Got a scoop request? An anonymous tip you’re dying to share? Send any/all of the above to askausiello@tvline.com

Question: For the love of a Happy Ending, any word on whether or not USA Network will right a terrible wrong? —Tiera

Ausiello: No news is, in this case, pretty good news. Negotiations continue between Sony and USA, which tells me that the cabler remains seriously interested in giving the show a fourth season. Meanwhile, if the talks collapse — bite your tongue, Ausiello! — it’s an inevitability that Damon Wayans Jr. will find himself back on New Girl next season in some capacity. (You’ll recall Wayans appeared in the New Girl pilot, but was forced to drop out when Happy Endings earned a surprise second season; Lamorne Morris’s Winston was brought in to fill the void.) Jake Johnson, who’s currently shooting the comedy Let’s Be Cops with Wayans in Atlanta, says he’d be thrilled to “welcome [Wayans’] Coach back to the loft,” adding, “I would be surprised if he doesn’t come back for a while” should Happy Endings fail to find a new home. “There would be such funny episodes with the Coach seeing what’s happened in the past two years since he’s [been] gone.”

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Question: Do you have any more Bones scoop on Season 9 and/or Booth and Brennan’s situation? Everything will be resolved by Christmas if they are already planning to have that big episode with both Booth and Brennan’s families, right? —Amelia

Ausiello: By Christmas-ish. Exec producer Stephen Nathan previously hinted that the current Pelant crisis will be wrapped up “within the first half of the year.”

Question: I bet if you put your finger to your head and I send you a pineapple you could give me scoop on Psych. —Vicki

Ausiello: How ’bout I save you the postage and just tell you that Psych‘s musical episode finds Lassiter and Shawn hitting the dance floor. Together. Meaning, with each other. “James [Roday] and I have a tango and it’s rather romantic,” Timothy Omundson tells TVLine’s Matt Mitovich with a laugh. “We sing and tango with each other. So let’s just say this: It takes [our] relationship to a whole new level.”

Question: Is Cristin Milioti going to be a series regular on How I Met Your Mother next season? —Nick

Ausiello: Your answer is here.

Question: Good day sir! Long time reader, first time asker. Will we see the final slaps in Season 9 of How I Met Your Mother? —Andrew

Ausiello: Yes.

Question: I’m almost scared to ask, but is there any hope of Nikita getting more than the initially-ordered six final episodes next year? —AJ

Ausiello: Not a chance in hell. But here’s something you can hold out hope for: A prominent role for Division-less Ryan right up until the end. “Ryan’s talents when we met him [involved] peeling back the layer of a grand conspiracy — and there is no more grander conspiracy than the one we have for Season 4,” teases exec producer Craig Silverstein. “So, he’ll be instrumental is spotting the patterns and forming their front against The Shop and what they’re trying to bring about.” (BTW, Silverstein says the entire cast will be back for the farewell season, and that includes Devon Sawa’s Owen/Sam.)

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Question: Anything you can share on Nikita‘s shortened final season? —Jordan

Ausiello: If Noah Bean (the actor behind the aforementioned Ryan) has his way, “The final moment is going to be a Mexican standoff where we’ve all got guns pointed at each other. And then a car backfires and everybody fires their gun — and we’re all dead!” The question is, will Noah Bean get his way?!

Question: Do you know if Revenge will be doing a time jump between seasons? —Jeremy

Ausiello: Sounds like there’s one on the drawing board. A little birdie who happens to be a staff writer on Revenge shared some preliminary Season 3 intel with Nick Wechsler (Jack), and a flash forward was involved. “If it happens — and that’s a big “if” because it hasn’t been run by anyone else — we would pick up later,” shares Wechsler. “[If] it’s months later or a year or more, I don’t know. But it would pick up later.”

Question: Please tell me Zoe is going to go back to Wade after she takes some time for herself on Hart of Dixie? —Amanda

Ausiello: Wilson Bethel says a full-fledged Zoe-Wade “scenario” in Season 3 “seems pretty logical,” although he believes it was smart for the show to end the season with Zoe pulling a Kelly Taylor. “It’s probably good that there’s a bit of anticipation about what she will do” heading into the fall.

Question: Jack Bauer is coming back to TV! Surely you have a 24 scoop for us? Can you at least tell us if fan favorites Chloe and Tony will be back alongside Jack? —Fin

Ausiello: Mary Lynn Rajskub is being eyed to return as Chloe, but my gut tells me you shouldn’t hold your breath re: Carlos Bernard/Tony.

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Question: What’s in store for Jeremy next season on The Vampire Diaries, now that he’s back among the living? —Chloe

Ausiello: As EP Julie Plec notes, “Nobody knows the truth” about his resurrection — specifically, that Bonnie essentially sacrificed her life for his. As a result, “There’s going to be some explaining to do and it’s not necessarily going to make his return to his old life very easy.”

Question: Will Claire Holt (Rebekah) appear in any Vampire Diaries episodes next fall? Or is she going straight to The Originals? —Justine

Ausiello: “We do have the ability to use Rebekah on either show in the beginning,” says Plec. ” We will see when we start writing how much of her we’ll see before she heads off to New Orleans.” One scenario has the new season of TVD picking up at the tail end of Rebekah and Matt’s European vacation. “When we get back, we might see [them] still on their trip,” shares Plec, adding, “When Matt gets back to Mystic Falls, his whole world will have changed. I can’t wait to see what comes out of that adventure and how he re-adapts to life at Mystic Grill.” (For more TVD Season 5 spoilers click here.)

Question: So inquiring minds want to know —how will Kate respond to Rick’s proposal on Castle? —Rita

Ausiello: Sources confirm to me exclusively that she will say yes… or no… or something in between. Molly Quinn (Alexis) is pulling for a yes, arguing, “Castle is the best man out there and absolutely loves her and is devoted to her.” Should an engagement and wedding come to pass, don’t expect a certain three-letter word to ever come out of Alexis’ mouth. “I don’t think that Alexis will ever see her as a stepmom because a stepmother has authority,” explains Quinn. “There’s no way that Alexis would be OK with that. She’s used to running the house. And not even her dad has that much authority. So she would see Beckett as an equal and she would totally appreciate [her]. But I don’t even think Beckett would ever try to [parent]. Alexis is an adult now. She’s 20. If this had happened when Alexis was 16, that would have been a totally different story. I’m very glad that it didn’t happen because that would have been a lot of rebellion and a lot of trouble.”

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Question: I’m bummed Downton Abbey isn’t returning until January 2014. (Was hoping the new season would air simultaneously with the UK run in the fall.) Any scoop to tide me over? —Connie

Ausiello: The bitch is back. Exec producer Gareth Neame tells TVLine that former Ice Queen Mary will freeze back over in the wake of Matthew’s death. “She mellowed with Matthew [and] opened up a lot more,” he notes. “But I think [after losing Matthew and Sybil], she would be just so devastated that I think it would lock her down and [she would] go back into a lot of the traits that she had before – that very difficult to read characteristic she’s got. I think we’ll see a lot of those very dark and complex things about Mary.”

Question: Got any Grimm scoop in advance of this week’s season finale? —Derek

Ausiello: Sgt. Wu’s got a first name and David Giuntoli claims he “knows what it is.” Um…. How ’bout a hint, DG? “I’ll just say this,” he adds. “It rhymes.” What’s the over/under on DG punk’n us?



Question: Do you have anything on Covert Affairs? —Allyson

Ausiello: The USA hit is moving full steam ahead with Annie and Auggie. In the wake of the pair’s season-ending smooch, “Annie and Auggie start Season 4 in a relationship. Yes, we go there,” reveals Christopher Gorham. “We really explore how that works and what that is. It plays into what I think is the theme of the year, which is secrets, because everybody’s got one, or two. Joan’s got a secret, Arthur’s got a secret… Everybody! Auggie’s got a whopper of a secret, and when they all start eventually coming out, it creates some great, great drama.”

That’s a wrap! Please send questions, comments, and anonymous tips to askausiello@tvline.com. (Additional reporting by Meg Masters, Kim Roots and Vlada Gelman)

