Madchen Amick Aims to Give CSI: NY's Mac a New Dimension

For CSI: NY's Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise), work comes first. So why is his love life getting so much attention lately?

CSI: NY: Madchen Amick to heat up Mac's love life

"For six seasons you didn't get to follow Mac home," Madchen Amick, who plays Mac's latest love interest, Dr. Aubrey Hunter, tells TVGuide.com. "[The writers] really wanted to explore that and give another dimension to Mac. They felt like fans are ready to see Mac outside of work life."However, Amick says, Mac and Aubrey hit it off because they're so focused on their work. "They have this immediate attraction, and they probably recognize within each other without really knowing that they're both very career-driven," she says. "Mac's always so busy with his cases and never has time in personal relationships that Aubrey ends up being something really refreshing to him."

Aubrey's career? Before becoming an emergency-room doctor in New York, she served two tours as a medic in Afghanistan. "She's very driven, but also very passionate about serving people," the 39-year-old Amick says. "That's the reason she's serving in the Reserves and working as an emergency room doctor as opposed to being some physician with a practice sitting back making money."

Check out photos of the CSI: NY cast

In Wednesday's episode (10/9c on CBS) Aubrey and Mac each get a glimpse of how the other works. Although the relationship will move slow, Amick says, it's nice to see Mac let his guard down a bit."I think Mac questions everything and never really jumps into stuff," she says. "But there seems to be something brighter about his day after we meet. So, he's not resisting it. He actually reaches back out, so that's a pretty big step for him."

CSI: NY exclusive: Peyton is back! Who will Mac choose?

Although Mac will eventually be forced to decide between Aubrey and returning former lover Peyton (Claire Forlani), Amick says she's enjoyed the innocence of the Aubrey-Mac pairing."It's interesting that they're both smitten with each other but don't quite no how to move forward," Amick says. "It's almost like new love back in high school:  "Do I make the move?' ... But they eventually realize, 'Wow, we have more in common than we thought.'"