Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on True Blood, Criminal Minds, Revenge, Psych, Nashville and More
Got a scoop request? An anonymous tip you’re dying to share? Send any/all of the above to askausiello@tvline.com
Question: Do you have any news on the storylines or new characters of True Blood Season 7? —Tom
Ausiello: Lafayette’s getting a new boyfriend — and a serious one at that. After spending much of Season 6 in the shadows, Nelsan Ellis will sashay back to the forefront in True Blood‘s final season — with a little help from Drake. Described as a cross between Jim Morrison and James Dean, this brooding and insanely good-looking vamp is a compassionate protector with a poet’s edge. The series-regular role calls for a twentysomething actor who is comfortable performing in simulated (and near-naked) sex scenes with another man in front of the director, assistant director, stage manager, script supervisor, camera operator, first assistant camera, second assistant camera, boom operator, production sound mixer, key grip, best boy grip, gaffer, lighting technician, makeup artist, hairdresser, costume designer, a half-dozen production assistants and Sally with craft services (who shouldn’t be peeking in but probably will be).
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Question: Loving Season 3 of Revenge. Any scoop on what to expect from this Sunday’s wedding/midseason finale? —Alex
Ausiello: You can expect two romantic reunions (one far more anticipated than the other), one nice moment between Emily and Jack and approximately 37 awkward run-ins (almost all of them involving Victoria).
Question: I’m loving this season of Once Upon a Time and was wondering if you guys had any spoilers about what’s coming up for Neal and Emma? I heard the first episode after the winter break is set in NYC. — Heather
Ausiello: We asked the Once creators about the midseason premiere, which airs March 9 and is titled “New York City Serenade.” But other than confirming that the Bruce Springsteen fan in him had a hand in coming up with that title, Adam Horowitz would only confirm, “There’s a lot of Emma in that episode, that is for sure.”
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Question: Do we know anything about Matthew Perry’s character on Cougar Town? —Christopher
Ausiello: We do now: He’s playing an eccentric rich dude named Sam who takes Courteney Cox’s functioning alcoholic Jules out on a date, thinking she’s single. And there may or may not be a marriage proposal involved.
Question: I’ve been really intrigued by the interaction between Criminal Minds‘ Reid and JJ this season. Is that going to lead to any dramatic moments, particularly concerning JJ’s secret/past? Appreciate any scoop you can give on that topic! –Angela
Ausiello: We spoke with A.J. Cook just as she was about to start shooting the milestone Episode 200, which will shed light on JJ’s secret, and she said it is no less that an “action-packed doozie… basically a mini action movie.” Storyline-wise, she shared, “it’s going to explain what JJ was up to when she went away during Season 6, it’s going to explain this weird relationship she has with the new section chief (played by Esai Morales), and it will explain the things that have happened in her life that have made her perhaps a little bit tougher than she used to be.” As for the JJ/Reid interaction you’ve noticed, Cook said that as the (new) flashbacks are unfurled, you’ll see that “it’s all connected” to the main characters. “JJ has a connection through that storyline with everyone, and the writers are brilliant in how they went back and connected all the dots.”
Question: Any intel on Klaus’ upcoming return visit to The Vampire Diaries? —Kim
Ausiello: It’ll happen in early-ish 2014 and he won’t be making the trip solo. Bonus Scoop: The Katherine-Elena dynamic is about to get a lot more complicated (if that’s even possible).
Question: Now that Back in the Game has recorded its final out, does that mean Maggie Lawson will be able to have a larger presence in Season 8 of Psych? —Steve
Ausiello: Production on Season 8 wrapped long before ABC declared Game over. But as series creator Steve Franks assured me over the summer, Juliet’s “in a good chunk of episodes” despite her extracurricular activities. James Roday, in that same interview, went so far as to say S8 would feature “a strong Juliet presence.” Bonus Scoop: A pivotal character will not make it out of this Sunday’s musical episode alive.
Question: Anything on the looming Nashville death this week? Like, maybe, the name of the victim? —Georgia
Ausiello: What if I told you that two lives will hang in the balance at the end of Wednesday’s winter finale?
Question: With great casting news about Fox’s Gracepoint coming out almost every day, I can’t help but wonder, if I watched Broadchurch, do I already know “whodunnit” on Gracepoint? Or are there plans to change up the plot a bit for us Yanks? —Cheryl
Ausiello: That’s a very good question — so good even leading lady Anna Gunn doesn’t have the answer. “I really just honestly sealed the deal a couple of days ago, so we haven’t gotten into those kinds of details yet,” says the Breaking Bad Emmy winner, who will play Detective Ellie Miller — the character originated by Olivia Colman in the UK version — in Gracepoint. “But definitely they want me to put my own stamp on [Ellie].” Gunn had little trepidation jumping into the project, despite the universal acclaim that greeted Broadchurch this past year. “I feel like we are in very, very good hands,” she says of In Treatment‘s Dan Futterman and Anya Epstein, who will serve as showrunners on Gracepoint. “We have an excellent team. Everybody knows just what they’re doing.”
Question: I’m excited about the news of so many of the original McKinley High students returning for Glee‘s 100th episode. I’m just wondering whether there’s any word on Terri Schuester (Jessalyn Gilsig) coming back. In my opinion, she was the scene-stealer of Season 1. —Melissa
Ausiello: There is word and it’s no. At least of this writing. Terri wasn’t all that musically inclined anyhow, so it’s not clear what purpose she would serve.
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Question: What happened to Carey with an “e” on The Good Wife? He’s been MIA from Florrick Agos of late. —Jeremy
Ausiello: Scheduling conflicts precluded Ben Rappaport from appearing in the last couple episodes, but Good Wife cocreators Robert and Michelle King are hopeful he’ll be back in the new year for an episode or two or three (or, perhaps, four).
Question: When will the next episode of The Good Wife air? –Erin
Ausiello: I could be a stern taskmaster and point you the handy December finale/January premiere calendar that loyal TVLine readers have no doubt already bookmarked (ahem), but in the spirit of the holidays, I’ll be generous and tell you to set your DVR for a Jan. 5 return date. More interestingly, though, you’ll want to brace yourself for Episode 5.14 — which finds Lockhart-Gardner (or, as Will keeps insisting, LG) and Florrick-Agos engaged in a pitched battle to hire Rhona, a yet-to-be-cast character (somewhere between the ages of 40 and 50) who’s described as “a polished, hyper-competent and successful partner at a top law firm,” one with a lucrative client roster ready to follow her to a new place of employment. The installment will involve flashbacks to a Season 1 timeline, where we’ll see Lorraine, a fortysomething partner at a top Chicago firm, calling in Alicia for a job interview — but really only being interested in our titular heroine as a curiosity in the wake of Peter’s recent arrest. Another guest player in the hour will be Howard, described as “a harried and bashful human resources manager” (in his mid-30s or 40s), who extends an offer to Alicia — but as a paralegal, not a lawyer. Ouch.
That’s a wrap! Please send questions, comments, and anonymous tips to askausiello@tvline.com. (Additional reporting by Megan Masters, Vlada Gelman and Scott Huver)
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