Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Glee, Bones, Big Bang, Walking Dead, Supernatural and More!

Got a scoop request? An anonymous tip you’re dying to share? Just want to say hi? Send any/all of the above to askausiello@tvline.com

Question: Got any intel on The Walking Dead‘s midseason finale (a.k.a. Season 3, Episode 8)? —Pam
Ausiello: The shock and awe you’ll feel while watching the episode will quickly give way to dread, according to exec producer Robert Kirkman. “It’s definitely going to be something that will make you hate the winter and be dying for the second act of the season to start,” he shares, “which is a fun process that I think adds to the anticipation and excitement of the show. I don’t want to spoil anything or promise too much, but I’m very proud of the episode and I think people are really going to dig it.”

PHOTOS | 19 Comic-Con Highlights — Including OMG Stripping, NSFW Trailers and More!

Question: Any update on the talks to bring How I Met Your Mother back for a ninth season? —Charlie
Ausiello: They’re about to begin. But multiple sources stressed to me that the path to an official renewal will be long and (possibly) bumpy. According to one insider, CBS and producer 20th Century Fox Television have had preliminary discussions to set a framework for upcoming negotiations. Translation: They have talked about setting a time to talk. But before both sides can hatch a new licensing fee agreement, 20th has to close new deals with the cast and producers. So it’s probably best to table this until around January.

Question: Got any Glee scoop that didn’t come out of the show’s Comic-Con panel (awesome job moderating, BTW)? —Steven
Ausiello: I overheard a little pre-panel buzz concerning Rachel’s transition from McKinley to NYADA — namely that it will be rough. And I’m not just referring to the challenges she’s going to face with her dancing. Speaking of Comic-Con, look at all the huge Ausholes we ran into while in San Diego!

RELATED | Will Wemma Tie the Knot This Season on Glee?

Question: I can’t believe Damian McGinty isn’t returning to Glee. Should I even bother signing the petitions that are out there? —Chrissy
Ausiello: Nah. Probably a waste of time. Sounds to me like the decision is pretty final.

Question: Any news on whether Grant Gustin will return to Glee? —Ally
Ausiello: Discussions are happening. I hear the show would very much like him back in some capacity.

Question: What’s the real scoop on my favorite Glee couple, Kurt and Blaine? —Rob
Ausiello: I think you’ll have a pretty good idea where things stand with them by the end of the Sept. 13 season premiere.

Question: What can we expect to see from Season 9 of The Office? —Chris
Ausiello: You can expect to meet Dwight’s kooky clan in this season’s fourth episode. According to sources, that’s when NBC is planning to air the Schrute-centric planted spin-off The Farm.

Question: Can I get a new spoiler on the Bones season premiere? —Marina
Ausiello: We’ll find out what Pelant did to Brennan’s alarm clock. “That will be a part of the first episode,” confirms EP Stephen Nathan. “The clock, the surveillance, footage — everything will come back. Whether it’s resolved or not, I can’t tell you. I would imagine it’s not all going to be resolved.”

RELATED | Bones Preview — Get Ready For a “Darker” Season

Question: Thank you for all your amazing interviews from Comic-Con — especially the David Boreanaz Q&A! Did you happen to get any more Bones scoop from Stephen Nathan or Emily Deschanel? —Elena
Ausiello: Deschanel no, Nathan yes. “There will be a new love interest for Cam, and it will be very, very surprising,” says the boss man. “Somebody that you would not expect to appear in her life.” Bonus scoop: It’s someone we’ve already met! Hit the comments with your best guesses!

Question: Give me a break and drop me a Supernatural scoop, wouldya? —Jordan
Ausiello: Dean’s going to find himself “indebted” to one of those purgatory badasses the EPs teased during the show’s Comic-Con panel. “There’s going to be a character [introduced in Episode 1] that gets Dean out,” reveals Jensen Ackles. “It’s like, ‘I need you and you need me.’ And of course, he’s not a good guy. That character stands to pose a bit of an issue for Dean because maybe there are things that Dean has hidden that he doesn’t want to tell Sam that happened in purgatory.” Bonus scoop: Rumor has it the evildoer in question sports fangs.

Question: Can you give us a teeny-tiny morsel on whether Misha Collins and Jim Beaver are back as regulars on Supernatural? —Rowan
Ausiello: Watch this video and read between the lines, Ro.

Question: Any idea how long Howard will be in space on The Big Bang Theory? —Jeff
Ausiello: Roughly three or four episodes. But as EP Steve Molaro reveals, “Howard learns that even though he makes it all the way up to space, all the issues of life that plagued him don’t stay on Earth. [They] have a way of following him all the way to the space station.” Might one of those issues involve his living situation (i.e. will he kick his mom to the curb)? “They’ve got to deal with that when he comes back,” confirms fellow EP Bill Prady. “And it comes up pretty quickly.”

Question: Any spoilers on Nikita? —Dorothy
Ausiello: Melinda Clarke’s Amanda will be MIA during the first few episodes of Season 3. But fear not, she will be back by November sweeps with a vengeance.

Question: Do you have any scoop on Necessary Roughness? —Cathy
Ausiello: Glad you asked! I hear that Dani’s younger sister, Ronnie, will show up this season, and that she’s a real pistol: a Vegas blackjack dealer who Lindsay and Ray Jay think is a lot of fun but who’s a big pain in her sister’s tush. Look for the shrink’s sibling to appear in Episode 14.

Question: I have a Shameless question: Can we be best friends so I can know all of the super-secret scoop? —Jami
Ausiello: How about we start as pen pals? Let this serve as my first message to you: The Gallagher household is going to get a little bigger in the upcoming third season. Molly, Mandy’s 9-year-old half-sister, comes to live with the dysfunctional family when her meth-addict mother dies. But the little orphan’s not the only new character we’ll meet. There’ll also be Patty, one of Fiona’s older grocery-store co-workers, who’ll oppose the feisty Gallagher girl when she tries to rally the staff against a manager’s “unusual demands.” And following Grandma Peg’s cancer diagnosis last season, we’ll meet Wendy, a college student volunteering at a camp for children with the disease, and Hanley, one of the adventurous campers.

Question: Got anything on Blue Bloods‘ third season? —Michelle
Ausiello: How about this? Danny Reagan arrested a bank robber years ago, and that man went to jail. Now he’s out, the love of his life and their 7-year-old are dead… and he blames Danny. I hear the ex-con, whose name is John, is smart and incredibly vindictive. In short, Danny better sleep with one eye open.

Question: Do you have any scoop on Political Animals, especially about either of the brothers? —Craig
Ausiello: If you, as I/some did, came away from the premiere worrying that James Wolk’s character was a bit blah, count on that changing big-time. “Let’s just put it this way: The goody two-shoes that you see [in the pilot] is not going to remain a goody two-shoes,” Wolk assured us with a wink. “Things are going to get a little wild, and all of the characters are going to be kind of tarnished — which is what we want.” And how! (Hmm, I wonder if this has to do with engaged Doug getting chummy with Carla Gugino’s character in the promos…?)

Question: Any scoop on Covert Affairs? —Melissa
Ausiello: Fan fave Oded Fehr returns as Eyal in Episode 5 to comfort Annie in the wake of last week’s explosive season premiere. “It is safe to say she is happy to see him again,” previews executive producer Matt Corman. “He brings a unique perspective to what she went through. He is such a seasoned spy that he is a little bit outside of her normal world, but also is able to kind of contextualize trauma.” EP Chris Ord elaborates that Eyal is uniquely qualified “being Israeli, where there are a number of car bombs” to help Annie, adding, “He certainly can provide perspective on what Annie went through.”

Question: Any big Chris Gorham episodes coming up this season on Covert Affairs? —Jill
Ausiello: The July 24 outing, “The Last Thing You Should Do,” is very Auggie-centric. “He’s out in the field,” reveals Ord. “Very action-packed, I’ve got to say.”

Question: I’d happily take a Parenthood spoiler off your hands. —Mike
Ausiello: Zeek’s going to get a new buddy early in the season. “He’s a returning soldier from Afghanistan who Zeek meets, and they connect,” showrunner Jason Katims tells me of the new and uncast role. “We’ve always wanted to find a story where we can delve into a little of Zeek’s military history.”

Question: Do you happen to know when Parks and Recreation will be going to Washington, D.C.? I live there and I want to stalk, er, observe them shooting on location. —Diego
Ausiello: You didn’t hear this from me, but Amy Poehler and Adam Scott (and possibly a third actor) are headed there this week.

Question: I have a burning Once Upon a Time question — was the outside world affected when the curse was broken? —Jen
Ausiello: That’s what EP Adam Horowitz referred to as “an excellent question” when it was lobbed to him at Comic-Con over the weekend. “I think the best way to answer that,” he responded, “is to say that that will be explicated rather quickly.” Explicate: To analyze and develop (an idea or principle) in detail.

Question: Any scoop on August from Once Upon a Time? Please don’t say they’re not bringing him back. —Rae
Ausiello: “We are definitely going to tell what happened to Pinocchio,” EP Edward Kitsis assured us at Con. “The last we saw, he was wood.” Added Horowitz: “We gotta figure out what happened to him. We started the story and we intend to finish it.”

Question: Any more little hints about the couple/show at the center of your recent wedding blind item? —Mia
Ausiello: It’s Gossip Girl. Or Hart of Dixie. Or 90210. One of those.

That’s a wrap! Please send questions, comments, and anonymous tips to askausiello@tvline.com. (Additional reporting by Kimberly Roots, Meg Masters and Vlada Gelman)

Related stories

Revolution's Ragtag Survivors on a New World Order and Playing Against a Breaking Baddie

Fringe @ Comic-Con: Final Season Talk Begets Tears and Movie Buzz — Watch the Trailer Here!

True Blood's Alan Ball Talks Finale Carnage, the Sookie-Eric-Bill Triangle: 'Some People Change'

Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter