SIDE DISHES
You’ve been slacking on the How I Met Your Mother scoop. Give me something juicy! — Khloe
There’s a Feb. episode that I’m particularly excited about, “a head-scratcher” that will remind hardcore fans of season 2′s “Brunch,” according to EP Carter Bays. “It’s a classic,” he says. “It’s kind of a puzzle of an episode that plays with perspective and plays with time. It’s one of the most fun episodes we’ve. You feel like you have to take a math class to figure out how it works,” he says. (More TV dish in this week’s Winter TV preview issue of EW!)
Image Credit: Mike Yarish/The CW Hi Sandra. Hart of Dixie has layered in so much with each character that I can now not decide which couples I am rooting for or against. So a little inside skinny Sugar would be mighty kind! Thanks. — LA
Le sigh. I don’t blame you for not knowing which pairs to root for. In fact, EP Leila Gerstein admits to being in our exact situation. “There’s lots of love triangle stuff going on [in the second half of the season],” she says. “I go from ‘Oh, I’m on Team George’ to ‘I’m on Team Wade’ to ‘I love Lemon and George!’” And look for the characters to be just as conflicted as the rest of us when the show returns. It picks up with a little bit of a time jump and not soon after, we’ll see Lemon and George hitting a rough patch in the back nine episodes as secrets (like the one regarding Lemon and Lavon!) start to come out. “I think that Lemon seeing her mom at the end of episode 10 changed her in fundamental ways,” says Gerstein. “She comes back a little bit of a different person. She’s tense and she’s snappy, and that will be the first thing that will really test their relationship. He doesn’t know what’s going on.” And as for the mad rapping Zoe Hart? “In the first episode coming back, Zoe finds out that by legacy, she’s a Belle. So she has to go thorough initiation to prove that she does belong here. She wears her whole plantation outfit, and gets hazed by Lemon.”
Please give me some Criminal Minds scoop!!!!! Like whether or not the writers are going to revisit that freaky photographer from the season 6 episode “Out of the Light”!!!!!! — “The Maestro”
I’ll pose the latter part of your question to boss Erica Messer next time we chat, but in the meantime, I can report that the 150th episode is going to be a crowd-pleaser for fans of Emily (Paget Brewster). You see, the week’s twisty case (you’ll see what I mean by twisty) will hit home in a big way for her, giving viewers a chance to see a very vulnerable side of the BAU fave. (Note: Send me all your burning Criminal Minds questions. You’ll be glad you did: spoilerroom@ew.com.)
Hey, Sandra. How about a treat for Castle fans? Bring me good news! I’m hearing there will be a kiss. — Kim
Treat. You’re welcome.
Fringe BLEW MY MIND last week. Now, that’s how you return after being on hiatus. It was engaging and had more twists in an hour than most shows have over many seasons. Any scoop, Sandra? – Benjamin
The observer’s bleak message that Olivia’s fate is sealed should be treated as the ultimate truth says EP Jeff Pinkner. “He has seen the future and all possible futures. He said it, so we have to take it as gospel. We can’t reveal too much more without giving away a lot,” he teases. But fellow bossman Joel Wyman adds, “It’s really creepy knowing that he said it. Because watching, around every corner, around every turn, it could happen. That’s what we really liked about it. Every situation she goes into, from walking across the street to taking down a Fringe freak, she could be killed.”
It was nice to see the change in Walternate on this new timeline, but is he for real? Or is this nice thing just a cover? — Daniel
All signs so far point to it being entirely genuine. At least, that’s what I think after talking to Pinkner and Wyman. “We thought it would be interesting, from Peter’s point of view, that he’s returned to a timeline that doesn’t meet his expectations,” says Pinkner. While Wyman reveals the truth: “Another interesting thing is that Jeff’s mother really wanted him to be nicer. We’re always trying to please our mothers.” He was joking. I think.
Image Credit: Giovanni Rufino/The CW A Blouis wedding in the 100th is not very rewarding to the longtime fans. Anything for #Chair fans to look forward to? #GG — @wrightst3 
Well, here’s something all evil-loving fans can look forward to: The mad return of Georgina Sparks. Now, we already knew that the longtime enemy of Queen B pops up during the wedding episode, but EP Josh Safran was positively excited about what happens beyond the ultra-dramatic episode. “The Valentine’s Day episode is very fun,” he says. “Georgina Sparks — you can’t get more fun that than. She’s here for a long stretch and whenever she’s around it’s super fun. And then episode 16 also has a very, very, very fun event at its core. We’re trying to alleviate the tension and drama [in episode 100] with fun [episodes].”
White Collar scoopage would make my day! (As would any more pictures of Matt Bomer in Magic Mike. But that’d just be a bonus!) — Yoli
Whilst attending a dinner with Bomer and Royal Pains star Mark Feuerstein, I was able to pick up a small bit of scoop for you: The Tim DeKay-directed episode, that will air in the coming weeks, has the distinction of being the first TV show to film in the new Yankee stadium! And I know what you’re thinking, and yes, I asked. Sadly, we will not see DeKay or Bomer donning baseball uniforms in the episode. Sad face.
