In The Hot Seat: What to watch (or not) on TV talk shows this week

Sarah D. Bunting

It's your best-bet/no-bet cheat sheet for the TV-talk-show guests of the week of October 15. Let's get to it.

Monday, October 15
Watch: J.K. Rowling comes to "The Daily Show" to talk about her new novel, "The Casual Vacancy," but it should be fun to see Jon Stewart trying to work in Harry Potter references. And if you just can't get enough of celebrity engagement settings, Jennifer Aniston hits "Chelsea Lately" today with her gigantic diamond. And Patton Oswalt is always a good bet; he's on "Conan."

Skip: Trying to avoid Honey Boo Boo? Don't watch Kimmel tonight.

Tuesday, October 16
Watch: America's favorite snow-shoveling, burning-building-entering mayor, Cory Booker of Newark, NJ, is talking to Stephen Colbert. And if you thought the Wallflowers had retired, think again; they're on "Ellen." Hear more about the scripted sitcom based on Tyra Banks's early life on "Katie Couric."

Skip: Lots of reruns today, including Letterman, Leno, Fallon, and Daly.

Wednesday, October 17
Watch: Random guest combinations are the best, and "The View" has a pretty good one on Wednesday — Valerie "One Day at a Time" Bertinelli and Jeremy "Six Feet Under" Sisto. (Recommendation time: Sisto is fantastic in the cancelled-too-soon "Kidnapped," which is available on Netflix streaming. File it away for a marathon over the holidays.)

Skip: This is a watch and a skip, in a way, but it's filed under "skip" here because it seems like it has the potential to become extremely uncomfortable — Bill O'Reilly sits down with Katie Couric.

Thursday, October 18
Watch: DL Hughley sits down with Tavis Smiley; "Kelly & Michael" features another of those random guest pairings with Shaquille O'Neal and Isaac Mizrahi, and hopefully O'Neal getting big-and-tall fashion tips from Mizrahi isn't too much to ask. And of course it's politics as un-usual on the chat shows, as Ann Romney visits "The View" and President Obama's on "The Daily Show."

Skip: Nicole Richie's kept a much lower profile in the last few years, and those of you who are A-okay with that should skip today's "Ellen."

Friday, October 19
Watch: Tavis Smiley scores again with "Vegas" star Michael Chiklis, and if you want to rewatch the Britney Spears/Simon Cowell ep of "Ellen," it's rerunning today. Cee-Lo Green is on "The View" and may bring his cat. And if you watched Mrs. Romney on "The View" yesterday, give Mrs. Obama equal time when she hits "Kelly & Michael" this morning.

Skip: Nothing cornea-searing here, just the usual complement of reruns.