Gary Sinise
For shows in danger of being canceled, crafting a season finale can be tricky. Do you end with a cliff-hanger and hope for the best or do you tie things up for the fans?
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In the case of CSI: NY, which airs its Season 7 finale Friday at 9/8c, the producers tried to do both. "We looked at it and said, 'If this should not come back, can we be satisfied with what we left behind?'" executive producer Pam Veasey tells TVGuide.com. "And if it does, does [the finale] provide us with a lot of story to come back to? We believe we found the best scenario for all of that."
The final episode, fittingly titled "Exit Strategy," focuses on ...
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CSI: NY
CSI: NY had a unique set of challenges heading into its seventh season. The show was moving to Friday nights, where the writers would have to figure out how to resolve last season's "shot in the dark" cliff-hanger involving serial killer Shane Casey (guest star Edward Furlong) and married CSIs Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) and Lindsay (Anna Belknap) Messer.
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Then series star Melina Kanakaredes, who played Detective Stella Bonasera since the show premiered, quit just weeks before production began. "We had written six scripts over the break," executive producer Pam Veasey tells TVGuide.com. "We developed stories that were ready to prep for shooting, and all of them involved Stella. Then, the fallout happened."
Veasey says after three days of intense phone calls, she found the cloud's silver lining: Emmy and Golden Globe winner Sela Ward signed on to replace Kanakaredes on the show...
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Curb: The Discussion host Susie Essman and panelists Randy Cohen, Patti Stanger, Hill Harper and Jon Hamm talk about breast implants, sparked by a scene in Curb Your Enthusiasm's first episode, "The Pant Tent", where after a woman in a theater accuses Larry David of staring at her breasts. Larry then defends his behavior, referring to her breast implants as "chemical balls." Watch the video and vote in our poll after the jump.
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Fringe, CSI: NY, Lost
Every week, senior editors Mickey O'Connor and Adam Bryant answer your burning questions. Want some TV scoop? Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com.
Any tidbits on the Fringe finale? — Todd
MICKEY: Olivia and Walter make their way "over there" for the two part-finale (May 13 and 20, 9/8c, Fox), in which Walter finally comes face to face with his former partner, Dr. William Bell (guest star Leonard Nimoy). Unfortunately, traveling to another universe has its consequences, and in this case those include someone dying. And if my mole is correct about the identity of the soon-to-be deceased, fans of the show will be apoplectic.
Will Hawkes ever have a love interest on CSI: NY? — Clarisse
ADAM: No one wants that more than Hill Harper. "Hawkes definitely needs some lovin'. Folks have been tweeting to me, saying...
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Hill Harper and Harold Perrineau, CSI: NY
On Wednesday's CSI: NY, Sheldon Hawkes' visit to a Pennsylvania prison provides him with a jarring revelation and puts him in a fight for his life.
Check out photos of the CSI: NY cast
In the episode, Hawkes (Hill Harper) receives word that death-row inmate Reggie Tifford (guest star Harold Perrineau) wants to speak with Hawkes before he dies. During their meeting, Tifford shares some unsettling news with Hawkes, who unfortunately doesn't have any time to process what he's just heard...
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Susie Essman, Jon Hamm, Patti Stanger
Jerry Seinfeld, Golden Globe-winning Mad Men star Jon Hamm and Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson will be the first panelists on Curb: The Discussion, TV Guide Network's new discussion show about the ethical dilemmas of Curb Your Enthusiasm, the network announced.
The round-table discussions, which will immediately follow episodes of Curb when it debuts on Wednesday, June 2 (10/9c), are co-produced by Curb creator Larry David and hosted by comedienne and Curb regular Susie Essman. Curb will be edited for language and nudity, but not to fit a traditional half-hour format. Episodes of The Discussion will air ...
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Fringe, 30 Rock, Bones
Every week, editors Mickey O'Connor and Adam Bryant answer your burning questions. Want some TV scoop? Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com.
Fringe left us with a crazy cliff-hanger. What will Olivia do with her newfound knowledge about Peter? — Brandt
MICKEY: The first post-hiatus episode, April 1's "Peter," is an '80s flashback blockbuster in which Walter finally tells Olivia the truth about his son. It fills in almost all the gaps in Peter's mysterious backstory: why Olivia sees him glimmer, how he was cured and why he owes the Observer his life. Plus: We'll meet Peter's mother for the first time and get a pretty good idea how Nina Sharp lost her arm to "cancer."
I'm going through Bones withdrawal. Got any scoop to tide me over until April? — Maria
ADAM: The landmark 100th episode reveals...
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Harold Perrineau
Besides returning to Lost later this season, Harold Perrineau has signed on to appear on CSI: NY...
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Tyler Perry by Jesse Grant/Getty Images, Chandra Wilson by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for NAACP
While The Great Debaters dominated the film categories at Thursday's NAACP Image Awards — it turned eight nods into a quartet of wins (including best motion picture and acting kudos for Denzel Washington and Jurnee Smollett) — Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Grey's Anatomy emerged as the most-lauded TV series. Grey's walked away with drama series and writing team honors, while Chandra Wilson scored best supporting actress. TBS' House of Payne, meanwhile, was named best comedy series, while LaVan Davis and Lance Gross won for lead and supporting actor in a comedy, respectively.In the other TV races, Ugly Betty's America Ferrera and Vanessa Williams won for lead and supporting comedy actress; CSI: NY's Hill Harper and The Unit's Regina Taylor copped the top prizes on the drama side; and House's Omar Epps took home the supporting actor/drama trophy.
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Hill Harper
CSI: NY star Hill Harper, 41, is passionate about education. This multitasking actor is also an author and motivational speaker whose message to young people is clear: education equals success. Harper, who holds both a master of public administration and a law degree from Harvard, ought to know. In Lessons from Little Rock: A National Report Card, airing Feb. 10 at 10 pm/ET on TV One, Harper, who produced and hosts the special, revisits the issue of educational opportunity in America 50 years after the Little Rock Nine integrated Arkansas’ Central High School. TVGuide.com spoke with Harper to see just how far America has come.
TVGuide.com: Tell me a little about what you learned and what you were surprised to discover while making this program.Hill Harper: I wanted to see where we were 50 years later, because part
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