Laurence Fishburne is in talks to replace William Petersen as the lead actor on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigates."

Producers have kept their search for a new star under wraps, but evidently Fishburne is being tapped to play a 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.

Fishburne, who starred in "The Matrix" and earned an Emmy nod for "What's Love Got to Do With It," is as one of the "CSI" producers' top choices for the role, along with John Malkovich and Kurt Russell.