In his first screen role since departing “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” William Petersen has joined the cast of Tony Kaye’s indie drama “Detachment.”

“Mad Men’s” Christina Hendricks and Lucy Liu also have come aboard.

Kaye, the hard-edged director who made “American History X,” has assembled an ensemble cast for his high school-set drama that includes Adrien Brody, Bryan Cranston, James Caan and Marcia Gay Harden.

Carl Lund’s script centers on a normally detached substitute teacher (Brody) who becomes invested in the students and teachers at the troubled school where he...