Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on 'Grey's,' 'House,' 'Big Love,' 'Fringe,' 'NCIS,' '24,' 'Gossip Girl,' 'Friday Night Lights,' 'Heroes,' 'Smallville,' and more!

Question: Now that it seems likely that Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight are leaving Grey’s Anatomy, does this mean there’s a chance Isaiah Washington could return as Burke? — Dion
Ausiello: Dion, listen up, ’cause I’m only going to tell you this once: Um, no. But while we’re on the subject of the looming mass exodus at Seattle Grace, a little birdie at Grey’s confided to me that Shonda Rhimes briefly flirted with the idea of having George develop a sudden interest in Dr. Hunt’s background as an army doc. You thinking what I’m thinking? ‘Cause I’m thinking what better way to get rid of George than to have him join the military and go off to Iraq. It’d be perfect, right? Only trouble is, an ABC insider tells me that story has been scrapped and replaced with "something even better." I’m not sure what that something is, but I have a call into my new BFF James Pickens Jr. to find out!

Question: The Office scoop? — Gerald
Ausiello: The titles of two upcoming episodes have piqued my curiosity.
One is called "Two Weeks Notice," and the other is called "The New
Boss." My guess? Either Michael is faux bolting Dunder Miff or those titles
herald the arrival of Wire star Idris Elba as the new big shot in
corporate.

Question: Anything good coming up on Ugly Betty that you can tease? — Sandra
Ausiello: You mean aside from a fourth season? (Phew!) Um, let’s see…
someone will get married, someone will die, and Betty will find herself
with a surprising new boss.

Question: Has Tom Welling signed on for season 9 of Smallville yet? — Pat
Ausiello: No. I’m not sure what’s taking so long.

Question: Any news from Lois’ big return to Smallville? — Claudia
Ausiello: It airs March 12. It features a return appearance by Tori
Spelling. It finds Clark revealing his true identity to the world. And
I’m told it will have Lois and Clark fans forgetting Lana appeared in any
episodes at all this season.

Question: I just read that Nicollette Sheridan is leaving Desperate Housewives. Is this true? — Mike
Ausiello: Perhaps. I, for one, find it curious that ABC is only
confirming that "Edie Britt will be leaving Wisteria Lane." They’re not
saying anything about Nicollette Sheridan. THIS JUST IN: Nic’s rep is
now confirming that she is, in fact, leaving the show. THIS JUST IN: I’m still not convinced.

Question: OMG, the Tony-Ziva tension on NCIS is so hot right now. Got any scoop on these two? — Jackie
Ausiello: Ziva may want to plant a bug in the interrogation room,
because in the March 17 episode, Tony lets some rather shocking details
about his love life slip while interviewing a woman in custody.

Question: Please tell me Heroes didn’t really kill off Daphne! — Patty
Ausiello: Heroes didn’t really kill of Daphne — at least not yet. 

Question: I really need a Fringe scoop! — Bryan
Ausiello: You know Olivia’s MIA stepfather? The evil guy who leaves her
creepy birthday cards every year? Well, we’re "most likely" going to
meet him in the flesh before the end of the season, confirms executive
producer J.J. Abrams. "It’s a huge story," he says, "and I don’t want
to rush it." Abrams wouldn’t tell me who’s on his short list to play
the baddie, so I’ll tell you who’s on mine instead: Carnivale’s Clancy
Brown.

Question: First-time writer. Long-time reader. Looking for scoop on Psych. Totally love that show. For real. — Stef
Ausiello: This isn’t scoop so much as it is a random tidbit from Super
Bowl weekend: At NBC Universal’s tailgate party, James Roday, Dule
Hill, and Chris Meloni took on Burn Notice’s Jeffrey Donovan, The
O.C.’s Ben Mackenzie, and an unidentified executive’s son in an
impromptu game of pick-up touch football. Team Roday-Hill-Meloni
prevailed by a score of 21-7. And because I know you’ll ask, both
teams kept their shirts on the entire game. "At one point shirts and
skins were suggested," whispers my gridiron mole, "but it was too chilly."

Question: If Friday Night Lights gets picked up for a fourth season, who among the cast will return? — Thomas
Ausiello: The only locks are the core Taylors (Kyle Chandler, Connie
Britton, Aimee Teegarden) and incoming senior Landry (Jesse Plemons).
Beyond that, exec producer Jason Katims is keeping his options open. "I
want to wait until I get the [fourth season] pickup before I really
decide," says Katims, who cautions fans not to read too much into the
events of the season 3 finale. "Things might change in the time between
the finale and where we start with season 4… The truth is, some
people go off to college and then it doesn’t work out. Something brings
them back to town. And some people never end up leaving town." Cuts will eventually have to be made, Katims concedes. "It’s a phenomenal cast," he
says. "It’s not easy for me to say I’m willing to let go of any of
them."

Question: Since I’m being good and not throwing a fit about Ask
Ausiello moving to Thursdays, can you give up some Big Love scoop? –
Linda
Ausiello: I’m hereby ordering all Emmy voters to watch the Feb. 22
episode. It finds the entire Henrickson clan embarking on a 2,500 mile
road trip and it easily ranks as the finest hour of television all
season. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want to throw a parade in
honor of Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin. But
more importantly, stuff happens. Ben-and-Margene stuff. Sarah-pregnancy
stuff. Nicki-birth-control stuff. Big stuff. Speaking of which, I’m
surprised you guys aren’t hounding me about the big death coming
up. What’s up with that?

Question: Has anyone been cast on the new Melrose yet? — Berk
Ausiello: No, but I hear producers continue to aggressively pursue
Heather Locklear. And now that we know that Jake’s son will be a major
player in the reboot, Grant Show will probably be next.

Question: Since we didn’t get a new House this week, do you have any scoop to hold us over until next week? — Morgan
Ausiello: I’ve got something better — scoop in the form of a
frustrating fun game. Try and guess what House-related question prompted Jesse
Spencer to declare, "If there is, I’m done. I’ll walk. I’m freaking done." The answer is hidden somewhere in this week’s AA. Happy hunting!

Question: I’ve decided I’ll forgive your moving Ask Ausiello to
Thursdays on one condition: you provide some new House scoop. — Kate
Ausiello: Congratulations all you game-players — you found it! Here’s
the question that prompted Jesse Spencer to declare, "If there is, I’m
done. I’ll walk. I’m freaking done.":

Any plans for a very special episode of House in which Chase and Cameron get married?   

Did anyone guess correctly? If so, congrats! You just won exclusive access to the rest of
Spencer’s quote. "I think [producers] are wary about getting into too
much relationship stuff," he says. "It’s a procedural show at its core.
That’s why people like it. That’s why I like to watch it… [Besides],
how much do people want to see well-adjusted, happy Chameron? Because
of David [Shore]’s general disdain for life, you can rest assured that
what we won’t be doing next season is getting happy. You won’t see
Chase and Cameron make a home and have babies and other greeting card
stuff."

Question: Hugh Laurie was spotted filming a beach scene in Malibu while wearing a
Hawaiian shirt. Do you know if it was a House scene he was shooting?
– Martina
Ausiello: Yes, it was. And if I say anything more than that Katie Jacobs will kabob my kabits.

Question: I may be the only person in the world who’s extremely excited
by the breakup of Dan and Serena on Gossip Girl. What’s next for both
of them? — Randi
Ausiello: A new love triangle for Serena that will eventually set in motion
that whole Anne Hathaway-inspired plot I told you about last week. What I failed to mention in that story was that when Serena’s grifter love interest is first introduced, he’s in
a relationship with her socialite bud, Poppy Lifton!

Question: Does First Husband Henry Taylor die on 24? Please say no. He is one of my new favorite characters! — Nicole
Ausiello: I’ll say this about Henry’s fate: Nothing. I will, however,
divulge that his shooting leads to the introduction of First Daughter
Olivia, played by Jericho’s Sprague Grayden. "She [became] estranged
from the family during the campaign after a small scandal," reveals
exec producer Howard Gordon. "She’s adversarial and very formidable,
and actually had a position of power in her mother’s campaign." We’ll
meet Olivia in Monday’s episode when a VIP who’s very familiar to 24
fans summons her. 

Question: 24 scoop, please! This is the best season ever. What can you give us?  — Robin
Ausiello: I thought I had the whole FBI mole situation figured out. I thought wrong.

Question: Any news on the Veronica Mars movie? — Esme
Ausiello: Yes. Big news. Here.

Question: What’s going on with Sam on Supernatural? Is he going to succumb to the Dark Side? — Jon
Ausiello: Let’s just say Sam may need to start going to meetings. The
kind of meeting where you step up in front of a room and declare, "Hi.
My name is Sam, and I’m a Demon Bloodholic."

Question: Totally psyched about the return of Rescue Me in April. How about some scoop? — Sean
Ausiello: A major character will be diagnosed with cancer this season.
And because it’s Rescue Me, it’ll be both sad and hilarious. Probably
more of the latter.

Question: I have just been blown away by these final episodes of
Battlestar Galactica. I’m almost afraid to ask for spoilers. Eh, frak
it, what’s to come? — John
Ausiello: I’m told this Friday’s episode is 33 percent about Ellen
Tigh, 31 percent about Brother Cavil, and 5 percent about this
awesomeness. The other 31 percent remained unaccounted for at press time. (And I
agree with you about these BSG eps being top-notch. Well, mostly
top-notch. I still maintain that the Jan. 23 episode was a dud.)

Question: Is Roma Maffia gone for good on Nip/Tuck?  I hope not. — A. Swift
Ausiello: She is not. Hey, speaking of Liz, did anyone else spot Days of Our Lives alum Lisa Howard playing her girlfriend in last week’s episode? I sure did!

Question: Is it too much to ask for some scoop about the return of George Clooney and Julianna Margulies to ER? Jackie
Ausiello: Is it too much to answer in the form of a multiple choice
quiz? Cool. How much did George and Julianna each get paid for their
two days of work?

A)    $125K
B)    $225K
C)    $500K
D)    Scale

Submit your best guess in the comments section below and check back next week to see if you’re a winner!

And on that note, it’s time to bring this historic edition of Ask
Ausiello (first time on Thursday!) to a close. Please send
questions/anonymous tips/other stuff to ausielloscoop@ew.com.
(Additional reporting by Carrie Bell and Dan Snierson)