Spoiler Junkie

The TV upfronts are next week. The excitement and speculation for which shows will get their pilots picked and which remaining shows not yet renewed will return.

Today in TV Guide they listed some of the possibilities. The one I am most excited about has to be Josh Schwartz’s Gossip Girl for the CW, great cast and will fill a void left by the OC and even Gilmore Girls (tears).

Unlike many of the bad and cool reviews towards Grey’s 2.0, I actually loved it, even a bit more than the original Grey’s. I am a big Taye Diggs fan from way back so that helps and there’s the one that play’s Piz on Veronica, I thought the cast was having more fun than the original’s; LA’s laid back vibe was really evident. It was like a medical more mature OC, I know a far stretch; but it could really work.

On the returning front I would miss Supernatural even more than Gilmore Girls, if it wouldn’t return. I always thought Gilmore Girls stopped being good when they let go of Jared Padalecki. Here’s hoping the rating speak for themselves and it get renewed. Because if Veronica Mars with praticularly the worst rating can possibly get renewe, Supernatural should be a slam dunk!

Fall 2007: The Latest Word on the Hottest Pilots

With the upfronts mere moments (OK, days) away, here is the Hollywood Reporter‘s report on where each network stands regarding new shows… and some surprising returns:

ABC
Comedies: Sam I Am, Miss/Guided and (Ain’t It Cool be damned) Cavemen. Knights of Prosperity and Notes from the Underbelly have shots at encores, and George Lopez has the edge over According to Jim in returning. Dramas: Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Football Wives, Cashmere Mafia and Marlowe have strong buzz. “Grey’s 2.0″ is looking at a 10 pm Wednesday, 9 or 10 pm Monday, or Thursday-at-10 slot.

CBS
Comedies: Fugly, The Big Bang Theory, The Captain and I’m in Hell. Dramas: Babylon Fields, The Man, Viva Laughlin and the Jimmy Smits/rum dynasty series (which, rumor has it, may bump Shark to Close to Home‘s slot).

NBC
Comedies: The IT Crowd, Business Class and Lipshitz Saves the World. Dramas: Too many to list, but the pack is led by David Eick’s The Bionic Woman.

Fox
Comedies: ‘Til Death is expected back, to be paired with Grammer-Heaton’s Action News. Dramas: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is eyed as a companion piece to 24. Also in contention are K-Ville, Them and Canterbury’s Law.

CW
Reaper has joined Gossip Girl in getting a green light to start staffing.

This week’s Ask Ausiello was almost entirely devoted to the Gilmore Girls finale and even featured an interview with Matt Czuchry.

Matt Czuchry and Alexis Bledel, Gilmore Girls

Question: How are you coping with the loss of your beloved Gilmore Girls?— Stacy

Ausiello: I have good days and bad days. Today is a good day, thanks in large part to my friends at Pfizer. Warning to all you GG-haters: Considering this is the last Ask Ausiello of the Gilmore era, this week’s column is a veritable Stars Hollowpalooza. Yep, I’m throwing in everything but the kitchen sink. On second thought, the sink’s going in, too.

Question: Is Gilmore Girls really going to end with Logan and Rory broken up? ‘Cause that would suck!— Caitburke

Ausiello: Yep, they’re finished. Sad but true. Knowing you guys would be broken up about it on this, the morning after the big split, I literally went to the ends of the earth to bring you an exclusive little pick-me-up: an exit interview with Logan himself, Matt Czuchry. Due to his travel schedule — he’s currently in Austria visiting his family — the Mattster was unable to talk to me over the phone in time to meet my deadline. But being the unbelievably awesome human being that he is, he went ahead and e-mailed me answers to questions he thought I would ask. So, without further delay, I give you Gilmore Girls‘ exiting Matt Czuchry, in his own words.

• On Gilmore Girls coming to a close: It is an honor for me to have been part of such a well-loved show for the past three seasons. I know that the fans will miss the connection they have developed over the past seven seasons, and I will miss working with my friends on a project that I believed in so passionately.

• How I found out Gilmore Girls was officially not coming back: Currently I am in Vienna, Austria, visiting my family. I checked my cell-phone messages and one message referenced the official word regarding the end of the show. As I was listening to the message, my niece was calling for me in the other room. She was saying, “Uncle Matt, do you want to color with me?” These are the moments in life that make it all so beautiful.

• On Logan’s story line in last night’s episode: The joy of Gilmore Girls has always centered around [the relationship between] Lorelai and Rory. I was very happy in regards to Logan’s story line when I read the script for Episode 21. The conclusion for Logan and Rory’s relationship preserves the integrity and beauty of the show’s best quality.

• On the last scene for Logan and Rory: The last scene for Logan and Rory was such an important scene for Alexis and me. We wanted to get the thing right, knowing that there were three years of history between these two characters. The scene had so much weight for us as people and as actors that it was hard to just play the moments and do our jobs effectively. I’ve seen the end result and I am happy with it. But at the same time, it’s hard to believe that that’s really it. It’s all done.

• The impact of Logan: Logan’s effect on Rory and the change that he brought in Rory over the past three seasons, and thus the change that Logan brought to the story lines of the show overall, has been an extreme pleasure to be a part of. Rory goes off into the world changed by her direct experiences with Logan. For Logan to be there at the end of such a beloved show is special for me both as an actor and as a fan of the show.

Question: Thank you for the Lauren Graham interview. I love her even more now.— Suz

Ausiello: And you’re going to love me even more when I tell you I saved a few gems from the interview for Ask Ausiello! Toward the end of our chat, I asked her if she was sad that the cast and crew didn’t get a chance to formally say goodbye to each other at the wrap party last month, since, at the time, it looked like the show was coming back. “For me personally, I don’t know how I would’ve said goodbye,” she admitted. “I was so emotional anyway with things being up in the air. I feel like it would have been really hard to try to say thank you, to try to say goodbye to those 153 people.”

Question: I am really sorry that Gilmore Girls isn’t coming back next season. Since you have already read the finale script, can you at least tell me if it is implied that Luke and Lorelai will stay together?— Barbara

Ausiello: It’s heavily implied.

Question: Any idea if AS-P‘s last words are going to be the final words of the series?— Laura

Ausiello: Unfortunately, they’re not. But as Lauren mentioned in our Q&A, she would’ve asked AS-P for permission to use her final four words had she known ahead of time that the show was kaput. “I think she would’ve given it up to me had we known this was the end,” she said. “And we would’ve worked it in.”

Question: Now that we know Gilmore Girls is ending, have you begun stalking AS-P to find out what those last words were? I believe that she promised to tell you if the show ended this year.— Holly

Ausiello: No, I’m just sitting around waiting for her to e-mail them to me. (Beat) Of course I have begun stalking her! Mark my words: I’ll get those four words out of her if it’s the last thing I do!

Question: With Gilmore Girls ending, please, please, please, answer me this one question: Will Emily and Lorelai hug before the end of the series?— BLAO1028

Ausiello: (Spoiler alert) No. They do, however, have a really nice moment together — although it’s nothing compared to the final scene between Lorelai and Rory, which Lauren described for me during our chat: “It ends with a shot that mirrors the closing shot of the pilot, which really represents the show. It’s Lorelai and Rory sitting in the diner talking about really nothing. Just having a moment together.” She added that most of the story lines get resolved by the end of the hour. “Had we come back, I think it would’ve been a little bit like, ‘Oops, never mind!’”

Question: Thanks for the amazing interview with Lauren Graham. It made me cry, especially the last part when she thanked the fans.— Tamy Ponczyk

Ausiello: Keep your tissues handy. Something else I saved from my Lauren Q&A was this morsel about what might’ve happened next season if the show had returned. “Kelly Bishop said to me, ‘If we come back, I think Emily should buy half of the inn, so that we have to work together.’ It was such a great idea. Lorelai would have a new level of irritation.” Um, I don’t know about you, but to me, that sounds like the makings of one kick-ass Broadway show. And on that note, the final AA of the Gilmore era comes to an end. I’ll give you all a moment to compose yourselves. [Moment passes] OK, head on over to the Ask Ausiello Discussion Thread to debate the merits of this week’s column; check out the latest installment of my Ausiello Report vodcast for exclusive scoop on a possible Gilmore Girls reunion movie penned by Amy Sherman-Palladino (hey, stranger things have happened in this biz)