much a Greek thing as a thing for the immigrants in the audience. I think people responded to it. And then they liked it when she kind of blossomed on the show.''
Now, even as she looks back, she continues to look ahead. She has very much enjoyed being on CSI:NY. She said that it has established its own identity and audience separate from the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation mothership, and a following in other countries. But she was hesitant when asked about how long she would stay with the series, assuming it goes on.
''You never know,'' she said. ''You never want to be overly confident. . . . And there are so many other opportunities. . . . There used to be only four networks. Now you've got Showtime, you've got TNT. AMC — who'da thunk it?'' she said, referring to the home of Mad Men and Breaking Bad.
At the same time, there's the shadow of The Jay Leno Show spread over five hours of prime time, which used to be the home for dramas.
''He might put us all out of work,'' she said, mentioning estimates that as many as 1,000 acting and production jobs were lost when NBC went with Leno over scripted series. Other shows, including hers, are feeling the pinch of cost-cutting. She mentioned budget as a reason for Vaugier's leaving, and as part of the question of how much time CSI:NY would be spending in New York for location scenes woven into episodes mainly shot in California.
She is excited about a role in The Lightning Thief, a movie due in theaters in 2010. It's based on the first book in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series by Rick Riordan. In what she hopes is just the first of at least three movies, she plays the goddess Athena. (A Greek goddess, of course.)
''It's a lot of fun,'' she said. ''It's very much a Harry Potter kind of thing.'' Chris Columbus, the director, has also helmed Potter movies — and, Kanakaredes happily noted, is another former Buckeye, who grew up in Warren.
''We just bonded in the whole Ohio way,'' she said. ''He's very down-to-earth and fabulous.''
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