'How I Met Your Mother,' 'Private Practice,' 'Good Wife,' 'Bones': Spoilers

It’s finale season, so much like in my personal life, I don’t have time for foreplay. (Dear God, I’m going to stop typing now.)

E-mail all requests to spoileroom@ew.com or find me on Twitter. See you next week — and hopefully by then I will have seen a professional about my severe case of word vomit.

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‘HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER’: ITS ODD ‘BREAKING BAD’ CONNECTION

What on Earth could How I Met Your Mother have in common with Breaking Bad? A lot, hopes executive producer — and self-described “big fan” of the show — Carter Bays.

“I think that’s on a whole other level and it’s incredible. And what I like about this [past] season especially was that you didn’t really realize the journey you were watching until the last episode. And I feel like this season, we [also] aimed for that,” he says. “Who knows if we hit that mark, but there’s a journey that’s been going on, especially for Ted. And I think it’s been a little subtle this season, but it resolves nicely at the end of the finale.” Don’t worry, he assures, half of Ted’s face doesn’t get blown off. But our minds, however, will be blown.

“We sort of return to the bookend nature of the wedding. That comes in half way through the finale. We return to the future wedding,” he says. “The finale was initially conceived as two episodes, and we put them together because we felt there’s a nice flow to it.” And just as many surprises as when we first saw it.

“It goes to some interesting places. There are some surprises that pop up over the course of the hour. Some old faces reappear, some new faces appear — and some things will be irrevocably changed on the show.”

‘PRIVATE PRACTICE’: NEW NIGHT, NEW SURPRISES

KaDee Strickland has what she feels is an embarrassment of storyline riches on Private Practice and that won’t change after the upcoming timeslot shift that will find fans checking in to Oceanside on Tuesdays instead of Thursdays. So she’s not worried about it. If anything, she thinks this next batch of episodes holds more surprises than ever. “You’re going to see things that we’ve been building to since the show started,” she says. “You’re going to learn about the pasts of certain characters who you’ve known now for years, and after five years on a show, that’s pretty fantastic.”

And as the show “battens down the hatches” of the last episodes (I love her southern-isms!), she promises fans will be surprised by personal developments that happen for all the characters. “You learn something about Sheldon (Brian Benben) that you never knew — that’s for sure,” she says. “And you definitely see Addison in a circumstance you’ve never seen her before and it comes with all sorts of strings attached and that’s really fun for the audience. Everyone has a soft spot for her and to see that evolve in a different way, it’s great.”

But what of Charlotte and Cooper’s ongoing struggle to prepare Mason for his mom’s death? More on that in our full chat Tuesday!

MARTHA PLIMPTON ON HER RETURN TO ‘THE GOOD WIFE’: PATTI IS ‘MORE BLATANTLY EVIL THAN EVER’

As you might have heard (or, if not, hear it here first!): This Sunday’s Good Wife is a fantastic one. Eli finds his loyalties split after being given an important decision to make that will have big consequences, Alicia is involved in at least two weighty confrontations, and Peter makes a decision about running for governor — with a big shocker to boot. But thanks to Martha Plimpton, it’s actually the season finale that we’re aching to see.

Plimpton stopped by EW this week to chat about the two-part season finale of Raising Hope (scoop on that below), but also threw in a couple of choice teases about her return to Good Wife, in which she teams up with Michael J. Fox for the first time in nearly 30 years. (She had a guest spot on Family Ties at the age of 14!) “In this episode, Patti Nyholm is more blatantly evil than ever — in the most delightful way,” she says. “It was so, so much fun working with Michael. He’s a phenomenally fantastic actor. So funny, so present, so natural, so loose, and easy to work with. It was a real treat for me.”

And it will be a treat for viewers, too, because when two forces get together for a common goal (in this case, to bankrupt Lockhart/Gardener), there will be fireworks. “We’re the dream team. We’re on the same side, and we have a common enemy,” she says. “I was very, very pleased with our chemistry. I thought it was really good, and I think we deserve our own show. I think we deserve a spinoff.” Um, if I get a vote, motion granted!

NEXT PAGE: Side dishes on Bones, Suits, Parks and Recreation, Pretty Little Liars and more!

SIDE DISHES

I heard that Danielle Panabaker is going to guest on an episode of Bones as an agent assigned to work with Sweets. Can you tell us more about it, and what is going on with Sweets in that episode? — Rex

I can’t tell you more about it — but executive producer Stephen Nathan can! “Danielle appears in one of our four floating episodes. She and Sweets are assigned to a case together while Daisy is out of town and Booth is busy with other work. What begins as a wary and sometimes hostile relationship develops into something that surprises both of them. Gunplay is involved.“

Hey! How come every time I ask a question, I get squat! But a week later, someone will ask something about the same show and get an answer. I’m trying not to take this personally, Sandra. Let’s make nice. How about some Suits scoop? — Paige D.

It’s your lucky week, Paige! Because how about news on a Suits/Smash crossover! Well, kinda. I’m told Smash actor Michael Cristofer (who plays Eileen’s oft-talked-about-but-hardly-seen hubby, Jerry) has been booked to play Paul Porter, an old-school partner at the firm whose loyalty may lie with Daniel Hardman (guest star David Constabile). He appears in the second episode when his character is assigned to work with Harvey on a case — and let’s just say it’s not necessarily a match made in heaven.

It’s been a while since we got something on The Middle. — Corey

Well, here’s what I can tell you: I had my doubts about Whoopi Goldberg joining Glee as Carmen Tibideaux, a New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts professor who’s in charge of Kurt and Rachel’s NYADA auditions, but after checking out the May 2 episode of The Middle, I have fewer reservations. She guests as a guidance counselor who sees a lot of herself in Sue — braces included — and tries to encourage the youngest Heck female to embrace her uniqueness. The result is hilarious (prepare to meet Sue’s alter ego!) and — thanks to Goldberg’s turn as the lovable character — really heart-warming.

Archer! — Jason

Are you just screaming the title? Or was that a scoop request? I’m going to go ahead and assume the latter. While season 3 just wrapped up in March, Aisha Tyler, who voices Lana, is wasting no time thinking up ideas for the show’s return (for which no premiere date has been announced yet). “I’m not exactly advocating for Lana and Sterling to get back together. I don’t want them to get back together,” she says. And what she IS hoping for? A little “fallout” from Lana’s naked time in the last episode. “You can’t run around your workplace naked and not have some kind of repercussions — at least some pictures on Twitter or something.” We’re sure Archer wouldn’t argue with that.

I wouldn’t argue with some Pretty Little Liars scoop. — Kim

I see what you’re doing there. ‘Oh, spoils! Those old things? I suppose you can give me some. Yawn.’ Your reverse psychology won’t work on me, ma’am! Well, I guess it actually will. But only because Tyler Blackburn was kind enough to fill me in on the action we’ll be seeing in season 3. “Obviously [Caleb’s] recently been enlightened on what has been going on for the last two seasons, and I think it made him more concerned about Hannah,” he said at the Avengers premiere. “The secrets never stop and he is a little shaken by his new-found knowledge, so he is going to come into season 3 way more cautious and leary of Hannah. I think their relationship will be put to the test.” And as you might recall, there was a bit of a mixed reaction to the reveal of “A,” but Blackburn says that now that Mona’s secret is out, he only sees it getting better from here. “I think season 3 will be really good from what I have seen. I don’t think anybody’s going to be disappointed with where we are taking the show,” he says. “It’s [still] a combination of both — some comes from the books and some of it is original storylines. To keep it fresh and new, they want to do some of their [own] things. Otherwise everything would be predictable for people who read the books. But the books also have such a following that they don’t want to veer too far from them either and they want to stay true to that.”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do something on Law & Order: SVU. So in the off-chance you don’t have something on them. Maybe Scandal? I’m loving that! — Grace

I’ll do you one better: Some intel on the upcoming L&O:SVU episode “Justice Denied,” which guest stars Guillermo Diaz of Scandal! He plays convicted rapist and killer Omar Pena, an inmate who continues to argue his innocence years into his life sentence. While it may seem like your average could-be-the-wrong-guy case, I can tell you that the outcome will lead to a big professional change for Haden (Harry Connick Jr.) — and not to mention some big changes for him and Olivia (Mariska Hargitay).

I LOVED Scandal, especially the stuff with Olivia and the President! Please tell me about what’s coming up with those two. — Helen

The president’s right-hand man (Jeff Perry) isn’t the only person at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue who knows about the Olivia-Prez saga…

Thank you for your chat with Tim Matheson of Hart of Dixie! I love that show. I’d love any scoop! — Becca

We’ve seen hints of a bridge being built between Brick (Matheson) and Zoe (Rachel Bilson), and Matheson says we’ll continue to see Brick develop a soft spot for the young doc. “I think that what I’ve discovered is that there’s a part of Brick that is beginning to feel protective of Zoe, and having paternal feelings toward her, which he tries not to deal with,” he says. “It’s an interesting development for me. I think if you’re playing a villain or an antagonist, you have to step on those feelings to do the things you’re doing. But for me, those feelings are being allowed to come out. But I do like being on obstacle for her. I hope to do many, many episodes where I can be a thorn in her side.”

Hey #HurricaneGonzalez how about some scoop on Psych? — @JoeMenez24

Why you’re asking my unborn/unconcieved child (who I announced on Twitter would be named “Hurricane”) for scoop, I’m not sure. But I can tell you that one of the first episodes of season 7 will find Shawn and Gus on a search for a great legend — Big Foot. Sorta. That’s all I can share for now! Now, let’s talk about how great that finale was…

How come no one is freaking out about Lucy being back on Raising Hope?! Scoop please! — Brandi

There’s an explanation. Trust me. It’s bats–t crazy, but there is one. Additionally, while I’m utterly depressed that the finale is already upon us, I can tell you the last episode has surprises galore. Near arrests, a resurrection, a death — oh, and you will cry. Promise. Thank God Fox stopped procrasturbating and finally renewed this show for another season!

Sandra, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but Parks and Rec is coming back. Scoop me! — Adam

All the talk thus far has centered around Leslie’s possible new job as city councilwoman, but in the first episode back, it’s Ron who is approached about a brand new position. Meanwhile, Chris realizes some of the changes that would be afoot should Leslie lose her bid for election — and they literally leave him stunned.

Castle scoop please! I’ll take anything. — Veronica

Excited about Adam Baldwin’s guest spot on Monday? You should be. I’m told that we won’t be disappointed — especially my fellow Browncoats.

(Mandi Bierly and Carrie Bell contributed to this column.)