A sneak peek at the new TV season

Our Who’s News colleague Gayle Carter is eagerly awaiting the New Year. Yes, like the rest of us she’s excited about the inauguration of a new president. But truth be told, she is a TV junkie who is looking forward to the return of many of her favorite TV shows (some long delayed thanks to the writer’s strike) and the debut of some sure-to-be-favorite new ones. In the magazine on Jan. 11, you will find her interviews with Amber Tamblyn and some of the other stars who shine in these new and returning series. Click on read more below to get a sneak peek at some of those stars and outtakes from Gayle’s conversations with them, and let us know in the comments what shows you’re psyched about returning or premiering in the next few months.

Photos by Eric Heilila and courtesy of Fox

Tamblyn stars in The Unusuals, which premieres on ABC this spring. The former Joan of Arcadia
star, decided to come back to TV on a cop show. "I’m not a fan of cop
shows myself," Tamblyn, 25, says. "The only one I ever liked is The Wire. But the reasons I haven’t liked cop shows is because I’m not big on procedurals, the formulaic."

Zeljko Ivanek, an Emmy winner for his supporting role on last season’s Damages, on the part that got away: "I grew up partially in Yugoslavia," says Ivanek,51. "There were two American shows to watch: Lost in Space and Perry Mason. When I did come here I wanted to do a Perry Mason, they were still doing those movies [off the series] then. I read for one but I didn’t get it. I was disappointed."

Michael Emerson, of Lost, which returns Jan. 21 on ABC, hopes that at the end of the show,
viewers will know that it actually has one. "I would like there to be something
shocking or apocalyptical at the end, but also like it to remain
mysterious so people will always wonder," says Emerson, 54. "I have a
feeling that Lost will have a more satisfying and exotic
conclusion. I don’t think it will end on a note of teasing. If I had to
guess, my guess it will end that we’ve discovered our story was a story
within a story. Lost, as we¹ve known it so far, is a piece of something
bigger. I don’t know what that’s going to be. The answer is possible in
the realm of science fiction."

Cherry Jones, new to 24 returning Jan. 11 on Fox, says that before she met with the folks at 24 about playing the new season’s
president, the two-time Tony winner had never watched the show. "I
had been intrigued when I first heard the conceit of it and slowly I
watched all my friends become huge fans of the show," says Jones, 52.
"I wasn¹’t sure what I was going to make of it: I don’t like violence and
torture. Yet, I grew up watching Man from U.N.C.L.E., espionage
thrillers, Mission: Impossible."

Chloe Sevigny, of Big Love returning Jan. 18 on HBO,
says, "I’m not like Reese Witherspoon," as she explains
why she’s having trouble raising funds and interest for a movie she’d
like to get made (she would also star). "I’m not in that position. You have
to do a lot of Christmas romantic comedies and they’re harder to make,
to pull off."