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

Question: Watching the Carrie and Quinn scene at the end of Homeland‘s Season 3 finale has me wondering — are they going to be a thing next season? —Fyeah

Ausiello: I put that exact question to showrunner Alex Gansa on Monday and he didn’t rule it out. “I think if there is romantic energy between them it’s at a very nascent state,” he said. “Carrie’s emotions have been engaged elsewhere, so it’s unclear how she feels about him. I think it’s pretty clear how he feels about her. But whether Carrie Mathison is going to be emotionally available for a romantic entanglement is another question entirely.”

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Question: Would love to know if Mandy Patinkin will remain a series regular for Season 4 of Homeland. —Nicole

Ausiello: He will. As Gansa all but confirmed to me, Carrie will likely recruit Saul (now a private contractor) to work with her in Istanbul. “As she mentioned to Sen. Lockhart, she gets to choose her own people,” the EP noted. “So Quinn, Fara… Virgil and possibly Max may come along with her. We get to bring some of our familiar faces overseas.”

Question: I’ll literally take anything you can tease that’s coming up on Bones. Pretty please? —Amelia

Ausiello: The show is adding a new male squintern to the rotation in 2014. “He’s someone who came to the country seeking asylum,” shares exec producer Stephen Nathan of the to-be-cast role. “He was a very, very prominent forensic anthropologist in his own country, but [in the U.S.] he’s a student because he has to get his degree again. He has to work his way up to a position that he already occupied for many years. He feels that he’s Brennan’s equal, but Brennan really doesn’t feel the same.” His country of origin? “He’s not from the Middle East,” Nathan allows. “He defected from this hemisphere. So that’s something that everyone should be able to narrow down.” (Sorry, I was terrible at geometry.)

Question: Any scoop yet on a McGee-centric episode of NCIS? –Barb

Ausiello: Let’s see if this qualifies: In the first episode back from the holiday break, titled “Kill Chain” and airing Jan. 7, McGee’s girlfriend “Delilah gets really involved in the case, and her and McGee’s relationship moves along a bit further,” show boss Gary Glasberg shares. Of actress Margo Harshman’s latest encore, he adds, “I’ve been thrilled to have her and we’ve got some exciting things planned for her and that relationship continuing this season. It feels real to us and we’re having a good time with it.”

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Question: Do you have any good Jeff/Annie spoilers for the upcoming season of Community? —Alex

Ausiello: Nothing that involves heavy petting (or even light petting), and that seems to be by design. “Overall, it’s been a less romance-heavy season,” Gillian Jacobs tells us. “It’s more about each of us having adventures together or in pairs, but not as much romance.” That said, in Episode 2, Annie takes measures to be “closer” to (or keep an eye on?) Jeff, while Episode 3 reveals that, in certain situations, she calls Jeff her “uncle.”

Question: Originals scoop, please? —Mary

Ausiello: Wondering what’s happening with Tyler in Marcel’s “prison”? Answers — and a possible way out for the hybrid — are coming. “We’re definitely going to see what’s going on in the garden,” previews exec producer Michael Narducci. “Tyler is not the only one who’s buried in there. … When we come back in the New Year, you’re going to see Rebekah have some perspective on what that location is, and how she might be able to use that to her advantage.” As for the future of the locked-up Mystic Falls resident, Narducci hints that “my friends at the Vampire Diaries office would really very much love to see Michael Trevino make a return. It stands to reason, logically, that somehow we’re going to address the issue of how does Tyler get out of that garden.”

Question: How much longer will I have to watch Nashville‘s Deacon be with Megan (or anyone who’s not Rayna)? –Jen

Ausiello: I think you’re going to like what showrunner Dee Johnson recently said on the subject. After allowing that lawyer Megan has “been good for him” and that Rayna’s ex “is working really hard to be healthy emotionally,” Johnson noted, “We can’t ignore the fact that Deacon and Rayna are connected in the deepest possible way. No matter what we do, that’s always going to be an undercurrent.”

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Question: Can you use your considerable pull in the industry to make sure that Nick is shirtless and running on a treadmill on Grimm a lot more in the future? Thanks. –Ryan

Ausiello: Would that I could, but this’ll have to do instead: In the second half of the NBC drama’s season, Nick will “have to go from being the student to being the teacher,” executive producer David Greenwalt says. “He’ll be passing on some of the information he’s learned – but we can’t tell you to whom.”

Question: Has the death from your Oct. 17 Blind Item already occurred on-screen? —Daisy

Ausiello: Yes.

Question: You told us that another horseman is coming to Sleepy Hollow, and I want to know which one it is. –Ann

Ausiello: When TVLine chatted with executive producer Roberto Orci and asked that very question, he replied, “This means war.” So… can he tell us which one it is? “I just did,” the sly series co-creator responded. (Maybe that’s what Moloch meant in last week’s episode when he warned, “When you know my meaning, war will take form”?)

Question: Belle is one of my favorites on Once Upon A Time and I’m really disappointed in how little we’ve seen of her in the first half of Season 3. Please tell me she’ll have a bigger role in the second half! Will she at least have her own -centric episode? —Tara

Ausiello: I’m going to venture yes on getting a new Belle flashback, seeing as for Episode 15 the show is casting an “uppity,” “know-it-all” servant who must, repeat must, have a French accent. The character also is named “Lawrence,” which, I must observe, starts with the same letter as “Lumiere.”

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Question: Two Once Upon a Time questions, pretty please! Rumple can’t really be dead, right? And is the Wicked Witch really the Black Fairy? –Ashley

Ausiello: Second things first: Sources say it’s unlikely that Rebecca Mader’s iconic villainess is also the Black Fairy who got name-checked in the midseason finale. As for Rumplestiltskin’s fate, I’ll remind you of what the Once creators told us a few weeks back, as they measured their words carefully. “To the Rumbellers out there, we hope that you enjoy what we have in store. In the second half of the season, they are going to be in the same world for an extended period of time,” Adam Horowitz said. Eddy Kitsis then added, “The second half of the season will further explore their relationship – in whatever state that is.” Sounds alive-ish to me, right…?

Question: I’m loving Barry Allen on Arrow. Will we see him again in later episodes? –J

Ausiello: Although Allen’s originally planned third appearance, in Episode 20, has been scrapped in favor of filming an actual pilot for The Flash, EP Andrew Kreisberg says, “What happened in Central City at the end of [the fall finale] was certainly big news,” as the STAR Labs particle accelerator went haywire and ultimately zapped Barry unconscious. Kreisberg though stops short of guaranteeing an on-screen Arrow mention, explaining, “Right now, we’re focusing hard on writing the Flash pilot and breaking the rest of the season of Arrow. But hopefully there will be some synchronicity between the two [shows], in anticipation of getting to see more of Grant [Gustin] and The Flash.”

Question: With ABC’s Mixology now wrapped for the season and with New Directions short a few members, is there any chance of getting a little Sugar in Glee‘s 100th episode? —Matt

Ausiello: Vanessa Lengies hasn’t been approached so, as of now, it’s going to be Sugar-free.

Question: Revenge has had such a turnaround this season. It is good again! I need some scoop…I can’t wait until January! —Kelsey

Ausiello: This Just In: Margaux’s billionaire media-magnate father is Hamptons-bound. The oft-referred-to-but-never-seen character, whose five-episode arc kicks off this spring, is being described as a cross between Rupert Murdoch and Cary Grant. And he apparently has unfinished business swith the Graysons. “He has a competitive history with Conrad and a deep-rooted sexual tension with Victoria,” reads the casting notice, which calls for an actor in his 50s.

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Question: What’s ahead for Bonnie as an anchor on The Vampire Diaries? —Renee

Ausiello: Big trouble, warns executive producer Caroline Dries. “Part of her personality now is that she carries this cross,” says the EP. And while she seems to be managing every dead supernatural being passing through her now, those unexpected “visitors” may “become an issue for her,” teases Dries. The ex-witch’s relationship with Jeremy will face some challenges, too. “No relationship on this show is safe for too long. They’re going to hit some speedbumps.”

Question: I’m loving the new season of The Carrie Diaries so far! Got any scoop on what’s coming up? —Julius

Ausiello: Survey says, “Neigh!” In other words, watch for a buck-naked Samantha on horseback in Episode 2.10 — airing January 10. Yes indeed, the future public-relations guru scores a job as Lady Godiva at a hot gay bar — resulting in some unexpected jealousy from none other than Larissa. The same episode will find Carrie stoked for a Valentine’s Day dinner with Sebastian — that is until he uses their reservation for an important business meeting. Cue strongly worded journal entry from our titular heroine in 5, 4, 3, 2…

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