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Mega Buzz: Prentiss' Replacement, a Grey's Return to Form and a Vampire Reunion

Every week, editors Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to megascoop@tvguide.com. Have you heard anything about how Criminal Minds' plans to replace Paget Brewster in Season 8? — Ashley ADAM: I was actually on set last week and asked executive producer Erica Messer that very question. The short answer: Don't look for it to happen right away. Messer says she'd like to mimic what the show did in Season 3 when Joe Mantegna replaced departing star Mandy Patinkin a few episodes into the season. "I feel like we come back in Season 8 without Prentiss, and we're functioning just fine," she says. "But there's a void. We need that extra body. But I don't know who that character is yet." Why don't you guys help her out in the comments below? Any Cristina and Owen scoop for Grey's Anatomy would be great! — Lisa NATALIE: The couple's issues will...

adam-bryant.jpg
Natalie Abrams
Adam Bryant, Natalie Abrams

Every week, editors Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com.

Have you heard anything about how Criminal Minds'plans to replace Paget Brewster in Season 8? — Ashley
ADAM:
I was actually on set last week and asked executive producer Erica Messer that very question. The short answer: Don't look for it to happen right away. Messer says she'd like to mimic what the show did in Season 3 when Joe Mantegna replaced departing star Mandy Patinkin a few episodes into the season. "I feel like we come back in Season 8 without Prentiss, and we're functioning just fine," she says. "But there's a void. We need that extra body. But I don't know who that character is yet." Why don't you guys help her out in the comments below?

Any Cristina and Owen scoop for Grey's Anatomy would be great! — Lisa
NATALIE:
The couple's issues will impair Dr. Yang during her medical boards, though the exams will offer a chance to see vintage Cristina again. "Honestly, she's kind of distracted because of what's going on between she and Owen, but handles the boards seriously in classic fashion," Sandra Oh tells us. "People will be quite happy with seeing Cristina back to form. I call that episode 'Hoisting Oneself on One's Own Petard.' It's really funny."

What's coming up for "Stelena" on The Vampire Diaries? I really miss them. — Sarah
NATALIE:
Though Stefan and Elena haven't been butting heads quite as much lately, don't expect them to get swept up in another love affair. Still, they'll make progress in a late April episode when Stefan escorts her to the 1920 Decade Dance. When he picks her up for the soiree, the pair will share a sweet exchange reminiscent of their early dating days.

What can we expect between Calleigh and Delko in the CSI: Miamifinale? — Jennie
ADAM:
Executive producer Barry O'Brien says the 10th season-ender is all about family — specifically for Calleigh, who will take the necessary steps to finalize her plans to adopt two young children. But Delko will very much play a part in Calleigh's new family. "It's about saying, 'You're not going to be alone,'" O'Brien says of Delko's actions. "He will make a declaration that holds a lot of weight with both the adoption agency and with Calleigh. ... I think we're taking that relationship to the inevitable place we've always imagined."

So glad to have Bonesback. Give me spoilers! — Jason
ADAM:
You know those four extra episodes Fox ordered? Although creator Hart Hanson still has no idea when they'll actually air (perhaps as part of the recently ordered Season 8?), he's really enjoying making them. "At first, I was frustrated by them, because they had to exist outside of the story we were telling through the finale," he says. "But they've actually been really amazing character pieces." Case in point: Look for one of those episodes to feature a murder victim who escaped a mental institution. I hear the episode will force Brennan to think about an old scientist friend whose brilliant mind eventually gave way to madness.

I was so psyched to see Daenerys and her dragons back on Game of Thrones! Any news on her?  — Leela
NATALIE:
Sadly, the khaleesi isn't finding life any easier in the Red Waste. After last week's desperate measures, she finds herself facing an even more discouraging setback when she discovers a loyal member of her khalasar has been killed.

Why is Elizabeth Hurley's Diana Payne coming back on Gossip Girl? — Whitney
ADAM:
To unmask Gossip Girl! Well, maybe. "[That] is definitely at the forefront of these episodes," executive producer Josh Safran teases. "We will learn the secret that Gossip Girl has had on Diana." But that's not all. Diana has other unfinished business. "She is not only going to try to take her place back at The Spectator, but also maybe in Nate's heart," he says. Oh, that again?

I can't believe this is the final week of Happy Endings. Please share some scoop! — Connor
NATALIE:
The season finale will make fans of Ross and Rachel Penny and Dave both extremely happy and very sad. Let's just say that Penny will finally realize her feelings for Dave, but Joey Alex may inadvertently get in the way. Yes, in this analogy, Dave is Rachel. He's got the great hair, amirite?

Fat Betty is great and all, but when are we going to get a juicy scene between Roger and Joan on Mad Men? I want to know more about that baby! — Chris
ADAM:
OK, OK, don't go all Pete Campbell on me! According to John Slattery, the baby issue may be a moot point. "[Joan's] a married person, and she has her own restrictions," he says. "You have to remember it is still the mid-'60s. That was a time where having kids outside of marriage was taboo." But isn't Roger the slightest bit upset that Joan lied about the abortion? "It is not forgotten," he says. "You know, the situation remains: She's had this baby, and the baby is not going away."

Please tell me Paul is not dead on The Big C. — Jessie
NATALIE:
I don't have to tell you. You can go and watch the season premiere online now, and you'll get that answer right away. Oddly, Tara Cathy will cope with his fate by assuming an alter ego, the uninhibited Alexis, who will make at least one semi-permanent change in Cathy's life that she may almost immediately come to regret.

Please tell me Southlandis coming back next year! — Luke
ADAM:
I can only tell you that your enthusiasm is matched by that of star Michael Cudlitz. "Everyone's hopeful," he says. "I know that the numbers are up from last year and last year we got a pickup. ... I think we're going to get picked up, I'm hoping for more than 10 episodes." As for that potential next season, does Cudlitz think it's a step backward for his character, John Cooper, to resume being a training office? "I think it would be a step backward if I went back to training Ben," he says. "But whatever is going to happen [with a new partner] would completely change the dynamic in the car."

Got any scoop on Ringer? — Brandi
NATALIE:
In a very Hitchcockian moment, Ringer co-creator Eric Charmelo will make a cameo in the season finale. He'll get mighty, ahem, cozy with Bridget during a flashback scene to her days as a stripper.

Natalie's Mega Rave: Game of Thrones finally returned, and with it, another smashing good Joffrey smack! Atta girl, Cersei! Always the perfect way to open a season.

Adam's Mini Rant: I think Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom looks like my new summer TV obsession, but seriously, does Jeff Daniels have to throw something in every single frame?

Crave scoop on your favorite TV shows? E-mail Adam and Natalie at mega_scoop@tvguide.com or drop us a line at Twitter.com/TVGuide
(Additional reporting by Denise Martin, Hanh Nguyen, Robyn Ross and Kate Stanhope)