Mitchell Haaseth/NBCHey all, Jennifer here! Apparently, that Comedy Night Done Right nonsense airs Thursdays on NBC, so to celebrate I brought you a little preseason scoop from some of your Peacock faves:
SCRUBS
I tracked down Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence at the NBC party and told him he was required to confide in me about Scrubs' season seven, because my ex-roommate's fiancé is his wife's agent and that makes us practically best friends. Lucky for y'all, the darn fool bought it.
Resurrection Trip: I asked if the rumors of Nurse Roberts' demise had been greatly exaggerated, and Lawrence told me, “I actually haven't talked to anybody about this! And this is an official apology to fans of the show if they notice the actress Aloma Wright is back on Scrubs, even though her character, Nurse Roberts, died last year. I'm hoping they can separate fantasy from the real world. We thought last year was the last year of the show! I would never take work away from a character actress, so I told her that the show might be coming back, and if it did, we would bring her back as another character."
So, are we about to meet Nurse Roberts' evil twin or perhaps her wacky cousin from the country? Said Lawrence: “We're trying to figure it out so it's not so broad people make fun of us. She appears pretty early in the show. It'll be interesting to see if people recognize her right off. But she's around."
Dr. and Mrs. Crankypants: Jordan (Christa Miller) may be acting as an absentee partner in her marriage to Dr. Cox. According to Bill Lawrence (who is married to Ms. Christa, in case you didn't know), “My wife has made life miserable for me, because she took the lead in a new miniseries called The Andromeda Strain, which they're remaking it right now in Canada, so she's not as available right now as I would want her to be. But she's gonna be on the show. They'll be together."
Love Among the Mops: Last but not least, Bill has plans for Kelso and the Janitor as the show zooms toward the series finale. He told me, “Some big things happen to Dr. Kelso, because I always promised Ken Jenkins something good. And I promised Neil Flynn, the Janitor, he would get a girlfriend. So, he has a love interest this year." Goody gumdrop!
MY NAME IS EARL
Suplee Figures: I loves me some Ethan Suplee! I've been a fan ever since his hilarious but almost totally unseen turn in The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest, so I used that little bit of flattery as an opening. I was hoping I could butter him up for My Name Is Earl scoop.
I wanted to know what's in store for Randy and Catalina. Ethan told me, "Nothing. We're married, but we're in a platonic marriage." What a waste! "Well, she's disgusting, and there's really no getting over that."
As for what Earl's incarceration might mean for brother Randy, Ethan joked, "What's happening is just before the season premiere—which they won't show, but you'll know, and I'll know—Randy has the entire blueprints of the jail, not tattooed but written in crayon, on his body."
By God, it's so crazy it just might work!
THE OFFICE
Oscar Worthy: I pulled The Office's Oscar Nuñez (Oscar) and Kate Flannery (Meredith) in with my tractor beam and asked them what they thought Ryan's promotion might mean for his relationship with his colleagues from the Scranton branch. Will angry sparks fly?
Nuñez put the question to Flannery: "Wait, it depends, where's he going to be? In Scranton or in New York?" Flannery responded, "He's going to be in New York. But when a younger person is in charge of older people, sparks fly."
Added Nuñez, "Because of the resentment we older people have."
Hmmm...Ryan, you might want to brace yourself.
Quote of the Moment
"I'm an improv guy by training, yes, not by trade—improv is not a paying gig."
—Jack McBrayer, aka Kenneth the Page, of 30 Rock. (Look for more from Jack Be Awesome in a future item!)