In one of the coolest casting nuggets of the season, Teri Hatcher is set to appear on Smallville.

The Desperate Housewives star will come aboard The CW hit as Lois' late mom, Ella. You can get a brief look at her in the official preview for Friday's episode, "Abandoned."

Below, meanwhile, you can watch a clip from this installment and see what leads to Lois' discovery of her mom's video. It's clearly an emotional moment for this classic character, so please, a bit of respect as you watch this sneak peek:

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.