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CSI: Justin Bieber Fans Will See a Different Side of the Singer

Will Justin Bieber's acting debut on CSI give his fans a different reason to scream?The singing sensation guest-stars in the Season 11 premiere as Jason McCann, a troubled teen who's faced with a terrible decision about his only brother — which leads to an explosive confrontation with the CSIs, in particular, George Eads' Nick Stokes.Fall TV: Get scoop on your favorite returning shows"Justin was more than game," Eads tells TVGuide.com "He was into and it really excited to be here. He's just a gifted young kid. I think he did a good job. ... [His fans] can see another side to him and see some vulnerability. I get right in his face pretty good, and he stayed right with me."Eads says he was able to bond with Bieber in the same way ...

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Adam Bryant

Will Justin Bieber's acting debut on CSIgive his fans a different reason to scream?
The singing sensation guest-stars in the Season 11 premiere as Jason McCann, a troubled teen who's faced with a terrible decision about his only brother — which leads to an explosive confrontation with the CSIs, in particular, George Eads' Nick Stokes.

Fall TV: Get scoop on your favorite returning shows

"Justin was more than game," Eads tells TVGuide.com "He was into and it really excited to be here. He's just a gifted young kid. I think he did a good job. ... [His fans] can see another side to him and see some vulnerability. I get right in his face pretty good, and he stayed right with me."Eads says he was able to bond with Bieber in the same way his character often bonds with younger victims. "I think Nick has always had a way with young adults and kids, and I think that background of my character is one of the things that placed me with him," Eads says. "I definitely did find a connection with Justin. He was willing to take that fame hat off for a minute and get into what we were doing."Executive producer Carol Mendelsohn kept details about Bieber's storyline close to the vest, but she says the plan is for Bieber to return in this season's 15th episode, which could be even more chilling than Thursday's appearance. "What you see may not be what you get," she says. "Justin looks very innocent, but we will see a glimmer of what Justin's character is capable of at the end of the premiere."

VIDEO: Get a first look at Justin Bieber on CSI

Meanwhile, the show also has to resolve last year's cliffhanger, which involved Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) bleeding badly after being stabbed by serial killer Nate Haskell ( guest star Bill Irwin).
"All of our characters will be recovering from the finale," Mendelsohn says. "Langston will have lost something in the attack."
Nick, who was shot in the finale, has some healing of his own to do, Eads says. "He didn't come out of that battle as bad as Langston did, but he has some residual effects of trauma that he's been through," he says. "We'll see over the progression of a few episodes, him having to come to terms. After every shooting you're supposed to go see a shrink. That's something that's very un-Nick to do."

CSI books Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff

Eads says Nick calls on other people for their help, as well as the memory of a familiar face."He kind of calls on the ghost of Grissom [William Petersen] to guide him and help him out," Eads says. "After that, he kind of adopts a tough-as-nails attitude to deal with what he's got to deal with."Nick's physical wounds healed rather quickly, but his mental wounds are more severe," Eads says. "With what I'm playing this year, it's not that Nick has a death wish, but you'll see, especially after his initial meltdown in the premiere, a whole different character come out of him. If Nick was Bruce Wayne last year, this year he's Batman."CSI returns Thursday at 9/8c on CBS.