Image Credit: Greg Gayne/FOX

Tonight, Raising Hope (Fox, 9:30 p.m.) begins its two-part season 2 finale, which finds the family’s history with Hope’s mother, the Boyfriend Killer, chronicled on Inside Probe, a TV program hosted by guest star Nancy Grace. At the end of the first half hour, there’s a bombshell that sends the family to court in the April 17 episode to retain custody of Jimmy’s daughter. “It’s an old-fashioned ‘To be continued…’ cliffhanger, which I love,” Martha Plimpton says of Part 1. “They always did that kind of stuff on all the shows I grew up watching. I love that [Raising Hope creator Greg Garcia] was willing to go there and make fun of the whole trope.”

Part 2′s courtroom scenes feature the return of guest stars including Jason Lee, Jaime Pressly, Ethan Suplee, and David Krumholtz, who take the witness stand. But it’s Plimpton, wearing the suit Maw Maw (Cloris Leachman) bought to be buried in (“I don’t think she expected to be living past the ’80s,” Virginia says), who’s the scene-stealer. ”There’s one moment in particular where Virginia is being questioned and she panics and goes all Miss America. I thought that was hilarious,” Plimpton teases.

Let’s see how she handles being grilled with an EW Pop Culture Personality Test.  READ FULL STORY »