TV Chatting

Jessica Capshaw, who has guest-starred on five episodes of Grey’s Anatomy this season as pediatric surgeon Dr. Arizona Robbins, has signed a contract to remain with the show through the end of this season. Her character is a potential love interest for Dr. Callie Torres.

Oscar winner Anjelica Huston will be coming back to Medium to reprise her role as Allison’s ex-boss, Cynthia Keener later this season. Arrested Development star Jeffrey Tambor will also guest star in an episode this May as a mysterious man who shows up at the Dubois house.

Ed Asner will make an appearance on CSI: NY in April as a clockmaker who’s trying to keep a lid on his mysterious past. Asner is, of course, most famous for his role as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Oz star Dean Winters is busy this season.  He has upcoming guest appearances slated for 30 Rock, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, Life on Mars and Rescue Me. He has also been cast in the ABC drama pilot Happy Town.

Bill Lawrence’s real-life wife, Christa Miller, will join the cast of his ABC comedy pilot, Cougar Town. Courteney Cox, Dan Byrd and Busy Phillips will also star.

Neil Hopkins, who played Charlie’s heroin-addicted brother Liam in LOST, will play Sean McNamara’s believed-dead sibling Brendan on Nip/Tuck.  He is slated to be introduced at the end of the show’s sixth season which will premiere in 2010.  Hopkins’s character will be a recovering methamphetamine addict who has been living on a nature preserve.

Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, James Marsters, will guest on CBS’ Numb3rs as a shady arms dealer.  Reaper’s Ray Wise will appear in the same episode.  It is scheduled for broadcast on February 13.

Laura Allen, of Dirt and The 4400 fame, will be guest starring at least one episode of Grey’s Anatomy.  She will play McArmy Owen’s ex-lover in the season’s 15th episode.  As we reported earlier this week, the episode will also mark the final appearance of Dr. Sadie Harris (Melissa George). 

The Big Bang Theory has cast Christine Baranski (Cybil, Mamma Mia) for a guest role.  The award-winning Baranski will appear in the season’s 15th episode as Dr. Beverly Hofstadter, an acclaimed researcher of the human brain, and mom to Dr. Leonard Hofstadter.

It seems as quickly as she showed up, Mer’s BFF, Dr. Sadie Harris, is now leaving. 

"It was my choice," she told EW’s Michael Ausiello at a post-Golden Globes party. "My last day of work is Tuesday."

The actress says she loved the job and cast but she just wants to "do something else." A Grey’s insider suggests that it was more of a mutual decision as her story arc came to a natural end. George was originally slated for 8-11 episodes with an option to become a series regular but her character didn’t really click with fans, or with the powers that be apparently.

Regarding Sadie’s exit, George says "it won’t be a big send-off, but it’s really cool what they do."  At least that’s more than we can say for Dr. Hahn.

Apparently the powers that be at Seattle Grace have been hiding a screen legend in their midst.  EW’s Michael Ausiello is reporting that Oscar winner Faye Dunaway will be playing a renowned Seattle Grace doctor who crosses paths with the Chief, Cristina and Owen in at least one episode of the show this season.

Dunaway is best known for her roles in classic movies such as Mommie Dearest and The Towering Inferno.  She received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her performances in Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown and Network, for which she won the honor in 1976. In recent years, she has guest-starred on the television series’ CSI, Alias and Touched by an Angel.

Dunaway’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy will air in February. 

Photo: WireImage

Rumor has it that Dr. Erica Hahn may not be the only doctor making an exit from Grey’s Anatomy this season.  SpoilerTV reports that a source at AfterEllen.com says that they can confirm that Brooke Smith isn’t the only actress being let go. Apparently Sara Ramirez (Dr. Callie Torres) will be exiting after episode 15 or 16 as well.

This would seem to conflict with a statement issued earlier by series creator Shonda Rhimes:

“Brooke Smith was obviously not fired for playing a lesbian. Clearly it’s not an issue as we have a lesbian character on the show – Calliope Torres. Sara Ramirez is an incredible comedic and dramatic actress and we wanted to be able to play up her magic. Unfortunately, we did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke’s character would sustain in the long run. The impact of the Callie/Erica relationship will be felt and played out in a story for Callie. I believe it belittles the relationship to simply replace Erica with ‘another lesbian.’ If you’ll remember, Cristina mourned the loss of Burke for a full season.”

Melissa George, who joins the cast this week as an old friend of Meredith’s, has been brought in as a love interest for Mark Sloan’s character because the ABC brass wanted a ‘name’ actor for him and knew and liked Melissa’s work on Alias. The newtork asked Rhimes to create a backstory for her that would connect her with an established character to ‘ground her’ with roots from the beginning.

Now this is, as of yet, an unconfirmed rumor but I’m interested to know how viewers will feel about Callie’s departure.  Weigh in and let us know!

EW’s Michael Ausiello is reporting that Grey’s Anatomy has let go Brooke Smith, who plays Dr. Erica Hahn. 

Apparently the decision came down from the network and Shonda Rhimes’ was upset about it.  The ABC execs "had issues" with both the explicit direction the Callie-Erica storyline was taking, and the Erica Hahn character in general.  The order came down to get rid of her ASAP.

Brooke Smith said in an interview that she was blindsided by the decision.  In mid-September, just after shooting her "I’m gay" revelation scene, she was told that she was being written out.  "I was floored when they told me.  It was the last thing I expected.  In fact, when they told me I asked, ‘When is this happening?’ and they said, ‘The [next episode] is your last,’ which is the one that airs this Thursday.  So it was very sudden."

Smith says she didn’t even get to film any scenes to explain her departure.  "I’m not written out.  My final scene is just me heading to my car.  I honestly don’t know what happens in the next episode. I heard not much."

News surfaced last week that Mary McDonnell, of Battlestar Galactica fame, would be joining the show as a top cardiac surgeon, which makes complete sense now that this news has surfaced.

I actually liked Hahn from the first moment she was in the show, as a surgeon at a competing hospital. I was thrilled when she replaced Burke as the cardiac doc at Seattle Grace. How do you feel about this latest development?

Former Moonlighting star and four-time Emmy nominee Cybill Shepherd will guest on the season premiere of  Samantha Who? on Monday, Oct. 13. Also on the episode will be Dancing with the Stars pro Mark Ballas. Sam ( Christina Applegate) enters a dance competition with her mom, Regina (Jean Smart), in hopes of beating Regina’s rival Paula, played by Shepherd. Paula, however, has hired a ringer (Ballas) to help her win.

Grey’s Anatomy is adding several new recurring players. L Word alum Janina Gavankar will join the cast as a new intern and Journeyman star Kevin McKidd will play a former Iraq doctor and love interest for Cristina. Also cast is Brandon Scott who will play a "junior McDreamy," according to EW’s Ausiello.

Former LOST actress Tania Raymonde, who played Ben’s dearly departed daughter, Alex, is joining the cast of Cold Case as a lab tech and potential love interest for Danny Pino.

Another Olympian is trying her hand at acting. Gymnast Nastia Lukin will guest on an episode of Gossip Girl. She is set to begin filming in mid-October. 

Gary Cole (Desperate Housewives) has been cast as the Sarah’s con-man father on Chuck. His guest spot will air during November sweeps.

Breckin Meyer will guest star on House later this season as a struggling artist whose disease causes him to get wildly aggressive. Of course, House and his crew set out to solve his medical mystery. Meyer and his buddy Seth Green will also guest star on Heroes as a couple of comic book geeks. They started filming this week.

Have you seen the latest ABC promo for Grey’s Anatomy?  Could be very spoilery so watch with caution (and don’t click the cut if you are avoiding spoilers):

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