Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Once Upon A Time and More 

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Ausiello: Tara’s spirit will loom large throughout the final 13 episodes, but Maggie Siff won’t be embodying that spirit. Asked if the actress might appear in a recreated flashback or as a vision to her widowed hubby, series creator Kurt Sutter tells me, “I’ve never done flashbacks or dream sequences on this show. They tend to pull me out of the reality of a show like this. Although

used them very effectively with Tony, it doesn’t make sense for Jax to experience that.” Ironically, Sutter reveals that Tara’s presence will be most felt via Gemma (AKA the woman that repeatedly drove a meat fork into her head). “Gemma has this odd, remorse-[driven] dialogue with Tara throughout the season,” he previews, “as if she’s sitting right there next to her.” Bonus Scoop: There’s a Juice-centric scene in the Sept. 9 opener that will make the show’s straight female and gay male fans very, very, very happy.

Ausiello: Is Henry en route to having his first crush? (And if so, has he picked the wrong gal?) The ABC series in casting the recurring role of Lily, a bright, self-reliant teen who boasts a “charming, take-no-prisoners punk exterior and the heart of a secretive, insecure opportunist.” Watch for this lass to first appear in Episode 5.

Ausiello: You sound plenty excited by this casting — as are

creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis. “She’s awesome, we love her, we’re so happy to have her and we can’t wait for the audience to discover who she is playing,” Horowitz teases. Perhaps she’s playing someone…

vil? Answers Kitsis with a healthy dollop of sarcasm, “We

Ausiello: Shonda Rhimes would only confirm that she’s a surgeon. And she’s

being brought in to fill the void left by Sandra Oh’s Cristina. “There is a hole left by the loss of Meredith’s best friend, and we do not try to fill it —

,” she insists. “That wouldn’t make sense.”

Question: Can you shed any additional light on Kate Burton’s return to

Ausiello: As Burton told us over the weekend at the Creative Arts Emmys (where she was a guest-actress nominee for

), Ellis will be seen “in flashbacks, obviously.” Also pretty obvious: Said flashbacks will feature Richard and (a younger version) of their little love child, Maggie. “I am excited to see how the whole thing plays out,” Burton added, “because James [Pickens Jr.] and I never really explored [the Ellis-Richard] relationship.” Bonus Scoop: Burton has a history with her new TV daughter Kelly McCreary. “I totally know her,” she enthused. “She did

last year, so I got to say hi to her in the parking lot. And now, funny thing is, it turns out I am her mama!”

starts right where we left off in the finale, but is there a time jump after those first initial scenes? —Rachael

Ausiello: Yes, the  Sept. 29 premiere features a time jump — and a rather significant one at that — but my lips are zipped about exactly

Ausiello: The opener, which (per ABC) “promises to put Beckett through the toughest case of her career,” is titled… fittingly… “Driven.”

Ausiello: I thought it might, but a Sony rep insists Brown will be back as a series regular, adding, “Yvette’s role on

Season 3 intel, please and thank you. –Naomi

Ausiello: I’ve got more detail on the circumstances that bring

‘ Derek Hough into the Music City scene: The biopic in which his character, Noah West, is involved chronicles the life of Patsy Cline — and one of the women on the ABC drama’s canvas also becomes somehow involved with the film (

Question: Please tell me Victor Garber will be back in

alum will return for at least one episode as Ichabod’s disapproving pop, EP Mark Goffman tells TVLine. Bonus Scoop: The showrunner adds that we’ll meet Crane’s

Question: Any scoop on what baby Hope will be up to in Season 2 of

Ausiello: Sorry, Ash, nothing on that particular tyke, but it sounds like someone else will have babies on the brain. Producers are currently casting Ingrid, a supposedly barren young woman who will stop at nothing to be with-child — including lying to her husband. (Gee, if only there were a few witches in town who might be able to help her out….)

Question: Will Catherine be returning at all next season on

Ausiello: File that under Quite Possibly Maybe. “I’m definitely hoping to get [Michelle Borth] back, but I’m not sure when that will happen,” show boss Peter M. Lenkov told us. “But there

be some type of closure.” Until then, he says, “We’re playing a little bit of McGarrett mourning that relationship. Catherine is still [away] ‘doing the right thing’ and he understands that, but he’s heartbroken.”

Question: I’m a little disappointed Linden and her mom didn’t share a hug in their final scene together on

. It really seemed like the scene was heading in that direction. I’m curious if a hug was shot and just not used?—Jaime

Ausiello: There was never a hug. “I think to have had a hug, or [any] physical gesture of forgiveness, would’ve felt false,” explains series creator Veena Sud. “Linden gave as much as she could in that moment by asking the question that was hanging between them, and giving this woman an opportunity to respond. But I don’t know that everything is repairable between people — especially in this situation.”

NCIS: LA scoop, please — anything Hetty-related would be fantastic. —Michelle

Ausiello: Lest you suspect that the Hetty cliffhanger will neatly/quickly resolve itself as previous ones have, as Season 6 opens, “We actually see Hetty reach a point where she cannot resolve the situation herself,” showrunner Shane Brennan told Matt Mitovich. “She hits a wall, where she can’t do any more than what she’s done.” [

Unrelated bonus scoop: Early on in Season 6, Rocky Carroll will cross over from NCIS to appear as Vance in “more than one” LA episode.

Question: What can you tell me about Brian Hallisay’s character on

? I’m still not over losing Aiden, and I can’t imagine Emily is ready to move on. — Kate Ausiello: You’re right about one thing, Kate: Emily’s not ready to jump into a new relationship. But that doesn’t mean sparks won’t fly between Emily and Hallisay’s Ben. “In the scenes they’ve had together so far, they’ve had great energy,” showrunner Sunil Nayar says. “But we want to take our time with these things; Emily has so much she’s already dealing with, we don’t want to be casual about the next person she chooses to give her heart to. That said, there’s definitely an energy between them that we’re enjoying. We didn’t bring him on to be Emily’s love interest, but by the same token, we didn’t

 news? It’s the last season so if you could make it a

Ausiello: Sorry, one scoop is all I got. The title of the season premiere is “2017.”

Doctor Who‘s new — and significantly grayer — star Peter Capaldi will differ from his predecessor Matt Smith? —Morgan

Ausiello: The Season 8 premiere, written by exec producer Steven Moffat, makes several overt references to the physical differences between the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors (whose portrayers have a real-life age difference of 25 years) — including an extended and very amusing bit about Capaldi’s “independently cross” eyebrows. That said, Capaldi himself sounds game for whatever adventures his showrunner cooks up. “The first time you make an escape through a ventilation shaft is quite special,” he notes with a laugh. One future Season 8 installment, though, sounds a little less action-adventure and a little more introspective. Indeed, Moffat promises an episode exploring “What does [the Doctor] do when he’s got nothing to do?” (One theory: Recording DVD extras about “wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.”)

have some scenes shot in Washington D.C. this upcoming season? —Kyle Ausiello: If not this season then (likely) at some point in the show’s run. “I wish, I hope, I want to,” Shonda Rhimes tells me, adding that “budgets, budgets, budgets” are the No. 1 obstacle to taking the show on the road to the nation’s capitol. “It’s expensive to go there, for

 production. But we’d like to. We hope to. We’re trying to save our pennies.”

Ausiello: I tried mightily to get Rhimes to spill the beans, but all she would divulge is that the

vet is playing “a very formidable person.” Actually, that’s a pretty decent tease, considering how tight-lipped Rhimes can be. I’m putting that in the “win” column.

That’s a wrap! Please send questions, comments, and anonymous tips to askausiello@tvline.com. (

Additional reporting by Andy Swift, Kim Roots and Carrie Bell

Can we get some Homeland spoilers… preferably about Quinn & Carrie.

Gee and i thought the Originals was supposed to be a show about the Original vampires! shocker maybe Jp should just adopt a baby or something since she seems obsessed with them

More pointless Castle and Once Upon a Time “spoilers” that really reveal nothing… How bout some real spoilers once in awhile… or some info on something else, like “The Walking Dead” perhaps?

Gee did you ever think the people from the show don’t want to reveal all?

I’m sure we’ll get more spoilers about Castle as we close in on the premiere. Even if we don’t get as much as we get/want normally, it’s probably for the best. I think sometimes the reveals are more important than others.

Showrunners/actors have definitely gotten more tight-lipped about spoilers within the past few years. On one hand, it’s good for the show, on the other hand it stinks for the people who want to know everything! And I hate to be that person, but if you want spoilers for certain shows, then send in questions about them!

Actually the fact that there is going to be a significant time jump in the 1st episode might just be a big reveal. If Castle isn’t missing for too long they could actually get married in ep 1.

Just received NCIS DVDs – 11th Season… YAY‼️

ThkU4Castle update-hopeful👍‼️ Incidental or not at all on others, but appreciate updates … Always good to know what’s happening.

Elizabeth Mitchell – I am going to guess is Original Snow Queen?

Henry and a crush – should be sweet in a way but sad as she seems not all that

I do want to see more of the whole Ellis and Richard story, Ellis Grey and her daughters and explore that.

OK so if they are in Storybrooke and Henry gets a crush on a girl named Lily, it makes me wonder who she is? Like who is her fairytale counterpart?

The name made me think Tigerlily from Peter Pan.

God I hope not of all the things on once anything even remotely related to Neverland was the low point of the show.

I agree. Neverland was cool but not work half the season. It took way to long yo #savehenry

The absolute low point was Greg and tamera plot lol. But yeah Neverland got stale, but at least it began to get pretty good as it finished it’s run all leading to “going home”, and a great wicked arc. I’m glad this year we not on an island(the plots are just so limited in magic lands, unless it’s for a couple episodes when it was done well in FTl for the finale. Looking forward to it a lot

That’s what I thought too. They did Neverland. They don’t new to bring her in, in my opinion

Nice to know LA still has a connection to original NCIS with Vance appearing in season 6 I hope more characters will pop in and out, still want to know the stroy between Gibbs and Callen.

I am totally for a Henry storyline that’s not all about either of his moms. First crush! So cute. They grow so fast.

Thanks for replying to my NCIS:LA inquiry about Hetty, i wonder who the “rather unexpected savior” will be…. Also happy that Rocky Carroll will be back in LA, this give me hope that me may one day see Callen teaming up with Gibbs & find out what their story was.

Also great news that Victor Garber will be back on “Sleepy Hollow”

I hope Castle doesn’t pull a “you’ve been gone for 2 years” Alias move.

That was exactly where my mind went first, too. BAD idea, horrible. Just – no.

I think I read on another site that it was actually several months. (Guessed that right off the bat, though people were clinging to Marlowe’s comment about the season’s opening scene.)

From a storytelling standpoint, we can deduce that the time jump happens at one of two spots: Either within the first 10-15 minutes or at the last 5 minutes of the episode.

All summer long, I would’ve guessed the former, but now I’m thinking the latter.

Thanks for the H50 spoiler!! Glad to know we’ll find out at some point what’s going on with Catherine.

Question #1:That sucks but I get where Kurt is coming from cause you don’t stuff like that on the show. Anyhow regarding the last part about Juicy boy……I read one article on THIS SITE that the Comic con trailer showed a NAKED Juice doing push ups so………I think it’s either that OR he’s bangin some girl(since a lot of people including me are saying why juicy doesn’t have an old lady?)

I guess Castle isn’t in the first episode very much?

Beckett’s my favorite character, so I’ll always care about her journey and struggles, but I guess we should expect lots of complaints on the Castle-lite front next month.

That’s the thing, people might call something Castle-lite (which is just a possible theory about the premiere right now) but to me if an episode is all about Castle, is it really Castle-lite? In a way, it’s Castle-heavy. We’re assuming we don’t see footage of him while Beckett’s trying to find him. We saw Alexis in Paris.

I’ll be surprised if we see much of Castle in the premiere, since they seem to be painting this big mystery, with few clues – plus Fillion was at SDCC for most of its filming.

They may be focused on finding Castle, but if the drama and POV is focused on Beckett, then she is the driver of the story (as usual). Again, no complaints as a Beckett fan, but definitely concerns as a fan of the show and as someone who enjoys focus on the title character, plus seeing Fillion extend himself in performances beyond the bare minimum.

It’s like in soap operas. You never want your fave actor’s character to be in a coma; you want your fave actor’s character to be the one monologuing over the coma patient. LOL

Can’t wait for Beckett to be “Driven” to find the love of her life.

I agree Teri. Now that we know the title, and aptly named, I might add, lets hope it won’t take the whole episode to find him!!

Haven is coming back in less than a month. Get them to spill more than cast photos. We need info!

I second this ^^^ I’ve been hoping for some Haven news for weeks, and yes before someone says it I have emailed asking for some scoop.

Good to hear Yvette will be able to balance both “The Odd Couple” and “Community”. And yay for Ichabod’s parents showing up next season, too! Always happy to see Victor Garber, and I’m intrigued to meet his mom as well.

I’m still kind of hoping that Catherine and Steve will end up together in the end, even if the actress doesn’t return full time. I just really liked those two together. I know it’s not likely since they’re using the word “closure” but….I always liked them together, even in the first season.

Got a little sad seeing Jax and Tara in that picture. I like that Sutter doesn’t do flashbacks or a dead character appearing for another character. It’s more powerful that way, especially since it appears Jax is all alone and completely unhinged this season without the two people that would pull him back into the light, Opie and Tara. Maybe Gemma will have an out loud dialogue with dead Tara apologizing for doing her in and Jax overhears it :).

Will Jack and Emily fans ever get a little joy or will we have to forever deal with random love interests to fill the void?

I’m so optimistic for this OUAT season. At first I thought frozen was just a clever marketing trick for the show, and to get a ratings boost, but I’m beginning to see a lot of potential, with the arc and season. It would seem a lot of thought and creativity is going into it, and I loved frozen so I’m on board lol. (Besides nothing wrong with making a great story, while bringing in a surge of new viewers, everyone does it)

Not surprised about a time jump for castle. That much was obvious. I think the sergeant who helps beckett from the hamptons comes to NY too for a short time. My guess they hit a dead end a third of the way through the episode. As castle tends to try and stick to real time my best guess is a 2-3 month time jump to get us up to date nothing more. probably catch a break in his whereabouts and ends with them finding him. Remember nearly every premiere of castle has a time jump. S3 was a few months. S4 was about 2-3 months. S6 was 6 weeks.

It’s nice to hear that NCIS:LA has started to remember they work for the Navy. Maybe they will start having plots where they actually do their job, not the job of the FBI/CIA/DIS/LAPD/NTSF:SD:SUV/etc.

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