CSI star William Petersen is saying goodbye to the show that averages 21.3 million viewers a week, reported Entertainment Weekly.

The reason I'm leaving is because I'm afraid I'm becoming too comfortable. It's CSI -- they pay me a lot of money, and I don't have to work very hard anymore. I've got it all figured out. And I just realized, God, as an artist, I'm going to atrophy. You do anything for nine years, it becomes somewhat rote. I didn't want to be on the show because they were paying me money and I liked the money. I didn't want to be on the show because it saved me from having to go look for other jobs. Just didn't want it. It was too safe for me at this point. So I needed to try and break that, and the way to do that, for me, is the theater, says Petersen.

After playing the character Gil Grissom for nine seasons, one may think it might be difficult to say goodbye, however Petersen says matter-of-factly, I won't miss Grissom. It was a complete life for me that's reached its end, and it's reached it in the right way, I think. So I won't miss Grissom. And I hope that the audience won't miss him either.

The final episode starring character Gil Grissom will air this Thursday on CBS.