The showrunners for CSI and CSI: Miami have renewed their deals with CBS TV Studios.

                                        

Carol Mendelsohn, boss of the flagship series, and Ann Donahue, who oversees the spin-off, have both signed overall deals keeping them atop the franchise for four more years. Mendelsohn will also serve as showrunner on the new CBS legal drama The Defenders, starring Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell, premiering this fall.

"Carol and Ann are two of the best showrunners of this decade," Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, said in a statement. "The ongoing success of CSI and CSI: Miami is testimony to their incredible creative talents and leadership skills. It gives the network great confidence having them at the helm of these two important series."