Clay Aiken and Taylor Hicks competed on American Idol, and now they’ll be the ones sitting at the judges’ table on Law and Order: SVU. Alana De La Garza will be reprising her role from the original Law & Order on SVU as well. And Gilles Marini is joining 2 Broke Girls. Read on for all the details, including casting news for Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Brooklyn Nine-NineThe FollowingBlue Bloods, CSI and Bones.

Clay Aiken and Taylor Hicks are the judges on Law and Order: SVU: The two Idol alumni will be joined by Ashanti on the judging panel of a fictional singing competition show called American Diva, according to Zap2it. A singing coach named Jackie Walker is accused of sexually abusing students. The X Factor season 2 runner-up Carly Rose Sonenclar is also guest starring; her character, Grace Belsey, auditions for the judging trio. The episode will air on November 6.

Also coming to SVU is Alana De La Garza, who will reprise her role as Connie Rubirosa from the original Law & Order and Los Angeles. TVLine notes that even though Connie was an ADA before, this time around she’ll be a federal prosecutor in New York who’s in charge of a joint task force that deals with underage sex trafficking. De La Garza tweeted, “Just got my new script for guest role on @nbcsvu … Gonna be fun!”

Gilles Marini and Mary Lynn Rajskub are in the kitchen on 2 Broke Girls: Marini has signed on for a recurring role as a “master baker” named Nicolas who’s a teacher at the Manhattan School of Pastry; he’ll first show up in the November 18 episode. Max is there so she can be a better baker herself, and Caroline wants to pay for the tuition so she get a job in the school’s office. And Deadline reports that Rajskub will be guest starring as a “brilliant but very fractured” pastry chef at the school named Bebe.

Whoopi Goldberg is the Rabbit’s wife on Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: The Rabbit is voiced by John Lithgow, and now another big name is coming on board as Mrs. Rabbit, according to TVLine. The character will make an appearance in episode 8; she’ll be seen in both present time and in a flashback.

Peta Sergeant is also joining the OUAT spin-off, but in a recurring role as a “force of nature in Wonderland,” as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. This is supposedly an iconic character, but unfortunately no other details are known at this point.

Craig Robinson is a criminal on Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Office alum is shooting his guest starring role next week. He’s playing a criminal who may end up playing an important role in an ongoing case that Jake has been working on for quite a long time, according to Entertainment Weekly. Brooklyn Nine-Nine has been picked up for a full season by FOX.

Lee Tergesen brings secrecy to The Following: The former Oz star is guest starring as Kurt Bolen, who’s being described by THR as a “normal family man,” but Ryan Hardy believes that he’s hiding a “dark secret.” Look for him to show up in episode 7.

Kirk Acevedo is Maria Baez’s brother on Blue Bloods: Speaking of Oz alumni, Acevedo will be in the November 22 episode, reports Zap2it. Unfortunately, things won’t go smoothly as the relationship between brother and sister isn’t all that strong — Baez’s brother is a criminal, after all. And while he’s trying to put all that in the past, an incident occurs that brings everything back to the surface.

Kristoffer Polaha brings his charming ways to CSI: The Ringer alum is guest starring in episode 10, which will air on November 27. His character is a mechanic named Darryl who THR describes as being “likable and charming.” Who better to help Sara, Finlay and Morgan after their car breaks out, right? Well, maybe not, because he may have a darker side to him.

Richard Schiff and McKayla Maroney guest starring on Bones: The former West Wing star has been cast as Leon Watters — EW reports that he’s the “Dr. Brennan of theoretical physics.” Booth and Bones investigate the death of his daughter, Amanda. Olympic winner Maroney has signed on to play a friend/rival of Amanda named Ellie. 

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(Image courtesy of NBC)

Jeff Dodge

Staff Writer, BuddyTV

Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.