Characters / CSI: NY

Characters in CSI: NY.

The Whole Team

A bunch of attractive scientists/cops. This is a CSI spin-off after all.

Mac Taylor

Det. McCanna "Mac" Llewellyn Taylor

Portrayed by: Gary Sinise

Dubbed by: Bernard Gabay (European French)

• Atonement Detective: Former Marine who still occasionally has flashbacks to the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing in which another man died in his arms. Tells one smug young perp, "I put men in the ground on foreign soil so you can sleep at night."
• By-the-Book Cop: Tells someone he's about to fire for even considering compromising evidence:
  There are three things that I'll protect at any cost: the honor of this country, the safety of this city, and the integrity of this lab. As scientists, we have a great deal of power, the ability to assign guilt or innocence. But when we analyze a crime scene, we collect pieces of evidence, we make a promise to the people of this city. A promise to handle that evidence with respect, integrity, and good faith. When you broke this seal, you broke that promise.
• Badges and Dog Tags: Mac keeps several photos and mementos from his Marine days in his office at the Crime Lab.
• Bonding Through Shared Earbuds: "Indelible" has a touching flashback to Mac & Claire's last morning together where they share earbuds on the bus to work before he gets off at his stop.
• Character Catchphrase: If he has one, it's "My name is Mac Taylor," which, incidentally, is the title of the 100th episode, but he does not use it there; it's only uttered by *other* people with that name.
• Clear My Name: "Past Imperfect." A suicidal serial killer tried to frame him for the guy's own murder.
• Cool Shades: Occasionally, such as in "Zoo York," he'll pull Horatio's trick with his own dark sunglasses.
• Cowboy Cop: Several times in season 3, especially going after a recently released serial killer without calling for back-up.
• Determinator: One Victim of the Week is delivered to a laundry facility that handles linens from hotels all over the city. Flack snarkily comments that there are only about 70,000 hotel rooms in NYC. Our hero's response?
  Mac: I'll take those odds. Ten minutes into the episode, the team has it narrowed down to the correct hotel.
• Digital De-Aging: CGI, lighting and sepia tones were used to make Sinise look 15-20 years younger in a flashback to Mac visiting his parents right before leaving the Marines to join the NYPD.
• Embarrassing Middle Name: Mac Llewellyn Taylor. Stan, his former partner, had teased him about it relentlessly back in the day.
• Encyclopaedic Knowledge: Roller Derby rules, weaponry of all types, the ins and outs of dog show competitions, dentistry in other countries, buildings in other cities, space exploration, boxing...Mac's forever spouting some kind of information others don't expect him to know.
  He and Sheldon are discussing the world of hip hop:
  Mac: You should hear Aiden talk about this stuff. Close your eyes and she sounds just like Queen Latifa.
  Sheldon: [surprised] What do you know about Queen Latifa?
  Mac: [grinning slightly] It's my job to know a little something about everything.
• Exact Words: Mac is told not to utter the word "sniper" during a press conference in "Hide Sight." He doesn't, but verbally agrees with a reporter who does. Chief Carver asks what he's supposed to tell their superiors. Mac replies, "Tell them I never uttered the word 'sniper'."
• Family of Choice: Mac regards his team as his family, and tells Christine so in 'Unwrapped.'
  Mac: For a long time, this place, those guys, were my whole world. They helped me through some really tough times. And now I have you.
• A Father to His Men / Benevolent Boss: Tries his best to mentor Danny in Season 1 and comforts him when his brother is severely injured; inspires Lindsay with reenactments in Season 2, hugs her protectively on several occasions, during season 7 reassures her after her ordeal with Shane Casey in "The 34th Floor" and saves her from a hail of bullets in "Life Sentence;" saves Flack's life in the Season 2 finale; gives Sheldon a place to stay when he loses his apartment in "It Happened to Me;" helps Adam deal with issues stemming from his childhood in Season 9.
• Feet-First Introduction:
  • It's actually in CSI: Miami's episode, "MIA/NYC Nonstop," but it's how Mac is initially seen as he exits a police cruiser upon arriving at the scene of the murder of the man Horatio first suspected of the killings in Miami.
  • He gets a feet-first RE-introduction in season 8's "Keep It Real" upon returning to the crime lab after working at Piper Laboratories for a few months during his 10-Minute Retirement over the summer hiatus.
• Fictional Fan, Real Celebrity: Mac is a big fan of Ronald Reagan. He keeps a framed 8" X 10" of the President in his office, and one co-worker teases him about "that 8-hour documentary you're always watching."
• The Finicky One: Danny tells Lindsay the word "joke" isn't in Mac's vocabulary, and Mac later tells a scheming reporter that he's a big fan of the rules.
• Heartbroken Badass: Lost his wife, Claire, in the 9/11 attacks. Suffered with insomnia for years afterward.
• The Insomniac: He doesn't like going home to an empty apartment. In the premiere, Stella asks Mac what time he came in to work; he says he never went home. In a later episode, she chides him about it, saying "You're never going to get any sleep in this lifetime, are you?" Once Jo takes over as second-in-command, she takes up the cause and even has Flack haul Mac out of a crime scene after he's been up for at least two, possibly three, days straight. Stella keeps on him about it too:
  Stella: What do you do when you can't sleep?
  Mac: Work.
  Stella: No, what do normal people do when they can't sleep?
• It Is Not Your Time: Claire tells him so after he's shot and nearly succumbs to his injuries in "Near Death."
• The Lost Lenore: His late wife Claire, who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and whom Mac is not only still mourning in the series premiere three years later, but is also not over her enough to fully commit to a new girlfriend two *more* years after that.
• Manly Tears:
  • Averted with Claire. He doesn't cry when speaking about her to the locked-in victim or at Ground Zero in "Blink," or during his "limbo" period in "Near Death."
  • Invoked with Christine. In "Misconceptions," he breaks down when he finally realizes that he's going to lose her if he doesn't swallow his pride, apologize for shutting her out, and open up to her.
• Married to the Job: He doesn't even like to go home to sleep. Christine is helping him get his head out of work now.
• Mysterious Past: The series opens with Mac sitting alone in church at night. The audience isn't told what's bothering him until later in the episode, and details are slowly revealed as the season goes on.
• Named After Somebody Famous: Well, a famous fictitious character anyway. Sinise asked that his character's last name be changed to that of his most iconic film character, Lt. Dan Taylor from Forrest Gump.
• Near-Death Experience: When Mac is shot and critically wounded, he has an out-of-body experience where he converses with his colleagues and deceased wife.
• No Full Name Given: "Word of St. Paul" (Gary Sinise) says that Mac's full first name is McCanna, but it's never used on screen. He's the one who asked Anthony E. Zuiker to change it from Rick Carlucci to Mac Taylor to begin with, so that seems legit.
• Official Couple: First with Claire in a way, then Peyton in Season 3, and finally with Christine from mid-Season 8 through the series finale.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: As explained on the Main and Trivia pages, Mac's given name is McCanna.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Mac tends to act as The Stoic most of the time, and is firm stickler for the rules and keeping a clear head. So when he is the one pissed beyond belief or flying off the handle, it's a sign of shit going wrong. Prime example being "Civilized Lies", where Mac is very angry and close to losing his temper numerous times when interrogating a suspect believed to have shot an off duty cop, to the point that, when Flack goes to interrogate the suspect and the latter asks if he's the "good cop", Flack notes Mac is the one normally playing "good cop".
• Patriotic Fervor: The first part of Mac's Heroic Vow is defending the honor of America. In "Can You Hear Me Now?" he is disgusted by a pair of victims having had sex on the Statue of Liberty's torch.
• Real Men Cook: Claims to "make a mean cheeseburger" in the season 3 premiere. Prepares bruschetta for Christine in season 8.
• Scars Are Forever: Mac has scars from being burned by a hot piece of shrapnel during the 1983 terrorist bombings in Beirut, from being blown up in "Charge of This Post," and from his bullet wound in "Near Death."
• Semper Fi: Once a Marine, always a Marine. Note his use of the present tense in this exchange from "Tanglewood" in Season 1:
  Sonny Sassone: That's right. That's the way we do it. Mafia style. You look a man dead in the eye and watch the light go out. But chu wouldn't know anything 'bout *that* would ya, *coppa*?
  Det. Mac Taylor: I'm a Marine, you little punk. I've put men in the ground on foreign soil so you can sleep at night, but you wouldn't know anything about *that*, would ya - *kid*?
• Sharp-Dressed Man: He wears a suit to work more often than not (complete with tie in season 1). Even when his suitcase goes missing for weeks upon his return from London in season 4, he still manages to dress nicely. The black button-down shirt he dons before his suitcase is returned is so sharp Danny remarks, "Whoa, Mac, back in black!"
• Single-Episode Handicap: He's stuck at home with his leg propped up, a sprained right arm, and a few broken ribs for most of "Point of View." He's completely healed by "Vacation Getaway."
• Standard Cop Backstory: Military career, deceased spouse, little to no personal life, and an argument can be made that he inadvertently caused the death of a childhood friend's older brother by not shooting the guy who was beating the boy to a pulp when he had the chance (at age 14).
• The Stoic: Sinise himself once said of his character, "He smiles once a season."
• Team Dad: Whenever the others, especially Adam, are goofing around in the lab, he always sets them straight. Usually a stern look will do the trick, but occasionally such as the time Adam & Danny where teasing Lindsay by using age progression software on a pic of her, he'll say something parental like, "Are you three done?" and they'll immediately snap to attention. But let anyone else threaten any of them...
• 10-Minute Retirement: Although he leaves the Lab over the 2011 summer hiatus, he returns as Lab Chief the second episode of the next season.
• Two First Names: Mac Taylor.
• Unprocessed Resignation: Sinclair pulls Mac's retirement papers when he asks to return to the Lab after his 4-month stint at Piper Laboratories at the beginning of season 8.

Stella Bonasera

Det. Stella Bonasera

Portrayed by: Melina Kanakaredes

Dubbed by: Céline Monsarrat (European French)

• Action Girl: Is in the thick of things with Mac & Sheldon defending the Lab in episode 3.24, "Snow Day."
• Alone with the Psycho: Her ex-boyfriend Frankie in episode 2.21, "All Access."
• Breast Plate: Often wears a rather low-cut Bulletproof Vest, exposing part of her cleavage—and the heart area.
• Fair Cop: Gets hit on by suspects a good bit. There was also this exchange from one of Sid's early episodes:
  Sid: You are as brilliant as you are beautiful.
  Stella: Don't flirt with me, Hammerback.
• Fatal Attractor: See Alone with the Psycho above. Also, her secret admirer in season 4 turned out to be Mac's 333 Stalker.
• Foster Kid: Episode 3.22, "Cold Reveal," concerns a foster sister of Stella's.
• Gorgeous Greek: She's half Greek, half American.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: Many of Stella's outfits highlight her cleavage, but in episode 4.03, "You Only Die Once," Stella wears a scintillating black dress that dips all the way to the top of her stomach.
• Put on a Bus: At the beginning of season 7. She transfers to New Orleans to head up the crime lab there and is never seen nor heard from again after episode 7.01 (and only because she sent Lindsay a package then). There is one mention a short time later, tho; Lindsay refers to "the last case Stella was working on" in a conversation with Jo.
• Quirky Curls: Never changes her hairstyle throughout her six seasons. Her mentor, Professor Papakota, tells her her curls are what drew his attention to call on her in class all the time.
• Standard Cop Backstory: Never knew her father, mother was killed in a car accident when she was two years old, grew up in an orphanage/foster care.
• Stellar Name: "Stella Bonasera" translates to "Star Goodnight."

Danny Messer

Det. Daniel Messer

Portrayed by: Carmine Giovinazzo

• Beard of Sorrow: Is revealed to have grown one in the season 6 opener due to having been paralyzed from being shot in the season 5 finale.
• Brooklyn Rage: Sometimes. Particularly with a guy he thought had killed a colleague, a guy who dissed 10-yr old Ruben Sandoval's mother after the boy was killed, and a neo-Nazi who spit on Sheldon.
• Career-Ending Injury: A broken wrist ended his dreams of a baseball career and led him to become a detective.
• Catchphrase: "Boom."
• Clear My Name: 3 times. "On the Job," "Run Silent, Run Deep," and "Officer Involved."
• Deconfirmed Bachelor: Once he and Lindsay get together; prior to their relationship, he rejected the idea of falling in love and once said, "I don't cuddle."
• Exact Words: During the hearing about Mac's encounter with Clay Dobson, Danny is asked if he can read a certain portion of the autopsy report. He says, "Sure" and proceeds to do so...silently.
• Fair Cop: See Mr. Fanservice below.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: It's gotten him into trouble a time or two.
• Happily Married: To Lindsay.
• Mistaken for Cheating: In "Officer Involved," after he throws a guy out of a bar for persistently hitting on one of the rookies he is supervising.
• Mr. Fanservice: Even franchise creator Anthony Zuiker joked about putting him in a vest or having him take off his shirt every season.
• Mysterious Past: Finally revealed in season 2's "Run Silent, Run Deep."
• Official Couple: With Lindsay.
• Perma-Stubble: Practically the entire series run.
• Rank Up: Briefly, in the beginning of season 8. But he gives up his sergeant's stripes and goes back to the Lab.
• Standard Cop Backstory: Grew up fairly poor; older brother was in a gang causing Danny to step up and be the responsible one.
• 10-Minute Retirement: His brief stint as a Sergeant apparently began during the hiatus between Seasons 7 & 8, but only covered 4 actual episodes.
• The Glasses Come Off: In later seasons.
• Turn in Your Badge: Once in season 3, but Mac returns it after IA decides not to can him; subverted in season 8 after the person who lied about him recants.

Lindsay "Montana" Messer

Det. Lindsay "Montana" Messer (formerly Monroe)

Portrayed by: Anna Belknap

• Action Mom: Saving Lucy from Shane Casey.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She's sweet enough, until someone threatens her family.
• Big Eater: In "Food for Thought":
  Lindsay: *gives Danny a Long List of food to pick up*
  Danny: *scoffs, starts to walk off, turns and gives her a look*
  Lindsay: I'm not pregnant, I'm just hungry.
• Brainy Brunette: It was her analysis of blood spatter in a major case in Montana that caused Mac to hire her in the first place. Inspired by his demonstrations in "Zoo York" and a few other episodes, she becomes a reenactment expert. In one of her earliest episodes, she answers a question of Mac's before he has a chance to ask it. He asks how she knew what he wanted and she explains her thought process, which impresses him. In "The Lady in the Lake," she asks Mac if he believes in luck, then goes into detail as to how she arrived at a conclusion which provided a lead in the case. Mac tells her, "That's brains, not luck."
• Dark and Troubled Past: Lindsay survived a massacre back in Montana. It scarred her so much that she has trouble talking to mothers whose children are murder victims, and even rushes out of one crime scene that reminds her too much of the incident.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Sports mid-length hair in seasons 2 & 3, either straight or wavy before having chin length hair from season 4-6, then to shoulder length hair from season 7-9.
• Farm Girl: Born and raised in Montana. Her father gave her slingshots, guns, etc for birthday presents when she was a child.
• Happily Married: To Danny, beginning in late season 5.
• Harmful to Minors: As a teenager, Lindsay witnessed the murder of several friends. In season three, she is called to testify at the trial of their murderer. In season nine, she returns to Montana again for his execution.
• Hometown Nickname: She's from Bozeman, MT.
• Mama Bear: Not a good idea to mess with Danny and Lucy.
• Mysterious Past: Her big secret was hinted at a while before it was finally revealed she survived a shooting.
• Official Couple: With Danny.
• Screaming Birth: Screams while in labor when Lucy is born near the end of "Greater Good."
• Sole Survivor: The only reason she wasn't killed along with her friends is because she happened to be in the ladies' room when the perp arrived.
• Standard Cop Backstory: She survived a mass shooting as a teen that claimed the lives of several of her close friends and is still traumatized by it as an adult.
• Survivor's Guilt: She's been dealing with this ever since, due to the above. Finally resolved when she successfully testifies against the killer, resulting in him being sent to Death Row and executed.
• Trauma Button: Lindsay has trouble in early appearances when the Victim of the Week is a teenage girl, as the sight of their bodies often causes flashbacks to the murder of her own friends when they were teens.
• Written-In Absence: Lindsay does not appear in a few episodes of both season 3 and season 5. Anna Belknap was on maternity leave both times.

Don Flack

Det. Donald Flack, Jr.

Portrayed by: Eddie Cahill

• Born Detective: His father was a cop as well.
• Broken Pedestal: His mentor, Moran, turned out to be dirty.
• Cop and Scientist: Flack works closely with either Mac, Stella, Danny, Lindsay, Jo or some combination thereof on just about every single episode.
• Deadpan Snarker: Practically every episode he has something sarcastic to say, quite often providing comic relief in tense situations.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Turns to alcohol for a while after Angell's death.
• Fair Cop: He's the tall, dark, handsome one of the bunch.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible to little sister Sam's Foolish (see her entry below).
• The Lost Lenore: Angell.
• Manly Tears: Invoked when Angell died.
• Official Couple: Was one with Angell before she died.
• Real Men Cook: Quite deftly fixes Eggs Benedict for himself and his dog in one episode.
• Standard Cop Backstory: Alcoholic younger sister who couldn't seem to stay out of trouble, much less hold down a job.
• Stepford Smiler: After Angell's death.
• Vigilante Execution: He shot Angell's killer in cold blood.

Sheldon Hawkes

Dr. Sheldon Hawkes

Portrayed by: Hill Harper

From CBS's original character bio: "Raised in Harlem, Dr. Hawkes was a child prodigy who graduated college at eighteen. By twenty-four, he was a board-licensed surgeon. Because he was young and socially inexperienced, however, his education could not shield him from the pressure of having to save lives. Two years later, Dr. Hawkes left the operating room, retreating to the safety of the medical examiner's office."

• Beware the Nice Ones: Sheldon doesn't lose his temper often, which makes the moments where he does all the more incredible. A memorable example is the episode "Hammer Down," in which Sheldon delivers a vicious tirade to a doctor who was part of a human trafficking network. Given that Sheldon was not only a doctor but had also recently lost his savings because of a scam artist, Sheldon's anger at the man for taking advantage of people's trust was very understandable.
• Black and Nerdy: See character bio quote above.
• Clear My Name: Framed for robbery and murder in "Raising Shane."
• Hero Does Public Service: Volunteers at a clinic and as a medic in Central Park on his days off.
• The Medic: In addition to his volunteer duties, Sheldon serves as the team's go-to medical professional. Mac once asked him to stay outside while he and the other officers chase a heavily armed gang into a building because he expects casualties needing immediate medical attention. Sheldon replies, "Then this is where I'll be." In another episode, he tends to Sid before the ambulance arrives when the M.E. is exposed to radiation.
• Not That Kind of Doctor: Averted. In "Corporate Warriors," a suspect asks him, "What kind of doctor investigates fires?" Sheldon had spent five years in the ER before transferring to the morgue, then to the Crime Lab.
• Standard Cop Backstory: His sister was murdered, and a girlfriend was raped and he failed to be there when she needed him. He doesn't talk about either one of them much at all.
• There Should Be a Law: Sheldon is particularly disturbed by the fact that stalkers get away with terrorizing their victims because the things they do (phone calls, taking pictures, etc.) aren't illegal on their own.

Sid Hammerback

Dr. Sid Hammerback

Portrayed by: Robert Joy

• Anonymous Benefactor: The newspapers dubbed him "The Guardian Angel" for his $1 Million gifts to families of ten victims whose cases had really stuck with him.
• The Coroner: Obviously. Took over a few episodes after Sheldon transferred to the field.
• Creepy Mortician: Sid's Creepy Place.
• Iron Butt-Monkey: Endures quite a bit for the amount of screen time he has: goes into anaphylactic shock from an unnamed sandwich ingredient, gets radiation poisoning from a corpse, learns a trusted ex-colleague turned criminal, narrowly avoids being blinded by an explosive bullet, and finally makes millions on an invention...only to be diagnosed with cancer.
• Non-Idle Rich: Continues to work in the morgue after making his fortune.
• Rags to Riches: He wasn't exactly poor before, but he wasn't wealthy either. Now he's made a bundle on his pillow invention.
• Secretly Dying: He revealed to Jo that he has advanced Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Word of God says he will not die onscreen, but it's indicated he's heading for an end.
• Secretly Wealthy: Though that may be changing now, since anyone who isn't Jo, and possibly Mac (who may or may not know due to being his beta tester for the pillow, and who mentions Sid's fortune while "in limbo"), has to notice the piano in the morgue. ^note Until it conveniently disappears.
• Specs of Awesome: They're what keep him from being blinded, if not killed, by the exploding bullet he extracts from a victim's head.
• Supreme Chef: Mentions recipes he's tried, often with fairly exotic ingredients. Tells Mac in "Food for Thought" that he went to culinary school in France.
• Too Much Information: Likes to overshare at times. In "Stealing Home," which involved a "committed threesome" who had incorporated yet another person into their lifestyle, Sid starts telling Sheldon about a three-way he'd had back in college.
  Sheldon: Sid. [Sid keeps talking.] Sid, I-I gotta go. [Walks away leaving Sid looking disappointed that he didn't get to finish his story.]

Adam Ross

Adam Ross

Portrayed by: A.J. Buckley

• Abusive Parents: In "Some Buried Bones," Adam tells some of the team that his dad is a bully. In "The Real McCoy," he reveals to Mac that the man had been physically abusive to both him and his mother, and that his older brother had left home because of it.
• Butt-Monkey: Adam tends to get picked on a lot by the rest of the team for his dorky behavior, Mac and Lindsay in particular always seeming to enjoy busting his balls. They make clear though it's all in jest, and that Adam is like a brother to them.
• Catchphrase: "What up?!"
• The Dutiful Son: Adam's only sibling had left home before Adam graduated high school and is implied to have never returned, leaving Adam to deal with their father once the man is institutionalized with Alzheimer's. Since the family is from Arizona and Mr. Ross is now in NYC implies that he'd had the man moved cross-country so he could help look after him.
• Honor Thy Abuser: Adam still visits his father in hopes of connecting with and eventually developing feelings for the man, in spite of having been beaten by him as a youngster.
• Honor Thy Parent: In explaining to Mac why he still visits his father, Adam says, "Aren't you supposed to honor your parents?"
• The Lab Rat: Adam bounces around between DNA, Trace, Audio-Visual, and eventually Ballistics.
• Sad Clown: Adam jokes around a lot at work, possibly as a coping mechanism for the issues with his father.
• Slept Through the Apocalypse: Partied with some college buddies the night of Sept 10, 2001 and didn't wake up till the following afternoon. "And by then, the entire world had changed."
• Standard Cop Backstory: Physically and verbally abused by his father, who now has Alzheimer's so can't acknowledge his responsibility.
• Techno Wizard: Once he's joined the team, virtually all the A/V and computer-related investigations become his responsibility, as opposed to Danny's prior to his arrival.

Jo Danville

Det. Josephine Danville

Portrayed by: Sela Ward

• Amicable Exes: Her ex-husband still works with the FBI and pops up from time to time.
• Alone with the Psycho: "Means to an End."
• By-the-Book Cop: Much like Mac, Jo places heavy value on following protocol and adhering to a set of ethics that preserves the integrity of the investigation. This screwed things up for her though in the case against John Curtis while she was with the FBI. After her coworker Frank Waters mislabeled the DNA sample and tried to cover it up, she reported him herself and then fired him, tanking the case and letting Curtis walk free due to lack of evidence. Unlike Mac though, she doesn't always practice what she preaches. When John Curtis is accused of another rape, Frank calls her out for refusing to let it go, and numerous characters point out how she's not supposed to be on his case if he strikes again due to conflict of interest, with Jo refusing to listen because It's Personal for her.
• Brainy Brunette: Profiles victims and suspects so correctly it surprises them...as well as her colleagues.
• The Confidant: For Sid. First, when he sells his pillow patent for $27 Million, he asks her not to tell anyone. Later, when she finds out that he's the so-called "Guardian Angel" secretly giving million-dollar checks to seemingly random people, he asks her to keep his name out of it. Finally, after he's diagnosed with cancer he asks her to be his confidant yet again... and to let him decide when the time is right for him to step down from his position as Medical Examiner. She agrees every time.
• FBI Agent: Formerly.
• I Want Grandkids: Played with. She's after Mac, not her kids, to start a family.
  • Episode 7.18, "Identity Crisis," ends with this exchange:
    Jo: Mac, you need to get married and have kids, so I don't have to go through all these challenges alone.
    Mac: Have you lost your mind?
    Jo: Yeah, don't get married. Just adopt a child. Children are wonderful.
    Mac: Misery loves company, huh?
    Jo: You would make a great father.
    Mac: Jo. Stop.
    Jo: Don't you ever think about being a grandfather?
    Mac: [scoffs] Hey, if I buy you a burger and a beer, will you stop talking?
  • See second example under The Matchmaker also.
• The Matchmaker:
  • Discussed. During Mac's "Near Death" experience in the season 8 finale, he and Sheldon take turns telling each other that they should get married. Each responds with a variation of "You sound like Jo."
  • In season 9, Jo tells Mac that he and Christine need to get married and "start plopping little blonde babies out into the world." He raises his eyebrows and she says, "I see the way you two look at each other." He gives a slight eyeroll, turns and walks away without a word.
• The Profiler:
  • Part of her training with the FBI, and she's very good at it. Makes a great first impression on Mac by profiling the victim upon her arrival at the lab in episode 7.01, "The 34th Floor."
    Mac: (wide-eyed) Do you happen to know her mother's maiden name?
  • In episode 8.10, "Clean Sweep," she uses her skills to help a somewhat shell-shocked suspect remember exactly what happened.
• Southern-Fried Genius: An expert profiler/scientist from Alabama who tells Mac that people, be they suspects or superior officers, open up to her because they don't quite know what to do with her Southern charm. Maybe it's the accent.
• Standard Cop Backstory: Divorced. Sister was killed by a drunk driver.
• Sweet Home Alabama: Jo is from Alabama and still plugs her alma mater ("Roll Tide!") when meeting folks from her home state. She tells Mac that New Yorkers don't know what to do with her Southern charm so they open up and tell her things they wouldn't otherwise reveal. It helps her get information out of both suspects and superior officers.
• Team Mom: Kinda takes over the role from Stella, especially with Adam after he witnesses a death via the internet in "Unfriendly Chat."

Jessica Angell

Det. Jessica Angell

Portrayed by: Emmanuelle Vaugier

• Action Girl: A tough cop, she once saves Flack from being run over by a speeding car by grabbing him & rolling him over the trunk of the car they're standing next to at the time.
• Born Detective: Followed in her father's footsteps.
• I Have Brothers: The only girl in a family of boys.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For Aiden.

Aiden Burn

Det. Aiden Burn

Portrayed by: Vanessa Ferlito

• Brainy Brunette: Specializes in facial reconstruction.
• Fair Cop: Some suspects actually made passes towards her during interrogations. Even had to call out a fellow detective in "Officer Blue" for checking her out while she was examining a corpse for evidence.
• Thanatos Gambit: Aidan manages to make her murder into one of these.
• Tomboyish Name: Aiden can also be a boy's name.

Jamie Lovato

Det. Jamie Lovato

Portrayed by: Natalie Martinez

The third recurring female detective after Aiden and Angell.

• Action Girl: In her very first scene, she arrives at the precinct still dressed in her undercover garb. The officers are trying to subdue a very large, very aggressive perp. He breaks free, but she shoves a metal chair into his path with one foot. He trips and she plants her foot on his chest, saying:

  Just where do you thing you're going?

• Doppelgänger Replacement Love Interest: She's turning into this for Flack by the final episode.
• I Have Brothers: The only girl in a family of boys.
• The Infiltration: Her backstory is revealed in "Blood Out." She'd spent 17 months as a member of the Trinatarios, a Dominican street gang known for drug dealing, while assigned to the NYPD's Narcotics unit. When her cover was blown, she got reassigned to Homicide and became Flack's partner.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For the other two.

Kaile Maka

Det. Kaile Maka

Portrayed by: Kelly Hu

Detective only seen in 4 episodes, 2 each in seasons 1 & 2.

• Remember the New Guy?: Introduced in Danny's case in the 11th episode, "Tri-borough," as having been out due to being shot in the arm. Still has it in a sling at this point & tells Danny she's now setting off metal detectors. He says, "Great to have you back."
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Vanishes into thin air after episode 2.15, "Fare Game."

Other Recurring Teammates (in order of appearance):

Peyton Driscoll

Dr. Peyton Driscoll

Portrayed by: Claire Forlani

• False Soulmate: To Mac. She seems genuinely attracted to him for an entire season, then leaves him without warning early in the next.
• Put on a Bus: In Season 4.
  • The Bus Came Back: Episode 6.22, "Point of View." She was meant to make more appearances, but Melina Kanakaredes/Stella Bonasera's departure led to her character becoming a victim of Chuck Cunningham Syndrome for Season 7 instead.
• Second Love: One of the candidates for Mac; this arc and her character were aborted when the character of Jo Danville replaced that of Stella Bonasera.

Brigham Sinclair

Chief of Detectives Brigham Sinclair

Portrayed by: Mykelti Williamson

Chief of Police from 2007 on. Only seen onscreen thru 2009; thereafter he was referred to, or another character's side of a phone conversation with him was shown.

• Da Chief: Frequently hassles Mac to solve high profile cases quickly so the Mayor doesn't come down on both of them, but does occasionally have Mac's back, too, particularly in "The Thing about Heroes" and "The Past, the Present and Murder."

Stanton Gerrard

Inspector Stanton Gerrard

Portrayed by: Carmen Argenziano

Seen off and on in seasons 3 and 4. Hassles Mac during the Clay Dobson arc.

• Vigilante Execution: In his final episode, he shoots his daughter's rapist in cold blood in an interrogation room, then quietly turns his gun in to Mac.

Haylen Becall

Haylen Becall

Portrayed by: Sarah Carter

Crime Scene Clean-Up Tech/CSI Wannabe seen in 3 episodes of season 6.

• Put on a Bus: Disappears without so much as a goodbye when her stint is up.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Is only promised a year of part-time work since that's all the grant that covers her salary will cover, and only appears in three episodes.

Ted Carver

Assistant Chief of Detectives Ted Carver

Portrayed by: John Larroquette

Seen in three consecutive episodes of season 7.

• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling / Sibling Yin-Yang / Standard Cop Backstory: With his alcoholic, drug addicted sister who neglected and abandoned her three children to the point that Carver and his wife adopted them after she went missing for an extended period of time (again).
• Let Off by the Detective: Not completely, but Mac does put in a good enough word for him (after his prior misconduct is discovered) that he's only stripped of his badge and pension, not put on trial.

Friends and Relatives (in order revealed to audience):

Claire Taylor

Claire Conrad Taylor

Portrayed by: Jaime Ray Newman

• Dead Person Conversation: Claire speaks with Mac twice while he's unconscious in "Near Death."
• Death by Origin Story: Claire died in the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks. The series begins in Sept of 2004; Mac mentions her throughout eight of the nine seasons, and alludes to their relationship in the series' final scene.
• It Is Not Your Time: In "Near Death," tells a critically injured Mac that he can't come with her because he has "another tour of duty."
• Never Found the Body: None of Claire's remains were ever found. Mac tells someone in "Indelible" that the families of the victims who haven't yet been identified don't have closure and that he knows what that feels like.
• Official Couple: With Mac for quite a while in spite of dying before the series begins. He still wears his wedding band up until the end of the first season finale. Even after he begins dating Peyton in Season 3, he can't fully commit to her because he's still holding on to Claire's memory. When he (subconsciously) tells Claire he loves her in ep 8.18, she tells him to finally move on and "be happy."

Louie Messer

Louie Messer

Portrayed by: Larry Romano

Danny's older brother

Reed Garrett

Reed Garrett

Portrayed by: Kyle Gallner

Mac's stepson. Reed is the son whom Mac's late wife, Claire, gave up for adoption before meeting Mac.

• Gene Hunting: When Reed comes looking for his biological mother, he finds Mac instead.
• Going for the Big Scoop: Pursues the Cabbie Killer so doggedly he ends up getting kidnapped by the guy and barely survives getting his throat slashed.
• Intrepid Reporter: Begs Mac for inside info on cases so he can scoop mainstream media with his blog. Throws himself into every story he writes, to the point of being taken hostage by the cabbie killer, who forces Reed to use his blog to get his point across and then severely injures him, leaving him for dead.
• Scars Are Forever: Reed still bears the scars from the cabbie killer, which he hides with a scarf.
• Seeking the Missing, Finding the Dead: Mac has the unenviable task of telling him that Claire died on 9/11.

Quinn Shelby

Quinn Shelby

Portrayed by: Kristen Dalton

A criminalist from Jersey City who initially comes to New York to do the lab's five-year accreditation assessment, then helps with the Cabbie Killer case. She flirts a bit with Mac, but ultimately is just a friend to him.

• Reasonable Authority Figure: She happens to be doing her assessment at the same time that Lindsay and Danny are having problems that cause Lindsay to have a momentary lapse in judgement where she walks away from a piece of evidence, thus breaking chain of custody. This would technically be a cause for concern for the type of assessment Quinn is performing. Instead, she recognizes the quality of the lab and its people, and doesn't make an issue out of it, choosing to inform Mac of what she saw and let him deal with it.

Samantha "Sam" Flack

Sam Flack

Portrayed by: Kathleen Munroe

Don Flack's younger sister

• Black Sheep: Invokes this word-for-word about herself when talking to Don about him being the favored child and herself being "the family screw-up."
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: She's a party-girl/recovering alcoholic who couldn't hold down a steady job for quite a while, whereas Don followed in their father's footsteps to become a cop.

Lucy Messer

Lucy Messer

Portrayed by: Brooklyn Rae Silzer (in season nine, anyway)

Danny & Lindsay's daughter.

• Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome: A mild case. See main page for details.
• Straying Baby: Wanders away from Lindsay amid a crowd in "Unspoken."

Kostas Papakota

Prof. Kostas Papakota

Portrayed by: Tony Amendola

Stella's mentor.

• Broken Pedestal: Professor P has been Stella's mentor and father figure for decades. She is devastated to learn of his involvement with a smuggling ring.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Dies in Stella's arms during a shootout.
• Last Request: As he dies, Professor P asks Stella to re-bury some artifacts he and his brother were stealing from Greece.
• Luke, I Might Be Your Father: Makes a dying admission that he loved Stella's mother, implying that he's her father, but not outright saying so.
• Reading Tea Leaves: Is revealed in a flashback to have read another character's coffee grounds.
• Taking the Bullet: Shields Stella while he and his brother are in a three-way shootout with Mac. Both brothers are killed, and Professor P expresses a dying wish to Stella as she cradles him.

Dr. Aubrey Hunter

Dr. Aubrey Hunter

Portrayed by: Mädchen Amick

• Aborted Arc / Love Triangle: Was originally meant to be part of a love triangle with Mac and Peyton, but was Put on a Bus and suffered from Chuck Cunningham Syndrome along with her.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Only seen in three episodes and referred to in one other.

Ellie Danville

Ellie Danville

Portrayed by: Sydney Park

Jo's adopted daughter.

• Happily Adopted: In season 7's "Identity Crisis," it seems at first that Ellie is distraught over not knowing her birth mother. She eventually reveals to Jo that she wanted to meet the woman in order to find out what she herself might look like someday because of jealousy over her friends looking so much like their mothers.

Christine Whitney

Christine Whitney

Portrayed by: Megan Dodds

The sister of Mac's partner, Stan, who was killed in the line of duty. When Lindsay and Jo make Mac a Facebook page to demonstrate during a case how easily someone could be impersonated, Mac leaves the page up, he and Christine reconnect through it and have been dating ever since. After going through a lot together in seasons 8 and 9, Mac proposes to her at the end of season 9, and she happily accepts.

• Bound and Gagged: When she's abducted in "Seth and Apep."
• Cry into Chest: Her reaction when Mac rescues her.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She has fair blonde hair and is a warm, kind, compassionate person.
• Heroic BSoD: She's clearly having residual issues from her ordeal in the NY/LV crossover, "In Vino Vertas," as evidenced in "Blood Actually."
• Second Love: To Mac. His bond with Christine is much more obvious and genuine-feeling than what he previously had with Peyton.
• Supreme Chef: When she's introduced in season 8, she tells Mac her restaurant has been open about 6 months. Is shown in flashback as having cooked for her brother when he and Mac were partners. Stan tells Mac, "Little sister makes a mean marinara; it's a cop's best friend." Cooks elaborate meals for Mac once they start dating. Signs up for a restauranteurs' convention in Vegas toward the end of season 9. Mac tells his colleagues there that her place is a bistro.

Villains (in order of appearance):

Sonny Sassone

Sonny Sassone

Portrayed by: Michael DeLuise

Leader of the Tanglewood Boys. Seen in season 1's "Tanglewood" and season 2's "Run Silent, Run Deep."

D.J. Pratt

D.J. Pratt

Portrayed by: Chad Williams

A serial rapist appearing in Season 2.

• Arch-Enemy: To Aiden Burn. After he kills her in the episode "Heroes," the protagonists finally have enough evidence to put him behind bars.

Frankie Mala

Frankie Mala

Portrayed by: Ed Quinn

Stella's sculptor boyfriend from season 2.

• Asshole Victim: He had not only videotaped Stella & himself having sex, he had uploaded it to the internet. Stella shot him in self-defense.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He seemed like a nice enough guy before the videotape incident, even sent flowers to Stella at work.
• Yandere: He stalks Stella, breaks into her apartment and tries to kill her when she breaks up with him after seeing the video.

Henry Darius

Henry Darius

Portrayed by: James Badge Dale

• Bastard Bastard: Illegitimate son of a multi-millionaire. Becomes a serial killer out of resentment for the way he was ignored by his father and step-sisters.

Shane Casey

Shane Casey

Portrayed by: Edward Furlong

• Disney Villain Death: Somehow pulls one of these when he falls from the lighthouse near the end of "Vacation Getaway."

Clay Dobson

Clay Dobson

Portrayed by: Joey Lawrence

• Never Going Back to Prison: During his and Mac's Rooftop Confrontation, he jumps off rather than go back to prison.
• Taking You with Me: Orchestrates his suicide in such a way that it looks like Mac pushes him, and because he's handcuffed at the time, at first it looks like Mac is guilty of murder.

Andrew "Drew" Bedford aka 333 Stalker, aka Andy Davis

Andrew "Drew" Bedford aka 333 Stalker

Portrayed by: Kerr Smith

• Failure-to-Save Murder: His motivation is the fact that Mac had not shot the guy who killed his brother Will back when they were all kids in Chicago.
• Stalker without a Crush: Is revealed in the season 4 premiere to have been calling Mac at 3:33 a.m. ever since he was in London with Peyton for the last 10 days of the summer hiatus, and continues to harass him for the next 10 episodes, not to mention using Stella to get to him as well.

The Cabbie Killer

Cabbie Killer

Portrayed by: Ryan Locke

Serial killer from the last part of Season 4

• Abandoned Area: Lives in an abandoned firehouse. Tortures and kills his victims in an abandoned warehouse.
• A God Am I: Believes himself to be the Greek god Charon, aka The Ferryman, who is responsible for transporting the newly dead across the River Styx.

John Curtis

John Curtis

Portrayed by: Jason Wiles

A serial rapist appearing in Season 8.

• Arch-Enemy: To Jo Danville.
• Framing the Guilty Party: Was framed for an additional rape, after being released for lack of evidence in his original crime; and then for murder, after being freed on bail for the new one.
• Oh, Crap!: The look he gets in "Means to an End" when he realizes Jo is going to shoot him after all.

Other Criminals (in order of appearance):

Bogdhan Ivanov

Bogdhan Ivanov

Portrayed by: Vitali Baganov

Ultimately revealed to be the first villain of the series, in "Blink."

Joe Riggs

Joe Riggs

Portrayed by: Joseph Sikora

Luis Torres

Luis Torres

Portrayed by: Jacob Vargas

Daniel Katums

Daniel Katums

Portrayed by: Jason Dibler

Murderer of Lindsay's three best friends and their waitress in a diner not long before the girls were to have graduated from high school.

"Joe"

"Joe"

Portrayed by: Elias Koteas

Hostage-taker and would-be bank robber from "Hostage"

• Multiple Identity Ids: Joe keeps currency from several different countries along with corresponding passports in his possession. One is eventually determined to not be a fake.

Leonard Brooks

Leonard Brooks

Portrayed by: Rob Morrow

Serial arsonist released in the season 9 premier, "Reignited." Shows back up in the next episode.

• Abusive Parents: After his father's death soon after his 9th birthday, his mother started drinking and abusing him.
• I Am a Monster: After being released from prison, he's come to see himself as a monster, and recognizes that his pyromania is something deeply ingrained in him that he'll have to fight to suppress. He loses that fight when he decides to kill his abusive family so as to silence the nightmares.
• Solar-Powered Magnifying Glass: Does this with his glasses and a paperback book in his prison cell at the end of "Where There's Smoke..."
• Tragic Monster: Leonard was horrifically abused by his mother and foster brother, and gained a fixation on fire as a result of staring at the flames to not think about his mother beating him, and being repeatedly exposed to the effects of fire when his mother brought him to the burn ward she was a nurse at. He would go on to become an arsonist so he could be comforted by the fire, only destroying public property and going out of his way to rescue an innocent woman he learned was in a building he set on fire. After spending years in prison, he came to see himself as a monster and worked hard to ignore the urges to cause fire, but eventually decided to kill his family for what they did to him, all to silence the nightmares that had been plaguing him for years. Not even Mac can bring himself to hate him for who he is, just condemning him for choosing to commit murder.