Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on 'Grey's,' 'Lost,' 'CSI,' 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'The Office,' 'SVU' and More!

By Michael Ausiello Updated December 20, 2019 at 06:12 AM EST
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Question: Please, any new scoop from Grey’s Anatomy? — Angela
Ausiello: The green-eyed monster has once again reared its ugly head on the show’s set, but this time it’s not salary drama or spin-off envy fueling the rancor: It’s those lucky bastards in dermatology! An upcoming episode will find some of our favorite residents wandering over to Seattle Grace’s never-before-seen dermatology department — and they will not be happy with what they find. Namely, the kind of posh work environment more consistent with a five-star spa than a hospital.

Question: Any idea which Private Practice regular Grant Show will have a connection to? — Dana
Ausiello: Yes, but I worry Shonda Rhimes will have my head if I tell you. Eh, another one will grow back. He’s playing Addison’s older brother!

Question: Don’t roll your eyes, but are there any plans for a Journeyman wrap-up movie? C’mon, no eye rolling! — Sean
Ausiello: My contact lens got stuck behind my left eye! I swear it had nothing to do with your preposterous question. I mean it! Now, to answer your preposterous question, no, there are no plans for a Journeyman TV movie. But you’re in luck, because Ain’t It Cool News has the next best thing: a helluva interview with the JM mastermind Kevin Falls that basically ties up every last loose thread.

Question: What’s with everyone complaining about this season’s Project Runway? Please tell me you’re not planning on jumping on the negativity bandwagon. — Julie
Ausiello: No plans at this time. I’m (mostly) loving this season so far. And get a load of this fierceness: Christian is returning! Sources confirm that the reigning PW champ will appear in the season finale. And I hear that’s not the episode’s only surprise.

Question: Any news on other former cast members planning to make returns to ER before the show signs off this winter? — Matt
Ausiello: At this point, Shane West and Noah Wyle are the only alums officially signed on. Meanwhile, I think it’s a very safe bet that the two-hour finale will be preceded by a star-studded, hour-long retrospective.

Question: While I appreciate all of the “Reela” scoop of late, the little bomb you dropped last week about a Ray-Neela-Brenner triangle left me in a bit of a funk. Got anything to cheer me up? — Doris
Ausiello: Triangle, shmiangle. If it’s not already obvious that Ray and Neela are destined to walk off into the sunset together next February, wait until you see the final scene (or at least I think it’ll be the final scene) of the Oct. 30 episode. You “Reela” fans are going to soil yourselves.

Question: Rules of Engagement? — Doug
Ausiello: Oh, that sucks. It looks like part of your question got cut off. I’ll go out on a limb and assume you meant to ask, “Rules of Engagement: Worst comedy in history?” To which I would’ve replied, “Nope. That honor belongs to Normal, Ohio. But Rules definitely cracks the top 50!” Speaking of ROE, an upcoming episode will mix two winning ingredients: bad comedy and incest! Early in the season, David Spade’s Russell will start dating a girl who may turn out to be his daughter! Set your FauxVo! And then promptly un-set it!

Question: How long can you go without giving us Reaper scoop? — KJ
Ausiello: It’s looking like at least two more weeks.

Question: Brothers & Sisters has dealt with a lot of tragedy over the last two seasons, but the one place they have yet to go is the death of one of the Walker children. Given that Balthazar Getty is getting his fair share of bad press lately, and the character of Tommy is already underused in an increasingly overcrowded cast, I can’t help but wonder: Are Getty’s, and thus Tommy’s, days numbered? It actually could be a decent story line and would give every actor material that they would knock out of the park. — Katelyn
Ausiello: While I’m sure there are a few people at ABC who would love to see Tommy go belly-up in the Walker pool, I don’t think it’s happening anytime soon. “It’s really important to separate ourselves from [Getty’s troubles] in every way,” says exec producer and sometime guest star Ken Olin. “As long as he continues to do his work and be committed to his work, then his personal business is his own. Frankly, I don’t have any judgment about it…It’s got to be really hard when your life blows up that way. I feel for him. But as much as possible, all of us have tried to divorce ourselves from that part of his life.” So, is it just a coinky-dink that the next batch of B&S episodes to be shot are decidedly Tommy-light? Olin insists it is. “There’s a period where he’s lighter in the show, but that follows a period of him being very present in the show,” he maintains. “It’s more of a situation where you need some characters to drop back so you can bring other characters forward. You’ll see that Holly is very present for a number of episodes, and then for a couple she is much lighter. That’s the ebb and flow of having a big ensemble drama.”

Question: Here’s a thought: How about you give us some scoop about Without a Trace? — Sandra
Ausiello: Why don’t you hightail it to corner of Broadway and 52nd and get some yourself. They’re shooting a scene there right now. Hurry!

Question: Regarding your latest episode of Ausiello TV, I think the returning Office character is going to be Roy. — Jeff
Ausiello: I think you’re wrong. And just so everyone’s clear, the character is returning to Dunder Mifflin. It’s an important distinction. Make note of it.

Question: Please, please, please give us some scoop on The Office. — Claire
Ausiello: I’m thinking Toby should have studied this video before leaving for Costa Rica last May.

Question: Give us more scoop on Law & Order: SVU, Michael. You know you want to… — KJ
Ausiello: The Shield‘s CCH Pounder is returning as attorney Carolyn Maddox this fall to defend her most high-profile client yet: some guy by the name of Stabler. Maybe you’ve heard of him? Meanwhile, did you hear who’s playing his mom?

Question: As much as the female fans of Supernatural seem to hate the idea, I think that Bella and Ruby added a nice dynamic last season. Will the show’s writers ever stand up to the fans and give at least one of the brothers an ongoing love interest? — Jeff
Ausiello: Not if they value their life. And based on Eric Kripke’s response to this question, I’m guessing they do. “The most dangerous job in Hollywood is to be the recurring female lead on Supernatural,” Kripke laughs. “No, the formula in terms of romance that really has proven to work best for us is a girl in every port. Not that there’s not ongoing characters. But there are going to be recurring female characters threaded in and out of the story, and they will affect the story lines. But just to have them in sort of passive love interest roles is something that hasn’t really worked.”

Question: I’ve been dying for a scoop from Lost. Got anything? — Bill
Ausiello: I’ve got links to two exclusive stories that you may have missed. First is my AF scoop on the two new characters Team Darlton will be introducing this season. And second is Doc Jensen’s inaugural season 5 column, in which he unveils the title of the first episode.

Question: I know you refuse to report on The Big Bang Theory even though it’s ratings are just as good as How I Met Your Mother, but many people like it and care about it. — Scott
Ausiello: Whatchoo talkin’ ’bout, Willis? I worship BBT — even more so now that Sara Gilbert is a full-fledged series regular! “I’m not sure if I’m going to be in every episode this year, but I’m going to be a regular,” Gilbert confirmed to EW.com last Friday. “I had always been interested in doing another sitcom. I love the energy from the audience. It’s just a perfect situation.” Refuse to report on Big Bang Theory? How very dare you.

Question: Does Casey’s “big decision” on Greek have anything to do with her and Cappie getting together (Ausiello Files 8/6)? — Catalina
Ausiello: Hmmm…That’s a complicated question to which there is no easy answer. The only thing I can say for sure is…Actually, just to be safe, I better let a higher power at the show tackle this one. Responding to talk that Casey’s “big decision” on Greek is related to her stalled relationship with Cappie, series creator Sean Smith released the following statement exclusively to EW.com: “No.” Oh. I guess it wasn’t so complicated after all. My bad!

Question: What’s up with the lack of House scoop of late? — Janel
Ausiello: The show’s been on hiatus this past month, so there’s been nothing to report…until now. Sources confirm that Damages‘ Emmy-nominated Zeljko Ivanek has signed on to be House’s latest patient of the week. His episode starts shooting later this month.

Question: Can you give me a CSI: Miami scoop? — Bryan
Ausiello: Would you settle for something on the mother ship? ‘Cause I was just combing through the transcript from my month-old exit interview with William Petersen and stumbled upon this tasty little morsel: Turns out a dream scenario existed that might have kept Petersen on CSI. Unfortunately, it died two years ago with Liev Schreiber’s character. You see, had the show kept Keppler alive, Petersen (only half jokingly) said he and Schreiber “could have swapped every four months. He does a play, I do CSI. I do a play, he does CSI. It would’ve been like a professional relationship between two scientists that go off on field trips and sabbaticals and then come back. But I don’t know that the network would have wanted that.” All of this begs the question: What the hell else is in that transcript?!

That’s all, folks! Questions/hot tips/vegetarian restaurant recommendations go here: ausielloscoop@ew.com. Additional reporting shout-outs go here: Lynette Rice, Tim Stack and Tanner Stansky.

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