michael.ausiello

I might have to shred my ...

Question: I might have to shred my Aushole membership card if I don't get some scoop about the single greatest new show (along with Reaper and Pushing Daisies) of the season, Chuck. Answer: It's pretty hard to shred something that doesn't exist, Clay. Nice try. But you may be onto something with this membership-card idea. I like it. Any graphic designers out there with time on your hands? Get me three or four Aushole ID mockups by Friday. In return, I'll give you a little Chuck scoop from the show's Paley Fest session last

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

Pushing Daisies is my ...

Question: Pushing Daisies is my absolute favorite new show. Any scoop/news?Answer: Just when I thought I couldn't love this show anymore, they go and add producer/writer Lawrence Trilling (Felicity, Alias, Invasion) to the staff.

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

If Friday Night Lights is ...

Question: If Friday Night Lights is renewed, will Taylor Kitsch return? I read that he signed for another show on Fox. Answer: Get your glasses checked, Mare. What you read is that he's appearing in 20th Century Fox's X-Men spin-off, Wolverine. And exec producer Jason Katims assured me at Paley Fest that Kitsch will definitely be back next season. If there is a next season. Which there will be. Unofficially.

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

Do you have any hot Numbers ...

Question: Do you have any hot Numbers tidbits? Answer: Aside from Diane Farr leaving the show? Um… I hear she's very close to announcing two significant follow-up projects. And by "she" I mean "me." Stay close to my Ausiello Report blog for the latest.

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

Jack is my constant. Will my ...

Question: Jack is my constant. Will my constant get a centric episode this season? Answer: Yes.

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

Can I have more Grey's ...

Question: Can I have more Grey's Anatomy juice, please? Answer: Kate Walsh's Seattle Grace comeback has been set for May 1. Adjust your schedule accordingly.

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

On Brothers & Sisters, if ...

Question: On Brothers & Sisters, if Justin and Rebecca find out they are not related, will they be bumping uglies this season or stretching out their forbidden love until fall? Answer: Can't speak about the season finale, but I can assure you that in the penultimate episode, Justin-Rebecca are most certainly not bumping nasties. Unless bumping nasties also means alienating yourself from someone who may or may not be your half brother.

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

OK, out with it: Who's gay on ...

Question: OK, out with it: Who's gay on your newest obsession, Gossip Girl? Answer: My loose lips are sealed. Except to say that in the first two episodes back, the individual in question will come out, get a love interest and make out with said love interest — and not necessarily in that order.

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

You said that a Smallville ...

Question: You said that a Smallville character will take "his" last breath in the April 17 episode of Smallville. Are we to assume that this person is a man? Answer: Actually, I "said" his/her, so you should assume that it's a man, a woman or some combination of both. In related news, allow me to clarify a clue that I dropped in my vodcast last week regarding the upcoming death. The character about to get Grim Reapered has never been presumed dead by the audience. It's an important distinction.

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

What's the latest on Scrubs? ...

Question: What's the latest on Scrubs? I heard the cast went back to work on Monday. Answer: Not true. The cast actually heads back to work tomorrow to do some reshoots on one of NBC's final five pre-strike episodes. After that's completed, they'll begin work on the first of 18 episodes to unofficially air on ABC next season. I'm also hearing that producers are unofficially adding three new interns to the cast in a recurring capacity. Sources confirm that my agent is all over that shiz.

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

How about you answer ...

Question: How about you answer questions about other shows besides Lost and Grey's Anatomy?Answer: You're going to make me choose between those two? OK, I pick Lost. In their weekly podcast, Team Darlton announced that the code name for this year's season-ending twist is "The Frozen Donkey Wheel." Interpret as you like. Oh, and here's the kicker: It's not even the last scene of the episode!

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

As a loyal Aushole who reads ...

Question: As a loyal Aushole who reads your column religiously, could you give me some more information on which characters will not be returning to Brothers & Sisters in the fall? Answer: Both characters have male parts.

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

Any update on the possibility ...

Question: Any update on the possibility of a Las Vegas movie or any other form of a series finale?Answer: There's been a flurry of activity behind the scenes to give fans some closure, but, unfortunately, all it's amounted to is a chilly frost between NBC and Vegas producers. According to several sources both at the network and the show, NBC initially asked series creator Gary Scott Thompson to tack a scene or two onto the final pre-strike episode — you know, the one that concluded with the infamous "to be continued" — so that it didn't end on a cliff-hanger. Thompson allegedly refused, claiming their idea was insipid and he'd rather be a victim of the strike than force a ridiculous ending down fans' throats. The Peacock later asked him to post a wrap-up on NBC.com, an idea he also balked at. "He thought it would undermine fans' attempts at

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

Any Ugly Betty scoop? Please? ...

Question: Any Ugly Betty scoop? Please? April 24 is so... far... away... [Wheeze, cough].Answer: Poor Meg. Sounds to me like someone's dying... literally... [Snicker, guffaw] for some Betty prattle. So rather than delivering her last rites, let me give her some before it's too late. A show rep confirms that Jayma Mays is signed, sealed and delivered — "delivered" perhaps being the operative word, given her character's pregnancy — for two more episodes as Henry's ex, Charlie. Meanwhile, a little bird also confirms for me that what the mom-to-be will be bringing her former beau and Betty won't be so much a bundle of joy as a bundle of trouble. Speaking of trouble, Freddy Rodriguez is back for four more episodes as Betty's not-so-insta-crush, Gio.

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

Any scoop on Life? Pretty ...

Question: Any scoop on Life? Pretty please? Answer: Apparently Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis, aka David Caruso with a Sense of Humor) is getting a new coworker. Captain Brian Tidwell, a new, as-yet-uncast series regular, is a hard-drinkin' and -gamblin' and -sexin' kind of a guy, a perfect foil/temptation for Crew's Zen-spouting goofball flirt. It's unclear how Tidwell will jell with Charlie's crabby partner Dani and his roommate/former cellmate Ted, but here's hoping for a poker night in their collective future.

Wed, Mar 26, 2008

Exclusive: Diane Farr's Numbers Up

Looks like Numbers will be minus its female star when it returns next fall.Sources confirm to me exclusively that Diane Farr has opted not to renew her contract and will leave the CBS procedural later this season. Farr joined Numbers in 2005, filling the void left by Sabrina Lloyd. Prior to that, she spent two seasons lugging around heavy equipment and making goo-goo eyes at Daniel Sunjata on FX's Rescue Me.There's no word on how her character, G-woman Megan Reeves, will be written out, or in which of this season's six remaining episodes she will last appear (Numbers returns April 4). In what could be a clue, Megan's on-again/off-again romance with Peter MacNicol's Larry is expected to heat up as the season winds down. Perhaps they'll head off into the sunset together? Producers, meanwhile, are already searching for Farr's replacement. On Monday, Numbers began casting the role of Nikki Donati, a 27- to 35-year-old ex-LAPD officer who joins the FBI in search of a "bigger and badder" ...

Tue, Mar 25, 2008

Exclusive: Buffy Alums Circling Whedon's Dollhouse

Eliza Dushku may be bunking with some old friends when she moves into Joss Whedon's Dollhouse next season. According to multiple sources, several Buffyverse grads are being considered for the eight supporting roles now being cast.Whedon confirmed this unbelievably fraktacular turn of events moments before taking the stage at Paley Fest's Buffy tribute last Thursday. "I've read a couple of people [from the Buffyverse]," he told me, "but I'm not going to say who."Although this would seem to contradict comments the Buffy master made to me last fall, in which he said that his "first instinct is to probably [cast] new people because I'm already reuniting with Eliza and I don't want it to seem like a house party," Whedon insists his position hasn't changed. "It's not a hard and fast rule," clarifies the auteur, who just completed penning Dollhouse's one-hour premiere. "I just want to make sure I get the right people. And I don't want to give the impression that it's just me and my friends...

Tue, Mar 25, 2008

Exclusive: Buffy Alums Circling Whedon's Dollhouse

Exclusive: Fox Cuts Short Sherman-Palladino's Return

That was quick. Fox has closed the book on Amy Sherman-Palladino's post-Gilmore Girls comeback vehicle, The Return of Jezebel James, after three abysmally rated outings. A Fox spokesperson confirms that the comedy starring Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose as unlikely sisters has aired its last episode.OK, time for some Monday afternoon quarterbacking: Who deserves the blame here? AS-P? Fox for burying it on Friday night? The person in charge of integrating that horrible laugh track? Posey for failing to be, well, Lauren Graham? Post your theories below.

Tue, Mar 25, 2008

Exclusive: Fox Cuts Short Sherman-Palladino's Return

Exclusive: Jerry O'Connell Carpooling to Samantha Who?

Carpoolers may have stalled at ABC, but the network is still making use of star Jerry O'Connell. Sources confirm to me exclusively that O'Connell has hitched a ride to Samantha Who?, where he'll play someone from Samantha's past. His episode is scheduled to air on April 28.I don't know about you guys, but when I think of Jerry O'Connell and Christina Applegate together, the words "comedy dream team" come to mind.

Mon, Mar 24, 2008

Exclusive: Jerry O'Connell Carpooling to Samantha Who?

Major Gossip Girl Scoop, Spoilers and Secrets from Paley Fest!

Before I get to the highlights from last night's Gossip Girl panel at Paley Fest '08, I have a confession to make: I came a little late to the "S" and "B" party. OK, a lot late. For a myriad of reasons, not the least of which is my FauxVo's arcane inability to record more than two shows at once, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage's Upper East Side O.C. was not part of my TV regimen this season. I had seen the pilot, but nothing beyond that. I figured I'd eventually get caught up, I just had no idea it would take as long as it did — six months, to be exact. You see, in preparation for Saturday's Paley event, I hosted a 12-hour Gossip Girl marathon last weekend in Room 11** at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Spa. Twelve episodes in two days. And by the end of that 12th episode, not only had I joined the party, I was doing shots while swinging from the chandelier. Between the setting (New York has never looked better), the writing (some of the sharpest anywhere on TV), and th...

Sun, Mar 23, 2008

Major Gossip Girl Scoop, Spoilers and Secrets from Paley Fest!

Exclusive: A Gossip Guy Comes Out! But Which One?

Hey, Uppity Ausholers, Gossip Guy here with a piece of prattle that's going to make your ingrown toenails curl.I'm hearing from an extremely reliable source that a male character on Gossip Girl will be revealed to be of the gay persuasion when the show returns on April 21. Who? Can't say. Won't say. It's too good a surprise. I will, however, offer five tantalizing clues. This person may or may not be pictured above. The revelation significantly impacts the lives of at least three people.  The aftershocks will be felt on both sides of the East River. Some viewers will be surprised by the twist, others not so much. In the Gossip Girl novels, Dan was known to be a bit of a switch-hitter  which isn't so much a clue as it is a fact. A misleading fact? Perhaps. Perhaps not.Think you got it figured out? By all means, share with the class.

Sat, Mar 22, 2008

Exclusive: A Gossip Guy Comes Out! But Which One?

Laughter, Tears and (Yikes!) Tension at Buffy Reunion

If there was any doubt that the panel for Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the most eagerly anticipated event at Paley Fest '08, it was erased by the mile-long line of fans that snaked around Hollywood's Cinerama Dome last night. Luckily, the event  which reunited the cast for the first time since the show ended in 2004  more than lived up to the hype. Of course, that's not to say there weren't a few hiccups....Participants: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Charisma Carpenter, Emma Caulfield, Seth Green, Amber Benson, James Marsters, Michelle Trachtenberg, David Greenwalt, Marti Noxon, Joss Whedon and TV Guide's own Matt Roush. MIA: Alyson Hannigan (?!?), Eliza Dushku, Anthony Stewart Head and David Boreanaz (so much for that taped message). Applause meter: Whedon, natch, got the most enthusiastic reception from the packed house, followed by Gellar, Marsters and Carpenter. Party crasher: Less than five minutes in, it was painfully obvious that Brendon had suffered a ...

Fri, Mar 21, 2008

Laughter, Tears and (Yikes!) Tension at Buffy Reunion