Ask Ausiello 8/4/10

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/08/04/ask-ausiello-spoilers-greys-house-bones/

Question: As of today, I have officially seen every single episode of Grey’s Anatomy, and now I don’t know what to do with myself! Grey’s scoop, please! —Bea
Ausiello: Even though nearly two months will have passed since the shooting rampage, Derek will still be in pretty bad shape when the season starts. And I’m not talking physically.

Question: What can you tell us about the Grey’s Anatomy premiere? —Claudia
Ausiello: A major character will be sent directly to jail by the end of the episode. Hint: This person has already been name-checked in this week’s AA.

Question: Do you know if NCIS will deal more with what happened to Ziva in Somalia? —Carlee
Ausiello: Funny you should ask. Exec producer Shane Brennan just told me the following: “In November sweeps, we dip again into a story that perhaps everyone thought was played out. It involves Ziva.”

Questions: I am dying for some NCIS scoop. Any news on the season premiere? —Lyss
Ausiello: Brennan says the resolution of last season’s cliffhanger will “speak volumes about what sort of dad Gibbs Sr. was to his son. And you see why Gibbs is very much cut from the same cloth. He may be old, but he’s feisty.”

Question: Is Rena Sofer returning to NCIS? —Brenda
Ausiello: “She’s not in the premiere,” says Brennan. “But she didn’t die. And unless they carry you out feet first, never say never.”

Question: Any scoop on Private Practice? —Alex
Ausiello: Dexter’s dad is paying a visit! James Remar has been cast in the potentially recurring role of Gibby, a physician with Doctors Without Borders and an old friend of Pete’s. He’ll first turn up in this season’s third episode. Oh, and in case you missed TVGuide.com’s scoop, Pete and Violet are getting married in the premiere. (BTW, there’s no connection between their nuptials and this story. Thought you should know.)

Question: Please tell me you have some Bones scoop that doesn’t involve Booth’s new girlfriend. I really need the distraction. —Amy
Ausiello: As they approach their first-year anniversary, Angela and Hodgins will remain an “ironclad couple,” says exec producer Hart Hanson. “They are in the honeymoon phase but they keep getting smacked in the head. But the honeymoon phase never goes away. They are deeply, deeply in love. We just want to do everything to a couple you would do to a couple that is going to go through life together. Sort of the opposite of Booth and Brennan for the time being.” Hanson adds that he plans to “have the kitchen sink thrown at them” this season, “but they’re together for always. We could change our mind next year, but they’re pretty strong this season.”

Question: What’s this I’m hearing about a sniper stalking the Bones gang this season? —Dave
Ausiello: “We’ve got someone worse than the Gravedigger coming,” teases Hanson. “And if the Gravedigger is Evil Brennan, this next person is Evil Booth.” Sounds like a sniper to me. “Booth was a sniper,” Hanson points out, “so it may be a sniper.” In related news, sources confirm to me exclusively that Hart Hanson is legally changing his name to Teasy McTeaserson.

Question: Can you give us any sort of clue as to who is going to die on Bones? Is it a series regular? —Camilla
Ausiello: I’m 92 percent certain it is not a series regular. Hanson, meanwhile, would only tell me “it’s someone we know.” This Just In: Hart Hanson is changing his name yet again. He will now be known as Cryptic McCrypticson.

Question: What’s in store for Cate and Ryan on Life Unexpected this season? I love them together. —Ken
Ausiello: Their marriage is going to hit a few bumps, but none of them will involve Baze. “Baze has been a thorn in their side, but in the second season, the dynamic is going to shift a little bit,” reveals exec producer Liz Tigelaar. “Whereas before they had a common enemy in Baze—all of their problems can kind of be blamed on him—they come to realize that maybe other things are more of a problem. Removing Baze from the equation highlights some other things they hadn’t quite worked out. This season is very much the story of a young marriage and the trails and tribulations that they go through and the way you’re kind of thrust together, torn apart, and brought back together. It’s like everyone always says—the first year of marriage is the hardest. I think that they’re going to experience that.”

Question: I’m still really bummed about the Emmys snubbing Cougar Town—especially Busy Philipps for supporting actress! Can you give me some scoop to ease my pain? —Ed
Ausiello: This next piece of news should leave you feeling both happy and a little gay: Exec producer Bill Lawrence hints that Travis will make a gay friend in season 2. “One of the reasons Travis is going to college,” says Lawrence, “is to expand our world a little bit.” In possibly related news, Cougar Town is casting the role of Travis’ “enormous jocky college roommate” named Kevin. Think Quinton Aaron from The Blind Side—only with better fashion sense. (That last part is purely speculative.)

Question: Anything you can share about Tim/Tyra from Friday Night Lights? —Lisa
Ausiello: I asked Adrianne Palicki—star of Fox’s near-perfect fall drama Lone Star—about rumors of a Tim/Tyra reunion in season 5, and here’s what she told me: “I think if anybody ends up together it should be them. They’re so right for each other. They’re the same.” I tend to agree with her. Palicki and I also see eye-to-eye when it comes to costar Connie Britton’s long overdue Emmy nomination. For her thoughts on that, and scoop on FNL‘s wrap parties (plural), press play below.

Question: Got any scoop for Sons of Anarchy fans? I can't wait for the new season! —Kara
Ausiello: Maggie Siff (Tara) tells me that season 3 picks up almost immediately where season 2 left off. "The first episode is just a couple days after the last episode, so it's really the aftermath of the [kidnapping]," she says. "So there's still a lot of shock involved. There's this reckoning of guilt and fear and anxiety and adrenaline. The whole season is [like] that."

Question: How are audiences responding to Quintuplets? —Sara
Ausiello: You complete me, Sara.

Question: Thank you for all the scoops the past two weeks! You are completely forgiven for skipping a week of Ask Ausiello. I would love you even more if you can give me a Psych scoop, preferably a very good one. —Cecilie
Ausiello: I'm kind of shocked this hasn't gotten out, but James Roday revealed the identity of the Yin-Yang killer to me at Comic-Con—and our cameras caught the whole thing! Roday also told me that Dana Ashbrook is confirmed to guest star in the show's upcoming Twin Peaks-themed episode. BTW, if you're too lazy to go watch my interview with Roday and Dule Hill, I'll just tell you who Yin-Yang is here: It's **** *******s. Can you believe it?!

Question: Scoop on Castle, please. Are Castle and Beckett getting together anytime soon? —Maggie
Ausiello: You obviously missed my interview with Nathan Fillion at Comic-Con, during which he revealed that Castle and Beckett would spend much of the season married—in the figurative sense—to other people. Exec producer Andrew Marlowe both corroborated and expanded on that scoop when we caught up with him at press tour. "We will be introducing a boyfriend for Beckett in episode 4," he revealed. "It's someone new and surprising." Castle, meanwhile, will still be going strong with his ex—although fellow EP Rob Bowman concedes "he would prefer to be with Beckett. He acted as a gentleman should last year. She said she was with somebody else and he stepped back. But I don't think he spent his summer where he preferred to spend it. I think he wants to be back with her. We also know we like to have fun with the boy/girl chase and that as soon as he lets on any intention that he's interested, you know she's going to punish him. And that's why we watch the show."

Question: I know she's on CSI: NY now, but is there any chance Sela Ward will be returning to House this season? —Josh
Ausiello: No. That particular 'ship has sailed. This season's all about the Cuddster. "House and Cuddy alone in a room have had chemistry—that's never been in doubt," says exec producer Katie Jacobs. "Can it work in the real world? Can it work with them being coworkers? She's his boss, she has a kid, he's always breaking the rules... Can it work? I don't know, but that's the question [this season]. And she's not necessarily trying to change him. It's not like she goes, 'Oh well, I'll give it a try with House and hopefully he'll grow up.' He's never going to grow up. And she sort of thinks, 'I love him enough, maybe it could work. It's complicated.'"

Question: I'm kind of obsessed with your story about House's new opening title sequence. How exactly will it be different? —Jennifer
Ausiello: Let's ask Katie Jacobs, who's working on the revamp as we speak. "It's not all new," she says, "but I'm making a few changes because Jennifer [Morrison] is no longer in the main titles. And I am changing a little bit more than that, but I'm not changing so much that you're losing what you love about the opening titles." Jacobs also confirmed that a "few new names"—presumably Olivia Wilde and Peter Jacobson—have been added to the opening as well.

Question: What's coming up for Scotty and Kevin this season on Brothers & Sisters? —Dennis
Ausiello: "Something very risqué," teases exec producer Greg Berlanti. "I'll leave it at that." You thinking what I'm thinking? 'Cause I'm thinking this has open relationship written all over it.

Question: Any more Gossip Girl scoops? I'm dying here! —Jessica
Ausiello: The bitch is back and more powerful than ever. "Blair at NYU was like throwing a fish far, far out of water," says exec producer Josh Schwartz. "I think [this season] you'll see Blair with her power back, with her swagger back, back in her game, but still troubled by thoughts of Mr. Bass. The Chuck/Blair relationship—whether they're together or not—will always be a huge drive to the show emotionally."

Question: I have created a Facebook campaign for Burt Reynolds to host SNL and I am trying to spread the word about it. Thanks for your time. —Kathleen
Ausiello: What an unbelievable coincidence. I'm starting a Facebook campaign to put an end to Facebook campaigns that involve old people hosting SNL. Spooky.

Question: Any juicy and/or shocking news about the new season of Desperate Housewives? —Arno
Ausiello: Stop me if you've heard this one: More than one cougar will be preying on Brian Austin Green's handyman character. I'm told both Bree (Marcia Cross) and Renee (Vanessa Williams) will sink their claws into the artist formerly known as David Silver this fall.

Question: Did you get any Supernatural scoop at press tour? —Jackie
Ausiello: Sure did. Considering the theme of the season is monsters, it's probably no surprise that the first big mystery concerns, er, monsters. "Sam and Dean are looking into the fact that monsters are acting off-pattern," explains exec producer Sera Gamble. "It's sort of a post-apocalyptic landscape and monsters are acting in various weird ways. It's a monster mystery." Gamble is also hard at work on an episode that pokes fun at the Twilight phenomenon. "I was just doing a bit of work on the script today with [series creator] Eric [Kripke] and he was like, 'So what is this reference to dropping an apple?' I was like, 'You don't know the dropping an apple thing? It's from Twilight!' I was like, 'Come over here! You have to watch the promo!' There are a lot of references to Twilight and our former [timeslot companion] Vampire Diaries."

Question: Do you know how I can get a hold of one of those awesome Entertainment Weekly pillows from your Comic-Con video suite? —Stephanie
Ausiello: I probably shouldn't be doing this but I'm feeling extra generous today. Bring $600 cash to the SW corner of 42nd and 7th avenue in exactly one hour. We'll make the exchange there. If you bring anyone with you the deal is off.

Question: Any chance of seeing Grissom even for a tiny moment on CSI this season? —Juliana
Ausiello: I'm 92 percent certain the next time you see Grissom will be in the show's series finale.

Question: With Liz Vassey leaving CSI, what can you tell us about the fate of Wallace Langham? —DJ
Ausiello: He's staying put. In fact, sound like he's getting a promotion. "We're focusing primarily on the core team this season, and I want to bring Hodges more into that core group," says exec producer Carol Mendelsohn, who adds that Vassey will be back in episode 2 to wrap up Wendy's story line. "I think fans will be satisfied. She will be able to say goodbye to Hodges, and Hodges will take his anger and heartbreak out on a fellow tech."

Question: Who is Timothy Olyphant playing on The Office? —Jeff
Ausiello: A rival paper salesman with a deep, dark secret: He used to date Pam!

Question: Thanks for all the How I Met Your Mother spoilers. Can I please have some more, kind sir? —Jen
Ausiello: Yes, ma'am. Ted is getting a serious love interest this season. "There's going to be a new woman in Ted's life that is very complicated and intriguing," says exec producer Craig Thomas. "It's going to be a big arc, a huge arc for this season. It's going to be a little bit less date-of-the-week for Ted, which is what season 5 was. Last season we kind of just had fun with Ted. This year, we're back to the fact that Ted is the "I" in How I Met Your Mother. There's going to be a huge push of forward momentum for Ted on that search and that journey. We're going to meet the biggest female character we've maybe ever added to the show in Ted's life and it's very complicated and intriguing at first. I can't say a lot more than that."