Hayden Panettiere, Kathy Bates, Stana Katic

Every week, editors Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com or tweet them to @adam_bryant or @NatalieAbrams.



Am I sensing romantic sparks between Juliette and Avery on Nashville? — Michelle

ADAM: Whatever sexual tension exists between them might dissipate after Wednesday's episode, during which Juliette makes it clear that she views Avery only as an employee. But that's not to say that there's no romance in Juliette's future. "Juliette always has a love life," executive producer Dee Johnson tells us. "I think it's probably a form of medication. Coming out of last season ...she is going into the zone of protecting her heart. If she's looking for romance, it's going to be the kind of romance that's not going to hurt her." In other words: Expect a lot of one-night stands!

Do you have any scoop on the upcoming season of American Horror Story: Coven? — Marcus

NATALIE: Move over, Bloody Face and Rubber Man! There are two villains this season! One is a gruesome minotaur with connections to both Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett) and Madame Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates), all of whom you'll meet in the opening moments of Wednesday's premiere. But the other is based on a real-life person. "The Axeman [Danny Huston] was a true serial killer who was the Zodiac killer of New Orleans," executive producer Ryan Murphy explains. "He would write very chilling letters to the press and he would literally take an ax and cut people's heads in two. He killed women, he killed men, he killed children and he was never caught. He just sort of evaporated into thin air."

Now that Beckett is presumably back in New York to stay, when can we expect a Castle wedding? — Ashley

ADAM: Not anytime soon. Although Stana Katic was one of the most vocal proponents of getting Castle and Beckett together ASAP, she's not in as much of a rush for her character to walk down the aisle. "I don't know if the wedding needs to happen in the next few months or not," she says. "It's not as much of a push for me because they're together and they're a solid couple. ... There's so much juice to be mined from the complications of getting a wedding together, especially when you have characters like Martha or Lanie or Captain Gates on the outskirts. I think that that will make for a really fun wedding-planning scenario.

How long before Stefan is saved on The Vampire Diaries? —Peach

NATALIE: You know those visions Elena has been having along with that big pit in her stomach? Well, the dreams are about to get even clearer. The nail in the coffin — pun intended — will be that Katherine is having the same exact visions, but it's she who recognizes the location, leading them to where Stefan might be found.

What can you tell me about Ziva's replacement on NCIS? — Julie

ADAM: There will be a bit of a revolving-door situation at Ziva's old desk for the next few weeks, and viewers won't get a look at who will most likely be the permanent new team member until November. Fortunately, when Emily Wickersham's NSA Analyst Ellie Bishop finally does report for duty, she will make a strong first impression during the NCIS team's hunt for terrorist Benham Parsa. "He is a new face that we haven't seen before and has a new approach to things," executive producer Gary Glasberg says of the season-long villain. "Bishop will actually have a strong view and position on [Parsa]. She'll be bringing something extra to the table."

What's going to happen to Charming on Once Upon a Time?! — Mary

NATALIE: "He dies," jokes executive producer Adam Horowitz. Relax. He's not dead — yet — but Peter Pan did say that Emma would leave Neverland as an orphan. "Peter Pan is a guy of his word. This is a terrible circumstance he's found himself in. It's also a circumstance that's going to get worse and more complicated," says Horowitz. Fellow executive producer Edward Kitsis adds that the Dreamshade poisoning will bring out the true essence of Prince Charming's noble, heroic nature. "The way he deals with adversity is truly practicing what he preaches. He's going to put his family first even at the risk of his own life." Ruh-roh.

So glad that Pelant is dead on Bones, but what's the deal with the other serial killer he kept yakking about? — Marie

ADAM: According to executive producer Stephen Nathan, that other killer could very well be Booth and Brennan's next nemesis. (Guess Pelant will keep haunting these two from the grave!) But don't expect a repeat of the Pelant arc. "It's not going to be someone who is as visible," Nathan teases. "Pelant wanted to be known. The next person we meet, we won't necessarily meet. This is going to be somebody who values their anonymity far more than Pelant did."

Do you have any scoop on Arrow's version of Amanda Waller? — Sam

NATALIE: This will be the proto-version of Amanda Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), who is not yet the head of A.R.G.U.S. "One of the things we'll be exploring is: What is this organization? What do they know? Who are they working with?" executive producer Marc Guggenheim says. "We've got a couple of surprises up our sleeves about that. We just started talking about something that actually won't come into play until Season 3, but is a pretty exciting way to use Amanda." However, there will be a nod to the Waller fans know and love. "Once she gets promoted, she's going to start stress-eating," Guggenheim jokes.

I am excited about the new firm on The Good Wife, but will Alicia be able to remain friends with Will and Diane? After the falling out between Alicia and Kalinda, I can't take that kind of tension again. — Bridget

ADAM: While we can't make promises about Will (see Exhibit A), Julianna Margulies says that there is definitely hope for Alicia and Diane to stay on good terms. In fact, they may actually get closer. "Around Episode 15, you're going to see something crazy happen and you'll see an incredible bond that happens [from being] thrown into a situation between Alicia and Diane," she teases. "It's really important to see two strong women who like each other and fight for each other and have each other's backs." If Will is out for blood against one or both of them, they could certainly use the backup!

Do you have any New Girl scoop? — Joanne

NATALIE: Fat Schmidt returns! We'll see flashbacks to Schmidt's heavier days in the Halloween episode, which features Schmidt really having to face the ramifications of two-timing Cece. "Because Jess is best friends with Cece, they're going to obviously spend holidays together, so Schmidt finds himself in a situation where it's like, 'I guess you're going to have a party at the house and Cece is going to be there, and I'm not supposed to be there? I really don't understand how that's supposed to work,'" Max Greenfield says. "So we find ourselves in a bind. It takes a real turn." As for Halloween, Greenfield teases that Michael Keaton is involved, though he won't actually appear in the episode.

Got any scoop on The Mentalist? What was going on with that meeting among Bertram, McCallister and Smith? — Miles

ADAM: Although it is quite odd that three of the remaining six Red John suspects were being so chummy with one another, creator Bruno Heller suggests that that meeting bears significance beyond the parameters of the Red John case. "The CBI goes through its own sort of institutional crisis," Heller teases. "The walls are crumbling around them as they are trying to solve this big final mystery. Bertram is both a prime suspect as Red John, but also deeply involved in that other plot." Interestingly, I hear new cast members Rockmond Dunbar and Emily Swallow will figure prominently into that story line, which will become the central focus of the show once Red John is caught.

Are we going to see any familiar faces on Once Upon a Time in Wonderland? — Carrie

NATALIE: As I revealed in the most recent Lightning Round, the producers have promised that you will see some Once characters crossing over into the world of Wonderland. I've watched the entire first episode, and I can tell you that you'll see two right away! My only hint is that one of them is someone who Once fans have been dying to see again.

Adam's Mega Rave: Sunday's excellent Boardwalk Empire reminded us (and eventually, I assume, Nucky) that sometimes you don't know what you've got until it's gone. RIP, Eddie.

Natalie's Mini Rant: While the Nick Fury cameo on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. whet my fan girl appetite, the show is setting lofty expectations. When is Thor dropping by to hammer out the dents in the bus?

Crave scoop on your favorite TV shows? E-mail Adam and Natalie at mega_scoop@tvguide.com or drop us a line at Twitter.com/TVGuide



(Additional reporting by Liz Raftery, Robyn Ross and Kate Stanhope)