The popular television crime procedural has been summoned to the gallows. But before CSI: Crime Scene Investigation series dies an honourable death in September with a two-hour season finale, here's our recap of the long-running drama's best celebrity episodes over the past 15 years.

1. Justin Bieber

Episodes: Shock Waves and Targets Of Obsession - Season 11, Episodes 1 and 15

First aired: Sept 23, 2010, and Feb 17, 2011

The troubled teen heartthrob played, well, a troubled teen in two episodes, which led to series regular Marg Helgenberger (as Catherine Willows) calling him "kind of a brat" - he allegedly locked a producer in a closet. The good news: he was shot in the end.

2. Taylor Swift

Episode: Turn, Turn, Turn - Season 9, Episode 16

First aired: March 5, 2009

The pop superstar got her heart broken quite literally in this episode when she was stabbed in the chest and bled out in the parking lot of a seedy motel. This guest role was one of her first acting gigs.

3. John Mayer

Episode: Built To Kill: Part 1 - Season 7, Episode 1

First aired: Sept 21, 2006

Seems like CSI has a penchant for putting musicians on the show. Mayer basically played himself in this episode, and in a shameless plug, played two of his songs (Waiting On The World To Change and Slow Dancing In A Burning Room) to a crowded Vegas nightclub. You could say he... made a killing.

4. Dakota Fanning

Episode: Blood Drops - Season 1, Episode 7

First aired: Nov 17, 2000

She was kidnapped in Man On Fire (2004) and hid from aliens with Tom Cruise in War Of The Worlds (2005). But before she hit the silver screen, the pint-sized child star honed those heart-melting acting chops by playing a young girl whose family had been slaughtered.

5. Jeremy Renner

Episode: Alter Boys - Season 2, Episode 6

First aired: Nov 1, 2001

Before he had a bow and arrows, The Avengers' Hawkeye had a long list of violent offences and was trying to slither out of a multiple homicide conviction by putting the blame on his brother.

6. Joe Manganiello

Episode: Daddy's Little Girl - Season 6, Episode 12

First aired: Jan 19, 2006

This True Blood werewolf drew some blood on CSI - as well as its two spinoffs, CSI: NY and CSI: Miami - as three completely different characters. Talk about a shapeshifter. In the original CSI, he played a stalker ex-boyfriend and killer.

7. Liev Schreiber

Episodes: Recurring character, Season 7, Episodes 12 to 15

First aired: Jan 18, 2007

The X-Men actor joined the Las Vegas Crime Lab as an investigator with a tragic backstory, Michael Keppler. Unfortunately it just got a lot more tragic during his four-episode run filling in for Gil Grissom (William Petersen) - he died on the job.

8. John Krasinski

Episode: Who Shot Sherlock - Season 5, Episode 11

First aired: Jan 6, 2005

Not exactly your Office nice guy: Krasinski's character was investigated for murder in a strange case where it looked like a driver had been killed before his car veered off the road.