TV Show Previews

Canadian actor Dustin Milligan, who plays star athlete Ethan Ward in the CW's 90210 remake (premieres Tuesday, Sept. 2, 8 pm/ET), is a pretty chill dude. Despite the Rocky-Mountain-high expectations for the series' success, Milligan is, thus far, enjoying the ride, telling us about his character's upcoming love triangle, what it takes to look like an athlete on TV and what role, if any, he played in the Jennie Garth-Shannen Doherty détente. — Nina Hämmerling Smith

TVGuide.com: Tell us about your character.
Dustin Milligan: Ethan Ward is the star athlete at West Beverly High School. Lacrosse is his game. It's the new football; football is so cliché. Which is ironic, because lacrosse is, like, the national sport of Canada.

TVGuide.com: And you are Canadian...
Milligan: Yes.

TVGuide.com: So it's a natural fit for you.
Milligan: Um, well, I have never played lacrosse. I did a show a few years ago [the CW's Runaway] where I was the captain of lacrosse team, but I only play it on TV.

TVGuide.com: Do you consider yourself athletic?
Milligan: I don't do a lot of organized sports: I skateboard, surf, snowboard and I go to the gym. I just have to look like an athlete, I don't have to actually be one.

TVGuide.com: As in the original 90210, there is a fairly prominent love triangle, this time among you, Naomi and Annie.
Milligan: It's more like a love octagon! I wish. In the first episode, Naomi and Ethan are dating, and there are some sparks between Annie and Ethan, at least in these first few episodes.

TVGuide.com: Were you a fan of Beverly Hills, 90210?
Milligan: You know, I wasn't. I was pretty young. My sister watched it so I would catch an episode every now and then. I've seen some reruns at 4 in the morning. Of course, I watched a few after I got the job. The sideburns and haircuts! [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Do you feel pressure to live up to the original?
Milligan: I don't know if the actors feel that kind of pressure — I think it's more on the producers and writers. I don't really feel responsible for the entire final product of the show. We're all just trying to do the best for our characters, to deliver a rich and realistic point of view to them. I think there's a lot of hype, a lot of exposure, you could look at it as pressure, right now I'm just looking at it as a great opportunity to have my work examined by perhaps the widest audience I've ever had.

TVGuide.com: OK, so then how do you top the original?
Milligan: It's funny. People are always talking about how you can't top the original because it was so good. At the time, it was groundbreaking, one of the first American shows to show teen angst, a teen soap. Gossip Girl, Dawson's Creek — they all essentially came from 90210. I'd say that the original 90210 had more of a family vibe, it was a little lighter. I think with [Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah, of Freaks and Geeks fame] at the helm, this version brings even more realism and some authentic, contemporary details. I think it's going to push some boundaries in different areas that the original show did. Hopefully, it's going to be groundbreaking, just in a different way.

TVGuide.com: Have you worked with Jennie Garth at all?
Milligan: No, but we chat every now and then. She's really nice. It's always a relief when famous people are nice.

TVGuide.com: Is it important to have the original cast on the new show?
Milligan: I think there's no doubt that the reason for bringing back the show is to bring back original fans as well as create new ones. So I definitely think it would be awesome to have as many of them back as possible for the old, er, original fans. I'm really looking forward to working with whoever is coming back from the original.

TVGuide.com: Back up, did you say "old fans"?
Milligan: I keep saying "old fans" in every interview and I just feel bad.

TVGuide.com: I guess compared to you they are old...
Milligan: I just turned 23 and I am feeling old.

TVGuide.com: How is that possible?
Milligan: I feel it. You're officially not even close to being a teenager anymore, you're almost in your mid-20s, which is when it's pretty much over. In your mid-20s, you might as well be 45. If you're 45, it's all free-wheeling from there, you've got nothing to lose. [Pause] Naw, I'm just being a jerk.

TVGuide.com: There is so much hype around this show -- how are you all dealing with it?
Milligan: Yes, well, it's pure magic. I don't know; it's a lot of fun, I'm actually surprised at how well everyone is getting along and how smoothly things are running at this point. [Pause. Whispers] Oh my God, Shannen Doherty just walked by!

TVGuide.com: Wow! Have you worked with her yet?
Milligan: No, I have not. I don't really know if we're ever going to have any scenes together actually.

TVGuide.com: Is this her first day on the set?
Milligan: Yes, this is Day 1. And she's in the trailer next to mine.

TVGuide.com: You'll have to go over and hit her up for some stories from the glory days.
Milligan: Yeah, I don't know. I've heard a few stories, so I don't really know. But we'll just leave it there... I definitely want to shake her hand or something.

We've gotten to know Rich Sommer as the likable (if sometimes forgettable) Harry Crane, a media buyer at Mad Men's Sterling Cooper advertising agency. But on the season premiere of The Office (Thursday, Sept. 25 at 9 pm/ET, NBC) Sommer will be punching in with Michael Scott & co. at Dunder Mifflin. We chatted with Sommer about his Office role, Harry Crane's promotion on Mad Men and what it is about shooting the AMC hit that brings him to tears each day on the set. — Adam Bryant

TVGuide.com: You landed an upcoming role on The Office. What can you tell us about it?
Rich Sommer: It started on the writers' strike lines. I met [Office writer/actor/producer] Mindy Kaling, who is a fan of Mad Men. And somehow, it just happened that about a month ago I got an e-mail for a part.

TVGuide.com: Any chance of it becoming a recurring gig?
Sommer: I can't really say anything about what the role is or how it incorporates into that world, but it’s been phenomenal. What it's going to be beyond the premiere, I'm not sure. That's up to Greg Daniels and the guys over there, but I will happily help them out in any way I can. I've done guest spots before, but never on a show that I was invested in. It's been a complete dream come true. It's been heady and surreal and awesome.

TVGuide.com: Did being such a fan affect how you decided to play the character?
Sommer: The good news for me is that my sense of humor is completely derivative. I've stolen everything I've ever said that I thought was funny from The Office or The Simpsons. My sense of humor has been built on their work, so it wasn't hard for me to hit the ground running with those guys.

TVGuide.com: Did you ever expect Mad Men to catch on the way it has?
Rich Sommer: When we shot the pilot two years ago, it was this little secret — we knew it was going to be something special. I'm not sure we knew it was going to be quite as spectacular as it ended up being, but we knew it was something good.

TVGuide.com: Last season, Harry had an affair. What happened between him and his wife between seasons?
Sommer: Well, I guess Harry worked things out with Jennifer, which is good. The off-season was so funny because everything was kept secret to us as well as to the audience. We find out only about a week before we shoot each episode what's going to happen next. So when I got the first script and saw that Jennifer was pregnant, I was relieved, because I didn't know if they'd even be together.

TVGuide.com: Guess it's better to be an expectant father than divorced….
Sommer: Yeah, it's nice. Fortunately, Harry Crane is well-adjusted, at least relative to the rest of the men of Sterling Cooper. He seems to know how to handle conflict. He's a good husband, and I think Harry and Jennifer make a good team. If not for her, I don't know that he would have gotten that raise after opening the wrong paycheck.

TVGuide.com: Will we get any flashbacks to that 14-month gap, or will viewers have to fill it in for themselves?
Sommer: Relatively little is left to be imagined. A lot of the questions on people's minds — though it doesn't happen quickly because nothing is handed to the audience on a silver platter — will be answered, whether it's about things from last season, or mysteries already created this season.

TVGuide.com: Are you glad Harry is becoming more than the guy in the bow tie and glasses?
Sommer: During the hiatus, I did a panel discussion with some of the cast and with [creator] Matt Weiner, and I said something about how I didn't feel Harry was content. And Matt quickly corrected me and said, "No, Harry is ambitious." He does seem to have stepped out of his shell and is doing what he can to live up to this position he essentially created for himself.

TVGuide.com: So, will we see him flex more muscle as the "Head of Television"?
Sommer: The title definitely means something to Harry. He's not just a media buyer any more, and he's trying to live up to that. Historically, this was a time when TV was exploding, so I think that will eventually be reflected.

TVGuide.com: Why didn't he fight harder for more of a raise?
Sommer: You can take Harry out of the Crane household, but you can't take the Crane household out of Harry. I don't think he was even prepared to ask for that raise, but Sterling opened a window and Harry jumped through it. He's clearly not a strong negotiator — if I were negotiating I would have shot a little higher than $10 above what I knew someone else was making — so when Sterling comes back at him with a raise at all, I think it's black and white for him. It almost didn't matter what it was. He's just excited and doesn't want to push his luck.

TVGuide.com: How do you think having a child will affect Harry at work?
Sommer: That's a good question. Clearly, Harry's a career man, doing what he can to move up in the ranks. But the baby is also kind of sealing this guy's fate as a family man. And I hope he won't do with his baby what others in this world seem to do: disregard it as much as they disregard their wives. I think Harry's got a good Midwestern head on his shoulders, and that he's just out to make things good for his family.

TVGuide.com: Having worked at Sterling Cooper and Dunder Mifflin, which office would you rather actually work in?
Sommer: [Laughs] I think I've actually worked in both of them in my real life. I was a temp, hopping from office to office for about three years in New York. I've seen people like Don Draper and Roger Sterling, and I've seen people like Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute. I don’t know if I could bear to work in either of those offices. I think I might end up washing dishes if it came to that.

TVGuide.com: At least there's more smoking and drinking at Sterling Cooper. What are you guys actually puffing and sipping on?
Sommer: I made the huge error in the pilot of smoking filterless cigarettes, and when we kept going with the show, it was set that Harry smoked filterless Lucky Strikes. Those are herbal cigarettes and are truly terrible. There is always a pre-shooting smoke that has to be done because if you smoke your first cigarette for the day on camera, you will most likely shed a little tear. At least I always do. I don't choose to, it's just a response to the horror that is entering my mouth. And we're never really sure of what we're drinking. It's either really watered-down cola or watered-down ice tea. It's always kind of a surprise — they never give it to you during rehearsal, so you just drink and hope no one on set is pranking you.

In Part 1 of our Q&A with Mark Schwahn, the creator of One Tree Hill ruminated on the big love "rectangle" and other plans for Lucas, Brooke and Peyton. Here in Part 2, Schwahn surveys what's ahead for the rest of the gang. Season 6 of One Tree Hill kicks off Monday at 9 pm/ET. — Matt Mitovich

TVGuide.com: What is Haley's No. 1 priority these days?
Schwahn: Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) has got a lot going on. The show demands that some have more going on that others, and this year Haley doesn’t have one through line; she's got like five. She's got the issue of being a musician — if she wants to pursue music, does that mean touring? Will she be happy just writing songs? Will she be happy teaching music? Will that take her away from her family in a way that she's not comfortable with? At the same time, she's really relevant as a teacher. And she's obviously relevant as a mom and a wife. If Nathan and Haley are going to pursue their dreams, can they do it differently or will it be history repeating itself? The first time [they tried that], it was very hard on their relationship. I hear from people a lot, "Aren't you ever going to let Nathan and Haley be happy?" And I feel like they are by far the most stable couple on our show! We throw a lot of obstacles their way, but so far they have been overcoming them together. So I think of them as being happy.

TVGuide.com: Is Nathan (James Lafferty) on track for a "miracle" recovery? How goes rehab?
Schwahn: He is on track for a miracle recovery, and we actually use the word "miracle" from the doctor. As he pursues getting back on the court, it's hard to say how far he can push it. He could end up back in the wheelchair again if he pushes it too far. What's he willing to sacrifice, and how patient and abiding will Haley be in this quest? What I love about Nathan, who has really matured despite having had no architecture to be a father or a husband, is that he's finding his way to some sort of peace in all of this. He still wants what he wants, but he considers everyone else in the equation more than he ever did. It's a journey that, if kids are taking anything at all away from One Tree Hill, they can learn from.

TVGuide.com: Is Nathan's mom still cavorting with Skillz (Antwon Tanner)?
Schwahn: Yes, actually. People thought it was absurd, but what I love about it is that there are scenes early on this season that had literally everyone around me saying, "Well hold on a second – these two are interesting together!" We play it for comedic effect, but there's some great human stuff behind all of it. Whether or not the relationship will continue — whether it can, in the face of friends family — is a big storyline. It's wacky sometimes... but it's also more than that.

TVGuide.com: Which is faring better for Mouth (Lee Norris) — his personal life or the professional?
Schwahn: Both are OK right now. Again, the story is "Can you have both? Can you be happy with both?" Before Millicent, Mouth became this guy who was floating around. He was with like 80 different girls the season before. Millicent was his perfect fit in many ways. But Mouth has history like everybody else — there's a clue in there — and he's also chasing his own professional aspirations.

TVGuide.com: He had to make some tough calls last season, professionally.
Schwahn: He's the worst employee in history! The guy has a different job every week, always quitting or coming back. Or, he's not running an important story because he's protecting his friends. There's a story coming up where he has a lead which could help one of his friends.... His heart's always in the right place. He's one of the few characters with a strong vision of what he wants for himself. Some people find that vanilla, but there's a place for characters like that on a show like this.

TVGuide.com: I'm supposed to see Paul Johansson during my visit to the set in North Carolina. I assume Dan is still alive-ish and kicking...?
Schwahn: Well... Craig Sheffer (Keith) has spent a lot of time on the show, and he was dead, so.... [Laughs] Look, every show needs a villain, and I think that Paul is essential to the show. But I never saw myself parting ways with Keith either. Most fans are waiting to see if he's still alive and if he is, who's he going to be. That’s all up for grabs.

Coming soon: Part 3 of our conversation asks Schwahn to weigh in on the big rumors surrounding the show, including the most pressing one of all: Is this Tree Hill's final season?

One Tree Hill Set Visit Videos:
• Chad Michael Murray Tells (Almost) All
• Hilarie Burton: No More Tears for Peyton?
• "Bonus" Burton: Hilarie Shows How to Play "Who's Coolest?"
• Sophia Bush: Is Brooke Still in a Dark Place?
• Bethany Joy Galeotti: Love Scenes Ahead for "Naley"?
• Lee Norris on Mouth's "Interesting" Love Life
• Young "Jamie" Reveals His Cast Mate "Crush"
• Meet Ashley Rickards, Tree Hill's New Troublemaker
• Still to come: James Lafferty!

This Monday at 9 pm/ET, the CW's One Tree Hill kicks off its sixth season with, yes, the actual official and bona fide resolution to the great "Who Did Lucas Call?" mystery. But the outcome of that (and whether the resulting couple is a keeper or not) is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the drama ahead for the entire Tree Hill gang. "This season is a bit complex and adventurous, and not in a Jump the Shark sort of way," says series creator Mark Schwahn. "This is a brave season for us. I haven't said that to anyone else, but that’s a great way of putting it."

Schwahn spoke at length with me about what to expect. Here, in Part 1 of 3, he reflects on last season's time-jump, assesses the state of the "love rectangle," and details the stories in play for Lucas, Peyton and Brooke. — Matt Mitovich

TVGuide.com: How did the four-year flash-forward wind up working for you? Did it accomplish everything you hoped it would?
Mark Schwahn: It was better than expected, actually. It invigorated the show in a really great way, and it invigorated the cast and the writers. When you're in a fifth season and you see your ratings go up, that’s great. I'm happy to have time-stamped [the plot device] for Desperate Housewives and whoever else is doing it now. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: There are fans on the Internet who claim to have the Lucas cliffhanger all figured out. Apparently there are, like, long-lens photos of someone who looks like Chad Michael Murray with his arm around someone who may or may not be so-and-so — at least according to one extra's friend's hairdresser.
Schwahn: In the age of the Internet, you can't hide any of that stuff anyway. If I could, I would. And if I could have shot who shows up at the airport with all three actresses — which I considered doing because I knew there'd be a lot of extras — I would have. But we're like eight episodes ahead, so I was like, "What are we going to do – shoot all three storylines for eight episodes?!" [Laughs] If you want to get spoilers, you'll find them. Everybody can watch it the way they want to watch it, but I designed it to surprise the fans, and a lot of that goes away when you're only watching to see how it plays out. I don’t know how shows that are really based on mystery do it.

TVGuide.com: Very, very, very closed sets.
Schwahn: Yeah. Once in a while, if I have a big scene with a big reveal, I'll actually write it on set with two actors, because I know there are no extras, I know there are no sides [audition scripts]. When I type up the sides to hire a new guest star, from the time they leave my hand to the time they're on the Internet is always less than an hour. It's amazing. But some fans want to watch the show that way.

TVGuide.com: I understand that there is a flash-forward to show what Lucas' life is like, a year down the road, with the girl he chooses?
Schwahn: Yes, that's accurate. It's a way of keeping the mystery alive, to shake up the world without jumping the viewers [permanently ahead in time] again, which would be a little demanding.

TVGuide.com: Do you see this triangle lasting until the very end of the series?
Schwahn: In different ways. Not romantically, I don’t think. As the characters get older and more complex, how you love someone and what they mean to your life, that changes a bit. I think romantically, playing the love triangle – actually it's a rectangle, between Brooke and Lucas and Peyton and Lindsey – is probably done. Never say never on our show. They’ll always all be in each other's lives in some major way.

TVGuide.com: You got Michaela McManus to stick around as Lindsey?
Schwahn: Dick Wolf and his organization were nice about allowing her to continue with us. [Over the summer, McManus joined the cast of Law & Order: SVU.] It's going to be for more than one episode. I had wanted her to be a series regular — I wanted her to get to a place of that success — so it's all worked out really well. We'll see Lindsey throughout the year. If Lucas were to pick her, who's to say she's going to pick him back? And if she does, who's to say it's going to work out? That [uncertainty] is a staple of Tree Hill. A lot of people have eliminated her as a candidate because they know a lot about show biz, but I'm like, "Well, hold on a second...."

TVGuide.com: Will Lucas' suspension get lifted this season?
Schwahn: I think so. Whether that will last is part of the story. I think we'll see [the suspension lifted], but it might not play out exactly how the fans think it will. We're also going to look at Lucas and the publishing of his second book.

TVGuide.com: Taking the other characters one by one, starting with Peyton (played by Hilarie Burton): Is her biological dad going to surface?
Schwahn: The person that Mia met, who said they knew Ellie, is going to surface. All bets are on that it's her biological father. His name is Mick Wolf and he's played by John Doe from [the punk band] X. John's done a great job in playing this distant guy who is tight-fisted with his information. If he is her father and he has shown up, I'd say he's reaching out to her. But why show up and not admit you're her father? That’s what we're going to play.

TVGuide.com: Has Brooke (Sophia Bush) moved on from her maternal longings? Will she emerge from the dark place she went to?
Schwahn: Um... no. [Laughs] I don’t think so, and especially if she is with Lucas, she is going to want to have a kid. We have seen the seeds planted for Brooke's journey – what makes a family? And can she have a family, seeing as her parents were fairly antagonistic and anonymous in her life? Whether or not [her desire to be a mother] includes a romantic component is obviously the big question. If it's not Lucas, will it be someone else? And if it is Lucas, does he still want children? And how does it all shape her place as a designer and businesswoman? Brooke has a lot on her plate this year. As open as she has been with her heart, she's been kind of closed off, emotionally, for a while. It's interesting to peel those layers back and ask, "Why is it OK to be that way?" It's challenging material for Sophia, that’s for sure.

In Part 2: Mark Schwahn surveys the stories for Nathan, Haley, Mouth and other key players.

Coming Soon: Part 3 asks Schwahn to weigh in on the big rumors surrounding the show, including the most pressing one of all: Is this Tree Hill's final season?

One Tree Hill Set Visit Videos:
• Chad Michael Murray Tells (Almost) All
• Hilarie Burton: No More Tears for Peyton?
• Sophia Bush: Is Brooke Still in a Dark Place?
• Bethany Joy Galeotti: Love Scenes Ahead for "Naley"?
• Lee Norris on Mouth's "Interesting" Love Life
• Young "Jamie" Reveals His Cast Mate "Crush"
• Meet Ashley Rickards, Tree Hill's New Troublemaker
• Still to come: James Lafferty and a "bonus" Burton vid!

ABC Family's Greek resumes its semester tonight at 9 pm/ET with a batch of episodes that will, among other things, put Casey's interim ZBZ presidency in jeopardy, and largely due to the R-rated antics of pledge Rebecca. Dilshad Vadsaria, who plays the freshly disillusioned daughter of a disgraced senator, offered TVGuide.com a sneak peek at the drama to come — and what it all means for the Casey-Cappy shippers. — Matt Mitovich

TVGuide.com: It looks like we're kicking off the season with Rebecca causing some real headaches for poor Casey....
Dilshad Vadsaria: Yes, poor Casey. Again. [Laughs] Rebecca has definitely caused some problems for ZBZ, with the spring break episode, where she found out about her father....

TVGuide.com: And subsequently doffed her top at a bar and became a viral video sensation.
Vadsaria: Yeah. I think it's fun that the writers took it in that direction, because it's so true for the age that we live in. Whatever you do is kind of recorded right away.

TVGuide.com: Heck, you yourself probably have some compromising photos that could surface.
Vadsaria: No, no, no – I have all the pictures. [Laughs] They're in a safe deposit box.

TVGuide.com: Why does Rebecca not take too seriously Casey's threat of being booted as a pledge?
Vadsaria: It's more of a front that she doesnt take it seriously. What you'll see in the episodes that follow is her kind of finding a place in the house. Up until now, you wondered, "Does Rebecca really care about the sorority?" [Greek exec producer] Patrick Sean Smith and I had a conversation about that, because there was a question in my mind. Now that she has lost her footing as "the senator's daughter," now that all the skeletons are out, she needs to find where she belongs.

TVGuide.com: She has a rare opportunity to redefine who she is.
Vadsaria: Exactly. This season will focus more on that. Where you used to see Rebecca primarily with Cappy, they're going to incorporate her life in the house more. The audience is going to like the way she "grows up" in that sense.

TVGuide.com: The premiere sets up a nice parallel between what's going on with Cappy and Rusty and Casey and Rebecca. They're in similar situations of having to weigh the significance of a pledge's outside-of-house behaviors.
Vadsaria: Yeah, seeing whether they believe in the bond of sisterhood and brotherhood that comes with being part of the Greek system. For Rebecca, it's about letting go of her cynicism of it. She hasn’t been presented in her life with people who are very genuine, only people who want things from her because of her stature. That made her very guarded, wary of motivations. This season, that starts to chip away. Rebecca is not one to let it all go [Laughs], but she does start to show another side.

TVGuide.com: What is this in the season premiere press release about Rebecca and Cappy's relationship taking "a more serious turn"? Is this, like, ABC Afterschool Special serious?
Vadsaria: [Laughs] Nooooo.... Nothing like that per se. The whole point of bringing the two characters together is that because they are so different they can really appreciate each other for who they are. There are no judgments. Cappy is a very serious relationship for Rebecca. She really cares about him. In the season finale, we saw her world come apart and Cappy is the fun guy, the guy who likes to party. He kind of shies away from anything serious — we saw that in the flashback episode with Cappy and Casey — so it's like that storyline coming back. All of a sudden he has a girlfriend who he really does care about but she's dealing with some very serious things. How is he going to handle that? You're going to see them both grow up, in a sense, and explore what they need from each other. Whether that comes through or not is the cliffhanger in their relationship as it takes this more serious turn.

TVGuide.com: But the longer they're together, the more Casey-Cappy fans stare daggers at you.
Vadsaria: Exactly! They love to see Casey and Cappy together, and that plays into it. People say, "Cappy, why don’t you leave this already? There's so much drama with Rebecca, go back to Casey" and all of that.

TVGuide.com: Yeah, but Rebecca is hot!
Vadsaria: Well, thank you! [Laughs] It's fun to tease the viewers with what's going to happen with that. You'll see that in every episode coming up.

TVGuide.com: Tell me about playing the "drunk-splashing-around-in-the-campus-fountain" scene in the season premiere.
Vadsaria: That was crazy fun. At the beginning of filming, it seemed like a really good idea, but the reality is that come 2 o'clock in the morning, you're like, "Oh my gosh, it's freezing cold!" The girl who plays [fellow ZBZ pledge] Mandy had to hold my hand as we counted to three and then dunked ourselves in the water. We were shaking by the end!

Greek news and scoop:
• In a Time of Crisis, Greek's Casey Turns to... LC?
• Scoop! Greek's Casey Bonds with 90210 Alum
• Mega Minute: More Troublemaking Ahead on Greek
• Exclusive: Sisterhood Cutie Traveling to Greek
• Exclusive: Charisma Carpenter Goes Greek (Again)

Heroes returns after nearly 10 months (Monday, Sept. 22 at 9 pm/ET, NBC) with "Volume 3: Villains" — but just who are the good guys and who are the baddies? The season premiere kicks off with future Claire (Hayden Panettiere) trying to shoot future Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) to stop him from going back in time and committing a murder. Explosive events at the Company land matriarch Angela Petrelli (Christine Rose) in a new and powerful position. And Dr. Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) will finally get a superpower of his own — one that sends him down a dark and scary path.

"He injects himself with the serum he developed to cure Maya [Dania Ramirez] and doesn't know how to control it," reveals Ramamurthy. "It becomes a real Jekyll-and-Hyde thing. I never would have imagined that the genetics professor who's been getting his ass kicked for two seasons would suddenly be the one who's kicking ass."

Or getting laid. Monhinder and Maya will have some extremely steamy encounters this fall — a first for the show. "Heroes is not known for romantic relationships because it would be so lame to have two people kissing and making eyes at each other when the world is at stake. We needed to go all the way in a raw and real way," Ramirez says. "Our show is geared to the young, male audience. I think they're ready for some sex. And," Ramirez adds with a laugh, "who's better than me?" — Michael Logan

More than 10 years after bringing the first Asian-American family to TV on ABC's ill-conceived/ short-lived 1994 sitcom All-American Girl, edgy comedienne Margaret Cho returns with The Cho Show (Thursdays at 11 pm/ET, VH1), a semi-scripted comedy that follows the adventures of the funny lady, her parents and her feisty 3-foot-10-inch assistant. — Megan Walsh-Boyle

TV Guide: What did you learn from your failed sitcom?
Margaret Cho: It really gave me a crash course in how the powers that be don't always do the best things or make the right choices.

TV Guide: So you don't hate television?
Cho: I'm a big TV person! I lay around, eat... I won't go out. I never want to go out. I'm like, not a going-out person.

TV Guide: What will we see on The Cho Show?
Cho: The first episode is about [my] getting an award for Korean of the Year and my own relationship — which has been pretty strained — with the Korean community. Subsequent episodes deal with aging, Hollywood, sexuality…. On one episode, we go off the grid and live in a canyon.

TV Guide: Is there anything you could do at this point to shock your folks?
Cho: I think they might freak out if they saw me smoking a cigarette. [Laughs] That's the one thing I know my parents really hate.

TV Guide: Is your husband going to appear on the show?
Cho: No, because we want to stay married.

Delicious meals come down to the wire when a fifth season of Dinner: Impossible (Wednesdays, 10 pm/ET, Food Network) gets under way Wednesday with new host Michael Symon, who dishes on cooking under pressure, his dream Iron Chef America competitors, and his love of all things pork. — Megan Walsh-Boyle

TVGuide.com: So what's tougher: Iron Chef America or Dinner: Impossible?
Michael Symon: [Laughs] They're both relatively difficult in different ways. This year I did nine battles on Iron Chef in 15 days, so that's mentally exhausting. Dinner: Impossible is mentally exhausting, but it also really beats you up physically.

TVGuide.com: You're taking over Dinner: Impossible after original host Robert Irvine's contract wasn't renewed for lying about his resume. Did you have any apprehensions?
Symon: There's always a tremendous amount of pressure to take over a show that's highly rated and has a lot of fans, but at the end of the day I love the format of the show and thought I'd fit really well. And, I love the challenge of trying to make a successful show better.

TVGuide.com: We have to ask, have you ever been tempted to lie about your resume?
Symon: I have no reason to. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: How will you make the show your own?
Symon: I'm still going to be up against the clock, but the biggest difference is we'll put out really great food and never take a shortcut. Food will always be our priority and we'll have a lot of fun along the way. I'm not a yeller, screamer kind of guy. I get the most out of [people] by treating them right. I'm not going to work that hard and not have fun. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: What has been your most "impossible" mission yet?
Symon: I would say the hardest one was our Mother's Day challenge. It ended up being for over 600 people. We were outside with a limited kitchen. My helpers were my sister, who has a high amount of energy but really can't cook, and my 65-year-old mother, who's as good a cook as anyone I've ever met in my entire life, but has never cooked for 600 people, so… it created some difficult challenges.

TVGuide.com: What other challenges do you face this season?
Symon: We did 10 episodes. The premiere is in Alcatraz, which is a huge challenge because of the transporting of food, and Alcatraz is a really eerie, creepy kind of place. Later, we do a rodeo outside of Denver, a block party in Philly, so really a huge range of different things — no two were really the same. We filmed one in [my hometown] Cleveland and I had to do a Seder dinner for the Jewish holidays.

TVGuide.com: Is there a mission that you would absolutely refuse to take on?
Symon: If I had to prepare manufactured food, I would refuse that, but I don't think [executive producer] Marc Summers would put me in that position.

TVGuide.com: Who would you love to go up against on Iron Chef America?
Symon: God, that's a tough one. [Fellow] Iron Chef Mario [Batali], because I think we cook in a very similar vein. I like going against the toughest guys possible, so Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud or Eric Ripert — chefs who are absolutely legendary in our era.

TVGuide.com: Your favorite ingredient?
Symon: The hog is a magical animal — it brings us bacon, ham, pork chops and ribs, what more can you ask for? [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: You helped design some very cool T-shirts that express a love for all things meat — any worries that celebrity vegan Pam Anderson might go after you?
Symon: [Laughs] No, I think she has enough problems in her own life to be worrying about my meat T-shirts. Hey, I have friends that are vegetarians, too!

TVGuide.com: Have you ever had to cook an all-vegetarian meal?
Symon: You know what, I do one on Dinner: Impossible this season, so that should be some interesting television [Laughs].

TVGuide.com: What do you do when you aren't cooking?
Symon: I have a couple Harleys, so I like to unwind on those and I do enjoy golfing. Then just hanging out with my wife and my three dogs and my stepson Kyle.

TVGuide.com: Sounds like you're loving life right now….
Symon: Always. Always, always, always.

Chris Noth will clock out from his role as Law & Order: Criminal Intent's (Sundays, 9pm/ET, USA) hotheaded detective Mike Logan this week, after nearly two decades.

Logan's swan song begins when he gets involved in a case about a guy who's doing hard time for a crime he didn't commit. To exonerate him, Logan must go up against a very ambitious district attorney, played by 24 vet Leslie Hope.

Executive producer Warren Leight, who's also leaving L&O: CI soon to run HBO's In Treatment, says: "Everyone tells Logan it's stupid to pick a fight with her." Naturally, he does. "It's a very personal episode for Logan….At times, it's Logan against the world."

Will this cop who's seen it all get a happy ending? Says Leight, "I'd say the happiest ending is to go out swinging." — Megan Walsh-Boyle

One of the best parts of Stargate Atlantis' (Fridays, 9pm/ET, Sci Fi) fifth season has been the unlikely ascent of Robert Picardo's uptight Richard Woolsey to team leader. Woolsey is a stick-in-the-mud, but Picardo's good humor about his eclectic career (China Beach, The Wonder Years, Star Trek: Voyager, etc.) proves he's quite the opposite. — G J Donnelly

TV Guide: Describe Woolsey.
Robert Picardo: He's a bureaucrat trying to reinvent himself as a leader. We've seen examples in various governments where that hasn't always succeeded. He's a Monday-morning quarterback who is now on the field.

TV Guide: How does Atlantis compare to Voyager?
Picardo: Trek is probably more cerebral and philosophical. Stargate does seat-of-the-pants adventure and humor better. Having done both, it's great to be a part of more freewheeling storytelling.

TV Guide: Any pet peeves about space?
Picardo: [On Trek], my pet peeve was there were no zippers. Or pockets! On Stargate, I not only have pockets, but I have four or even six! [Laughs]

TV Guide: You have a great series track record. A favorite?
Picardo: China Beach. It was a tremendous responsibility to try and heal some of those Vietnam wounds.

For seven seasons, Danielle Fishel played the straight girl to Boy Meets World's Ben Savage. Now, the all-grown-up Topanga is getting her goof on as host of The Dish (Saturdays, 10pm/ET, Style), a fashion-centric spin-off from E!'s The Soup. — Damian Holbrook

TV Guide: So you're giving it to the fashion world, huh?
Danielle Fishel: Yes! Fashion is one of the areas you have to have a sense of humor [about], right? If you can't laugh at the choices you've made then maybe you're taking yourself too seriously.

TV Guide: What fashion mistakes have you made?
Fishel: Oh lord…I wore a hot pink dress with this huge flower on it. I don't even like pink or flowers! And there were several outfits from Boy Meets World that shouldn't have happened. [Laughs]

TV Guide: Speaking of Boy, what the hell kind of name was Topanga?
Fishel: I grew up in the San Fernando Valley [near] Topanga Canyon, and in the '60s it was a huge hippie hangout. My character was very flower child–like when she started, so the story is that one of [Boy's] writers called the executive producer and said, "We still need a name for this character" and he just happened to be stuck in traffic in Topanga Canyon.

HSM withdrawal? MTV's The American Mall will give you something to sing about.

Late at night, in the atrium of a shopping center in Ohio, Ally Shepard picks out a tune at the piano. Talented but not altogether confident, soulfully pretty though hardly a mantrap, she's a singer-songwriter who just can't get the lyrics right. Until she hears a sweet but strong male voice crooning exactly the words her song needs. What is this? High School Musical 4: Phantom of the Galleria?

Close, but not quite. Brought to you by the team behind Disney Channel's smash franchise, this is MTV's The American Mall (Mondays at 9 pm/ET), a slightly more grown-up singing and dancing excursion into the heart of late-adolescent dreams and dramas. "High School Musical was designed as a trilogy for [those last] years of high school, "says Mall producer Bill Borden on the film's set in Utah. "This movie takes place the summer after graduation. It's about a girl facing love problems and living up to expectations."

She also has another problem: bad, rich girl Madison (played by The O.C.'s Autumn Reeser). "Madison's dad owns the mall, "Reeser says. "And she is opening a boutique for the thinnest, richest people in town. And she gets whatever she wants."

What Madison most desires is to put Ally (Degrassi: The Next Generation's Nina Dobrev) and her mom's music store out of business. Oh, and she wouldn't mind getting her claws into Joey (singer-songwriter Rob Mayes), the hunky mall janitor who finishes Ally's songs.

Though the rock and fashion industries, as well as teen angst and consumerism, are gently skewered, Borden insists The American Mall" is actually a musical in the classical tradition. "That means gooey ballads, PG-rated Pussycat Dolls-style jams, self-esteem-raising pop anthems and splashy dance numbers. Adds choreographer Bonnie Story, "We use the food court, escalators, mannequins and everything else you'd find in a mall [as our stage]."

The cast is largely new faces, though fans of So You Think You Can Dance may also recognize Season 3 finalist Neil Haskell, who makes his acting debut in Mall as Drew, "the biggest slacker of all." Nickelodeon viewers will spot Unfabulous' Bianca Collins, who plays boy-crazy Mia and admits she's a mallrat. "I always remember that scene in Clueless when the only thing Cher can do to cheer herself up is go shopping. It's sad but true: There's nothing like finding a good deal on the right pair of shoes to make sad feelings go away."

For other cast members, like Bulgarian-born Dobrev, the mall isn't all that. "Kids today buy everything, and we're not necessarily happier for it. This movie reflects the materialism of our generation."

Oh, lighten up, says Borden, who calls The American Mall a modern romance: "It's boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets his act together and maybe gets the girl back. But the real message is this: You don't have to be someone's boyfriend or girlfriend to be your own person." — David A. Keeps

Ham Dewey (Kenneth Johnson), the partner/lover of Holly Hunter's hellraising detective on Saving Grace (Mondays, 10 pm/ET, TNT), suffers a personal blow tonight when his kid brother Ralph goes missing in Afghanistan.

"Ham's tripping out because he wants answers," Johnson says. "He thinks Ralph is going to be on video and beheaded. "What's more, Ham's having problems with Grace, who, as usual, is distracted by a case and not focusing on their relationship.

This time, a collision with a drunk driver reveals a secret cache of cash in Grace's beat-up Porsche. The money is linked to "the murder of a highway patrolman 30 years ago, so she brings the car's former owners in for questioning," Johnson says. "One of them is Barry Switzer, who plays himself."

And if the former Dallas Cowboys coach thought owner Jerry Jones was tough, just wait'll he gets a load of Grace. — G J Donnelly

Brenda, we hardly knew you. Pamela's journalist pal concludes her two-episode tour of duty with Lifetime's Army Wives (Sundays at 10 pm/ET), but that doesn't necessarily mean we've seen the last of Tawny Cypress. "The [writers] have left it open-ended," she reports. "We'll see what the audience thinks of the character and we'll take it from there." One thing is certain: opinions are likely to be strong after tonight's unexpected turn of events. — Megan Walsh-Boyle

TV Guide: Talk about landing the role of Brenda.
Tawny Cypress: It was one audition and then a phone call that they'd like to use me, which was really fantastic because it's a part I haven't done before onscreen. She's an intelligent girl…she's a reporter for the post newspaper and she starts up a friendship with Pamela [Brigid Brannagh]. Things get a little dicey for them [Laughs] — without giving away too much. I'm not going to get into the details of it, because you guys are just going to have to watch it, but fans of mine are going to be surprised by this character.

TV Guide: What was it like acting on this female-centric series?
Cypress: Coming off of K-Ville, where it [was] all men and me, it was a real change working will all these women — it was really a cool hang. I got to hang out with some cool people for a few weeks there. In fact, Brigid actually did a guest spot on K-Ville, so she came and did my show and now I'm doing her show, so it has come full circle.

TV Guide: Can you spill any details about this Sunday's episode?
Cypress: [It's] the one to watch [Laughs]…the friendship takes a turn and that's the interesting part. I play a pretty aggressive girl — it's going to be a fun romp.

TV Guide: What else have you been working on?
Cypress: I just wrapped a movie called Brooklyn's Finest. [Training Day director] Anton Fuqua is doing it…and I get to play Don Cheadle's wife! I work with the amazingly great Don Cheadle, so it's going to be an awesome thing and it comes out in 2009.

TV Guide: How did you feel about Simone's demise on Heroes?
Cypress: I was totally heartbroken — it crushed me. [But] it's Heroes, so you never know what's going to happen in the future. Without saying too much…you could turn on your TV and see [Simone] again. [Laughs]

"There's a lot of new stuff in store," promises executive producer Carol-Lynn Parente when talking about the 39th season of Sesame Street (Mondays, 9 am/ET, PBS, time may vary in your area), the gold standard in preschool programming.

This year, the goal is to make math fun with such parodies as "Preschool Musical," "Are You Smarter Than an Egg Layer" and "30 Rocks." In the season opener, Feist sings her catchy "1234" with new lyrics ("1234, chickens just back from the shore...") and Jack Black pals around with Elmo.

More A-list stars will show up later in the season, including Jessica Alba, David Beckham, Heidi Klum, Neil Patrick Harris, Randy Jackson, Sandra Oh, Jenny McCarthy and newsman Brian Williams, who shows his sense of humor while reporting on a case of "mine-itis." But Sesame Street purists should be warned: Two beloved Muppets have a different look as the series introduces Claymation versions of Bert and Ernie. At least Super Grover remains untouched! — Megan Walsh-Boyle