Megan Donner

Fictional character on American television series CSI: Miami

Fictional character

Megan Donner

CSI: Miami character
First appearance| September 23, 2002
(1x01, "Golden Parachute")
Last appearance| November 25, 2002
(1x10, "A Horrible Mind")
Portrayed by| Kim Delaney
City| Miami
In-universe information
Occupation| Police Lieutenant
Position| Crime Scene Investigator
Rank| CSI Level III Assistant Supervisor
DNA Specialist
Duration| 2002
Seasons| 1

Megan Donner is a fictional character and one of two original protagonists of the CBS crime drama CSI: Miami. Portrayed by Kim Delaney, Donner appeared in the first ten episodes of the series. Megan was an MDPD Lieutenant and the Day Shift Assistant Supervisor of the Miami Dade Crime Lab. Prior to the series she was the Director of CSI.

## Casting[edit]

Following the back-door pilot, Zuiker stated that he believed the series "needed a little more balance in terms of a leading woman". Executives offered Sela Ward the part of Megan Donner, a Lieutenant and Horatio's former boss. Ward turned down the role,[1] and producers later cast Kim Delaney. Ann Donahue described Delaney's casting as "a no-brainer", stating that "when Kim became available, we knew in a heartbeat that we wanted her." Zuiker elaborated, noting that "Kim brings a level of maturity, a level of balance with David Caruso [...] We just felt we were missing something in the whole picture - we needed a strong female in the cast." The New York Times reported that original lead Emily Procter would "now follow Ms. Delaney in the credits."

## Departure[edit]

In late 2002, despite receiving excellent feedback from producers, Delaney departed the cast after ten episodes. CBS issued a statement noting that Delaney's character had become less integral to the series as it progressed, "they had hoped to duplicate the sparks between William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger on the original CSI," noted EW, but Delaney and Caruso's chemistry was lackluster.[2] Delaney became the first of many cast members to depart the series and was not replaced.

## On the show[edit]

### Background[edit]

In 1997, Megan was a Detective working alongside Caine on the Miami Police Department's Homicide Squad. When the Crime Lab was set up in order to assist the police department, she was granted the directorship, whilst Caine was made a supervisor. Both achieved the rank of Lieutenant shortly thereafter. In early 2002, Megan's husband, fellow Detective Sean Donner, attempted to talk a suicidal man from the ledge of a building, but was pulled over with him instead. Sean died in the line of duty, and as a result Megan took a six-month leave of absence. When she returned, Caine had been made Director of the Crime Lab as well as day shift supervisor, and Megan was immediately demoted to his number two.

### Storylines[edit]

When Megan first returned to the crime lab, colleague and friend Tim Speedle gave her some sympathy. Megan seemed insulted by this, quickly pulling away from Tim when he patted her on the shoulder. Megan had a friendly relationship with then coroner Alexx Woods. She and Alexx were chatty in autopsy, and clearly got on with each other. Her relationship with Eric Delko was rocky. At one point, Eric stated, "Who does she think she is? She can't just walk back into the lab and take over," to which Tim Speedle replied, "You're an ass, you know that?" Her friendships with Calleigh Duquesne and Horatio Caine were strictly working relationships, with no friendly warmth involved.

### Succession[edit]

Predecessor | Position | Duration | Successor

|
|
|

unknown | MDPD Homicide Detective | until 1997 | unknown
unknown | MDPD Lieutenant | 1997-2002 | unknown
Fred Dorsey | MDPD Crime Lab Director | 1997-2002 | Horatio Caine
Fred Dorsey | MDPD Crime Lab Shift Supervisor | 1997-2002 | Horatio Caine
Calleigh Duquesne (acting) | MDPD Crime Lab Assistant Shift Supervisor | 2002 | Calleigh Duquesne

* v
* t
* e

CSI: Miami

* CSI franchise

Seasons|

* 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9
* 10

Episodes|

* "Golden Parachute"
* "MIA/NYC NonStop"
* Crossovers
* "Cross Jurisdictions"
* "MIA/NYC NonStop"
* CSI: Trilogy

Characters|

* Natalia Boa Vista
* Horatio Caine
* Jesse Cardoza
* Megan Donner
* Calleigh Duquesne
* Tara Price
* Yelina Salas
* Walter Simmons
* Tim Speedle
* Frank Tripp
* Ryan Wolfe
* Alexx Woods

Video games|

* CSI: Miami

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Sela Ward in 1990 by J McCombie".
2. ^ Susman, Gary (November 8, 2002). "Kim Delaney is leaving CSI: Miami". Entertainment Weekly.

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template