Last week, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello reported that Kaley Cuoco, who plays lead female character Penny on The Big Bang Theory, will be gracing Grey's Anatomy for its fifth season finale. This was supposed to mark the latest season finale casting news for the medical drama following the casting of Debra Mooney (Everwood) and Liza Weil (Gilmore Girls, The West Wing), who have signed on to respectively play the mother of Kevin McKidd's emotionally plagued character Owen and a cancer patient who crosses paths with Izzie (Katherine Heigl). But as it turns out, Cuoco won't be appearing on Grey's Anatomy after all. Now, there's a rumor going on about CBS seemingly derailing Cuoco's guest gig, as well as the mystery role that has now been offered to actress Shannon Lucio.

The Gossip Girl spin-off, set to take off via a 20-minute flashback on the CW series' May 11 episode, hasn't even received an official pick-up, but executive producer Josh Schwartz already has a lot of ideas for it.

For instance, according to Schwartz, since the spin-off took place in the 80s when Serena's (Blake Lively) mom Lily (Kelly Rutherford) was in high school, it's very possible that she'll meet and even hang out with several characters from The O.C.

“What we know is [O.C. characters] Kirsten Cohen, or Kirsten Nichols as she was born, and Jimmy Cooper lived in Newport Beach in the ‘80s,” he said.  “So there's a total possibility that in one episode, Lily could have been friends with Kirsten or Jimmy Cooper when they were young.  I would love to do that.”

The CW has previously said that the spin-off will receive the green light depending on how the particular episode would fare in the ratings as well as the general public reception.

In just a couple weeks more, Gossip Girl fans can go back in time to witness Lily van der Woodsen during her younger years.  As reported previously, the May 11 episode of Gossip Girl will take the form of a prequel, laying the groundwork for a spin-off that could start as soon as the fall.  So far, we already know that Brittany Snow (American Dreams, Nip/Tuck) will be playing the younger Lily, while Krysten Ritter (Veronica Mars, Breaking Bad, ‘Til Death) has been cast for the part of Lily's troubled older sister, Carol.  Moreover, Jericho's Shilo Fernandez has also signed on to play Owen, a brooding valley punk.

But that's not all.  According to Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Josh Schwartz and co-creator Stephanie Savage are contemplating on the idea that Lily may have crossed paths with characters from their previous hit, The O.C., which ended its run on FOX in 2007.

College admissions time—it's a stressful time for any high school senior. It's also a time when you're forced to make choices that will change the course of your entire life. On last night's episode, “You've Got Yale,” Blair, Serena and Dan all grapple with big anxieties about the changes that go along with college: Blair's got a case of Senioritis (and a tad of an entitlement issue) that threaten her dead-set hopes on Yale, Serena tries to decide which Ivy is the best fit for her, and she and Dan both worry about how choosing different colleges will affect—or possibly end—their relationship.

The world of Gossip Girl can never stay happy for long. Though the season 2 premiere featured Jenny (Taylor Momsen) finally getting some respect as a fashion intern and Dan and Serena putting aside their nonsense to get back together, the recent announcement of two new recurring characters will certainly put a stop to that.

Willa Holland and John Patrick Amedori are joining Gossip Girl in recurring roles that will provide some trouble for the Humphrey children. Holland will play a 16-year-old model named Agnes in at least three episodes while Amedori will show up as Aaron Rose, a potential suitor for Serena.

Where has Ben McKenzie gone?  The brooding star of The O.C. disappeared from our TV sets when that series bowed out after an abbreviated fourth season.  To be fair, he has been doing work both on the stage and in films.  Now, it appears that he's coming back to television.  NBC has picked up a pilot entitled LAPD from Jon Wells Productions and Warner Brothers.  It's an ensemble drama about the life and work of various LAPD detectives.  Regina King (24), Kevin Alejandro (Shark) and Michael McGrady (Daybreak) have already signed on for the pilot.  McKenzie has yet to officially sign for an as yet unspecified role, but talks are said to be in advanced stages.