• Ex-Alias techie Kevin Weisman can't seem to shake the spy biz. Sources confirm to me exclusively that the actor has landed a flashy guest stint on NBC's Chuck. He'll play a poisonous (literally) bad guy in the Nov. 12 episode titled "Chuck Versus the Truth." • Know what time it is? It's time for me to put on my Armchair Casting Director hat, that's what time it is. As all you Ausiello Scoop newsletter subscribers first learned yesterday, Gossip Girl is introducing Serena's "wealthy, manipulative and larger-than-life" grandmother — a role that sounds tailor-made for a certain acid-tongued Gilmore Girls matriarch named Kelly Bishop. No worries, I'm on the case. I've already contacted both exec producer Josh Schwartz and Bishop's agent. With any luck, I'll be able to announce something offical in next week's Ask Ausiello.• Was last night's Pushing Daisies pure genius or what? And I'm not just saying that because Kristin Chenoweth practically name-checked me with t...
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Question: It seems to me that TV is constantly going younger. I greatly miss Jessica Walter on Arrested Development, and now with the cancellation of Gilmore Girls I'll miss Kelly Bishop. While Sally Field is wonderful on Brothers & Sisters, I can't help but wonder what the future holds for older actresses on TV, or if audiences must grow even more accustomed to viewing shows targeted for a much younger audience.
Answer: I think you're already seeing it. TV is a demographics game, and the focus on who's winning in the 18-49 sweepstakes has become much more pronounced the longer I've been covering this beat. If we're lucky, the example set by Sally Field will encourage other shows, producers and networks to create similarly meaty roles for veteran actors of both genders. But these stars will rarely be asked to carry a show, it seems. Hard to imagine a network giving a shot to a Golden Girls-style show anymore, which is a real shame ...
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Question: By now we're probably all aware of the gossip surrounding a possible Season 8 of Gilmore Girls. It sounds like Alexis Bledel is the only holdout, and Lauren Graham doesn't want to sign on without Alexis. I know you have said that Gilmore should end after this season, but let me run something by you: Have they thought about continuing on for another season with the focus shifting to another pair of Gilmore girls: Lorelai and Emily? There are definitely a season's worth of issues for them to work through, and I have always found their relationship to be much more interesting than Lorelai and Rory's. Even Rory herself mentioned in the last episode that she is worried about how Lorelai and Emily will get along without her there to bring them together and act as a buffer. So why not give the fans a chance to see exactly how the two do in this situation? I think it would be great if the show shifted gears and explored the relationship between Emily and Lorelai, and even Lorelai and ...
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Finally, a good solid dose of Stars Hollow! We wanted our lovable wacky townspeople back, and we got ’em! Who better than Miss Patty and Babette to gossip about Chris and Lorelai out loud in the diner as Luke was passing right by them with coffee and plates of food? Loved the bizarre code names: Chris was the beagle (though he probably should have been the hound), Lorelai was the hen (if anyone, Babette’s the mother of all hens. I’m thinking a swan would’ve been more appropriate). And Luke was the rooster (that one actually makes sense, the domestic male). Why did those two even bother using symbolism? Not only was the conversation totally obvious — “Did the hen break up with the beagle or did the beagle break up with the hen?” — but Luke already knew, thanks to East Side Tilly “who was in here yesterday, blabbing her big mouth off.” For a moment they considered whether Lorelai and Luke should get back together, causing Babette to de...
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A warm thought for the deep chill of winter: Even in the doldrums of a miserable season, Gilmore Girls proves that it’s still capable of greatness. This week’s episode returned to its core, the electrifying dynamic among three generations of Gilmore women, balancing humor with searing flashes of drama in an episode incomparably illuminated by the welcome return of Kelly Bishop’s imperious, hilarious, monstrous yet ultimately oh-so-human Emily Gilmore.It seems like ages since we’ve seen Bishop at her best. And no mistake about it, she was at her best this week, rising to the occasion when Emily’s husband, Richard (the estimable Edward Herrmann), is felled with a heart attack. Bossing around the hospital staff, railing against the incompetence of any poor health-club or service worker who has the bad luck to come up against her, she is a riot. And as Lorelai and Rory sit in amused horror, we know deep down all will be well because they’re all together aga...
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