LOS ANGELES – Actor George Eads (search) will be back on the job next week at "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (search) after a lesson in hardball network politics.
Eads reached an agreement late Friday to return to TV's most popular drama after he was fired for skipping work in what CBS believed was a contract dispute, a CBS spokesman said.
He rejoins Jorja Fox (search), who came to her own agreement to come back on Thursday.
Earlier in the week, Eads said the dispute had all been a "misunderstanding" and predicted he would get his job back.
"I want all this to work out," he said. " 'CSI' is a part of who I am."
Production on the series was halted for a week and the network went through the motions of recasting the roles.
CBS boss Leslie Moonves, who said the actors' deals had already been renegotiated after two seasons, played tough. "There comes a point where we feel a contract is a contract," he said.
In a similar situation last year with "Everybody Loves Raymond" actor Brad Garrett (search), CBS kept him on the job and gave him more money.
Eads was hired back at his old salary, a reported $100,000 per episode, said an executive close to the production.
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