ABC's TCA Is Here! (And I'm Your Scoop Be-Yotch!)

UPDATED! We've got new Desperate Housewives dish for you, straight from the powers that be themselves. Also, if you haven't seen it yet, scroll down for our delish Lost liveblog!

THE STATE OF ABC'S UNION

Here's the word from ABC prez Steve McPherson: 

Lost Season Four, 24-Style? Next season, Lost could plausibly/possibly do 22 straight (à la 24).

Oh, Baby! I'm sure you guys already heard this, but in hopes of working with Marcia Cross' real-life bedrest, ABC asked her doctor if it was safe for her to act while very, very pregnant with twins. The doc said yes, so they're shooting several scenes in Marcia's real-life bed in her real-life house. Onscreen, Bree is confined to bed because of a recent fall from a ladder…

Doin' the Schedule Dance: We could see midseason replacements Notes from the Underbelly and Traveler by sometime in March, and drama October Road by May. No more eps of The Nine, but after some time off for "retooling," Six Degrees is back in production.

SHOW RUNNERS DISH!

Just got out of a panel with all of ABC's coolest showrunners (each and every one rocks!) and Marc Cherry of Desperate Housewives was spillin' the down-low on his show. They all talked about the restrictions placed upon them creatively in the post-Janet Jackson era, and Cherry noted, "I have a few actresses who refuse to wear bras. It costs me $100,000 a week to take nipples off my show. And then I turn on Friends [reruns], and it's a nipple-fest." And while Marcia Cross' Bree is somewhat out of commission, the writers really plan to use Edie to her best advantage: "Nicolette [Sheridan]'s about to have a really fun time. She's being promoted to front and center. We'll be meeting her son who we first heard about in the pilot. And she's going to be having a really fun romance with someone who's already living on the street."

LOST LIVEBLOG

TCA is here! Whoooo!

Sorry, I just get a little excited when I can put down my night-vision goggles and camo, and stalk my favorite celebs in broad daylight.

For you who do not know what TCA is, it stands for Television Celebrity Axtravaganza...or, okay,  it really stands for the Television Critics Association—specifically its Press Tour, which is going down now at the Ritz-Carlton (not Cuse) in Pasadena, California. I'll be posting hot scoop all week—as soon as it breaks. (Important note: If I'm posting something, and you want a question to be asked of someone I'm with, just put it in the comments section below, and I'll do my best to get it in.)

Basically, at TCA, the networks each have a day to woo us reporter types with their fancy new and old shows, as well as new and returning stars. (And they each have a party at night.) Today is ABC, and you know what that means—Matthew Fox, Josh Holloway, Patrick Dempsey...How many future hubbies can you stand? And, oh, did I mention I'm looking at Foxy and Holloway right this very minute?

(I'll pause while you hate me...)

Truth told, Matthew, Josh and I also spent last night together (I'll let that sound salacious for the time being) and are still together this morning, because the Lost  panel session with reporters is going on right now.  

Which reminds me, I should probably listen in, shouldn't I? But remind me later to tell you about the pregnancy on Heroes I just found out about (!!) and that I just watched the winter premiere of Lost? We have much, much, much to discuss, so hang tight...

11:10 Update:  Ooh! Love it. We just saw a great little screener with clips of past and future episodes of Lost, including a woman saying, "Been reading your tattoos. You do know what they say, don't you?" I'm assuming this has to do with Jack's tats, of course, as Bai Ling teased earlier to me that they have something to do with her character. (Who'd have guessed it?) By the by, Dr. Anna Graham ran into Ling at a gift suite yesterday, and she told Dr. G that her character is not a prostitute. So, get your minds out of the gutters, you dirty birdies!

11:20:  My beloved Damon L. reveals that (and I'm paraphrasing here) Jack asks the questions he thinks will be answered. People feel entitled to answers, but characters asking questions crankily is not a shout-out to fans. Meanwhile, executive producer and director extraordinaire Jack Bender insists the show is about the monster inside the characters, not the monster outside of them.

11:40:  Criminey! Lots to report in this Lost session, so I'm going to slide into bullet mode for much of it...

• Damon: "We're spinning back to the beach community."
• Josh Holloway: In terms of the plotlines, we know as actors that our work level rises and falls. (Again, I'm paraphrasing here!)
• Cuse: We're talking with the network about defining the endpoint of the series.
• Damon: Season three is somewhat back to season one.
• Cuse, when asked about this being the "relationship season": "Jack and Juliet is something we're very interested in. Also, Claire and Charlie are in a relationship." And then someone mumbled (loudly), "SEX!" (Wheee!)
• Regarding Nikki (Kiele Rodriguez) and Paolo (Rodrigo Santoro), Carlton says: "The point of them will become very clear in episode 14." Damon adds, "We get asked about the other 35 people that nothing happens to. Are they just redshirts? Are they just monster food? What has their experience been? We've introduced Nikki and Paolo to give voice to those kinds of characters."

11:50:  Evie says she doesn't get to have a preference when it comes to her love triangle. (That makes two of us, honey!)

Update: Because you guys asked, I looked up her exact quote on my tape. The question was "Do you want to be with Sawyer or Jack?" She said, "Um, who do I want to end up with? Who do you want me to end up with? Obviously, the answer is what serves the story, and I think it was really witty when [Disney head honcho] Bob Iger mentioned the other day to us that [with] Moonlighting the show ended because he brought his two main characters together. So, uh,  I think the writers have a very tricky job in dealing with the romance on the show and when to bring them together and bring them apart, and I wouldn't claim to be smart enough to figure out which is the best answer for that."

• Matthew: "I've enjoyed the storyline of the first six." He adds that the captivity stuff was intense and that he missed the rest of the guys, but it was great.
• Damon: We're going to address Sawyer's nickname addiction.
• Daniel Dae Kim (love him!): "We're all really proud of the show. We want to participate in something we love. Is there room for all of us? I think the producers have done a really good job of keeping it an ensemble." By the way, Daniel looks hot.
• So does Josh.
• Ditto Matthew.
• Ditto the rest of the panel—and yes, that means the producers! (Hey, a little sucking up never hurts.)
• Jorge: "Like any job, sometimes you like a week off."
• Evie: "Leaving the cages became a little scary for Josh and I. You realize you're going to be on the set with people you haven't worked with for months or years—you remember you have to keep on your toes."
• Cuse, addressing actors not here today: "Terry O'Quinn and Naveen Andrews both had obligations in Hawaii. We're still filming, actually, tomorrow."
• Henry Ian Cusick on Desmond: "My storyline will be explained in episode 3.08."
• Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet) on Ben: "I don't think he lies. He doesn't lie when he gives his word. I think he mistakes the truth."

11:55:  Cuse reveals "Ben took Kate and Sawyer so he could manipulate Jack into doing surgery." Damon adds: "We're going back to the Hurley, Charlie, Claire, Sun and Jin of it all." Yay!

Okay, session's over. Gotta go rush the panel! Wish me luck.

If you have any questions for me to ask at the ABC party tonight, post below. I'll be back later with more TCA scoop (and of course tomorrow, from the Golden Globes). 

P.S.: The winter premiere of Lost is amazing. Honestly, I can't wait to tell you more. 

P.P.S.: Thanks to "desper8fan8" for pointing out in the comments that I forgot to tell you about the Heroes pregnancy! Sources tell me Matt's (aka Greg Grunberg's) wife is pregnant on the show, and it will be important. Also, I found out the "surprising family connection between two Heroes," and you guys are going to dookie yourselves. (I know, not pretty, but true—so, stock up on necessary supplies!)

—Additional reporting by Jennifer Godwin