Got a scoop request? An anonymous tip you’re dying to share? Send any/all of the above to askausiello@tvline.com
Question: Any intel on Big Little Lies Season 2? —Jacob
Ausiello: For those complaining that Zoë Kravitz’s Bonnie didn’t have enough to do the first time around, I’ve got Big news via HBO president Casey Bloys. “We’re going to get more into [Bonnie’s] family,” the exec tells me, all but confirming buzz that the series will be introducing the burgeoning character’s parents in Season 2. Adds Bloys: “The nice thing about doing a second season is you can get more into all of the characters.”
Question: Any news on Riverdale? —Michele
Ausiello: Only that the Feb. 7 episode directed by Vampire-verse boss Julie Plec is said to be among the dark-and-twisty drama’s darkest and twistiest ever.
Question: Wait, is that really the end for Alexander/Dimitri? I was really enjoying his and Stevie’s relationship on Madam Secretary. —Ali
Ausiello: Executive producer Barbara Hall tells us it’s not likely that the spy/Stevie’s not-so-secret boyfriend will be back this season: “We did complete his arc with the McCord family and his job with the CIA. We don’t have any immediate plans for him coming back.” BUT, the world of geopolitical intrigue is a very fickle place, and Hall wouldn’t rule out a return somewhere down the road. “We did give him the job that we gave him, which was we sent him to another post so we could leave it open to have him back for future storylines,” she adds.
Question: I’m obsessed with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and finished the first season in one fell swoop. Any scoop on what’s next for our favorite comedian? —Ausiello
Ausiello: I spoke to the Golden Globe-winning Team Palladino shortly after their big victory Sunday night and extracted the following three Season 2 tidbits from them: 1) Rachel Brosnahan’s Midge will be taking her show on the road to the Catskills, 2) The series will eventually explore the personal life of Alex Borstein’s possibly-lesbian Susie (Amy and Dan made a point of telling me that they haven’t revealed her character’s sexual orientation yet), and 3) Season 2 will pick up after a time jump, albeit not a significant one.
Question: Any scoop on The Fosters? What can we expect with Jude and Noah? —Anderson
Ausiello: We already shared some scoop about Jude and Noah, so let’s talk Jesus and Emma’s future. “He’s going to go back to school, but will he be able to be a senior next year?” executive producer Joanna Johnson muses. Because of his traumatic brain injury, Jesus “missed some school,” and “he was never a great student” to begin with, the EP notes. “That’s always been one of their issues: Jesus’ insecurity with Emma as far as his intelligence and his ability to keep up. And junior year being such a pivotal year, and [him being] so far behind, definitely causes strain in the relationship.”
Question: Got anything on Jane the Virgin? —Carol
Ausiello: After Snow Falling‘s poor reviews, Jane “really struggles to figure out what’s next” for her, career-wise, executive producer Jennie Urman previews. “She’s had in her mind, ‘Oh, my gosh, once I publish a book, I’m going to be a published author, and my life is going to change!’ And her life doesn’t change. She’s still a manager at the Marbella. What happens when you achieve your dream, but it doesn’t come out exactly how you thought it [would]? She gets pretty stuck, and that brings her to a crossroads, professionally.”
Question: Anything on The Originals? How do the Mikaelsons end up reuniting when they’re supposed to remain apart? –Charlie
Ausiello: Well, Charlie, it sounds like we’ll have Klaus and Hayley’s daughter to thank for the family coming back together in the show’s final season. “Hope goes to great lengths, and not necessarily always on the up, to find ways to be reunited with the people that she loves,” series creator Julie Plec hints. “When you’re a 15-year-old at a boarding school, that involves breaking some rules and possibly relying on some cute, charming, young male assistance to help you escape where you are so you can get home.” (Hmm… sounds like she’s referring to Hope’s new vampire beau Roman, played by Descendants’ Jedidiah Goodacre).
Question: Is there any way that Connie Britton will somehow be in Nashville‘s final season? It’s not right for the show to end without Rayna! —Christina
Ausiello: We took that very question to the two people best equipped to answer it — Nashville boss Marshall Herskovitz and the former First Lady of Country Music herself — and you’re not likely to enjoy what they had to say. First, Herskovitz didn’t really want to discuss the idea, because “I feel like anything I say, people will read as tea leaves,” he said. “There’s nothing to read right now.” And Britton said she “certainly would” like to reprise her role once more, “but I think it’d be very difficult.” She laughed at our pain. “I don’t know that there would really be a place for the ghost of Rayna Jaymes.”
Question: I saw High School Musical‘s Ashley Tisdale tweet about being on MacGyver this week. Any details? —Craig
Ausiello: Tisdale, who’s a producer on a Scooby-Doo-themed Daphne and Velma movie for WBTV’s digital arm, tells us she plays Allie, a(nother) old flame of Mac’s. “I work for the CIA and I’m a bit of a competitor, and that’s partly why we split up,” she shares. Acknowledging what a change-up the role is for TV’s erstwhile Sharpay, she said, “I’m such a huge Homeland fan that when I saw I was a CIA agent I was freaking out! It’s so different for me.”
Question: S.H.I.E.L.D. killed off almost all of the new cast last week! Will we ever see Deke again? —Deena
Ausiello: As glimpsed in promo pics from tonight’s episode, Deke has extricated himself from that welded-shut room, but what role he plays in the nearly-reunited S.H.I.E.L.D. team’s escape mission remains a mystery. In coming episodes, “You learn more about what drives him, and how the Lighthouse and where he’s from has shaped him into constantly being in self-preservation mode,” says portrayer Jeff Ward. “You’ll learn a lot more about his parents and his history with them and the prophecy — everything that’s going on in terms of what S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing there and why.” All told, Ward says, “Deke’s motives are more complicated than you might think. He has no stake with these people, so having someone like that as part of the group is a fun element to throw in there.”
Question: Any scoop on Scandal? —bevoette
Ausiello: Katie Lowes’ presence during our final visit to the ABC series’ set would seem to suggest that Quinn is alive and well when the farewell season resumes on Jan. 18. “You’ll know very early on [what happened to Quinn] — I can say that, right?” the actress tells TVLine. “I am not at liberty to say anything other than that, but you know the show has played around a lot with time and flashbacks and things like that, so you will have to see in which realm Quinn is either here or not when we come back.”
Question: Any word about what other locations Roman/Luke Mitchell will be sent for filming future Blindspot episodes? —Susan
Ausiello: As you may already know, “We’re going to Morocco in our next episode, this Friday, and we’ll be there for a couple episodes,” says showrunner Martin Gero. “We shot in Marrakesh for Episode 9, and then we went to a desert literally in the middle of nowhere — it’s pretty incredible.” As for what the future holds, he tells TVLine, “And I can’t announce it yet but we hope to go somewhere really extraordinary for the finale as well.”
Question: What’s coming up on Blindspot? —Carlynn
Ausiello: Here’s what’s not coming up: a replacement for Eleanor Hirst as FBI director. Even though Hirst was taken down in the NBC drama’s fall finale, series creator Martin Gero maintains there are no current plans to cast a new head honcho. “Reade is still the head of the New York office of the FBI,” he says. “We didn’t really need another level of bureaucracy, so we’ve just kept it vague.”
Question: Has The Good Doctor‘s Lea really moved away for good? She and Shaun were the cutest. —Claire
Ausiello: Yes, she is indeed moving away. But for good…? Maybe not. “What we want to do is put Shaun in situations and see how he reacts to them — put him in a situation where he’s attracted to a woman, put him in a situation where she responds. And how does he react in a situation where she leaves?” series boss David Shore says of the romantic wrinkle. “I’d love to have her come back, though. I don’t think it’ll happen by the end of this season, but hopefully we’ll have next season to play with.” (For more Good Doctor info, scroll down to This AAnd That.)
Question: Do you have any news on New Girl? —Anna
Ausiello: Though Schmidt, with the time jump, is now a stay-at-home dad, he will nonetheless get a blast from his marketing past when Kim, his sexy Season 1 boss, resurfaces during the farewell season. “You miiiight see me, and I get to mayyyybe see Max [Greenfield] again,” Gillian Vigman told TVLine, winking, after her TCA panel for The CW’s Life Sentence. “I get to be rage-filled, and it is so juicy to be that angry. So yeah, it was a lot of fun.”
Question: Any scoop on what will transpire on The Big Bang Theory in 2018? —Mario
Ausiello: Although show boss Chuck Lorre was firmly mum on whether we’ll get a Sheldon/Amy wedding before season’s end, he did hint that Young Sheldon’s friends and family might appear on the mothership, all growed up. “There are young people in Young Sheldon’s life that we might someday on Big Bang meet as adults,” he said. For example, “We’re all in love with young Billy Sparks, so to see him in Pasadena would be a thrill.” As for Sheldon’s big bro George, Lorre’s dream casting for the adult version is Matthew McConaughey!
Question: Still reeling from James and Lena’s kiss on Supergirl. What can you tell me?! –Charlotte
Ausiello: I can’t tell you much, Charlotte, but I’ll say that Monday’s episode wastes no time getting to bottom of what happened between Kara’s best friend and ex during the holidays. Can they blame it on the mistletoe, or are there real feelings there? You’ll have to watch and see!
This AAnd That…
♦ I’m cooking up a blind item involving an extremely unlikely pregnancy on a show I am obsessed with. Stay tuned…
♦ Regarding a certain major episode of Grey’s Anatomy that’s currently in production, I’ve learned that Alex won’t be the only character getting the origin treatment in the Ellen Pompeo-directed hour. Sources confirm that the episode will also shed light on Maggie’s teenage years.
♦ The Good Doctor is adding the potentially-series regular role of Dr. Eugene Park, an Asian-American cop-turned-MD who knows how to read people and is able to remain extremely focused even in chaotic situations.
♦ Brooklyn Nine-Nine will introduce viewers to Rosa’s girlfriend later this season, although EP Dan Goor tells us that she will not be the same woman Charles overheard Rosa speaking to on the phone in Episode 99.
That’s a wrap! Please send questions, comments and anonymous tips to askausiello@tvline.com. (Additional reporting by Kim Roots, Ryan Schwartz, Vlada Gelman and Andy Swift)
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