Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies creator Simon Fuller has told AfterElton.com that a character on the show is gay. Don't read anymore if you wish to be surprised....

Ready?

"It's the coroner," Fuller said, referring to the character played by Sy Richardson. "We were going to slowly expand his character and kind of reveal that he has a little crush on Emerson."

"I didn't want to just do another, like, pretty gay person," Fuller added. "I thought it would be interesting to have an older character be gay."

We think he's right. Do you?

The cast and crew of Pushing Daisies made an appearance at this year's Paley Festival in Hollywood. Good friend Michael Ausiello of TV Guide has the full report, but here are a few fun tidbits from the panel:

Participants: Bryan Fuller (creator), Lee Pace (Ned), Anna Friel (Chuck), Kristin Chenoweth (Olive), Chi McBride (Emerson), Ellen Greene (Vivian), Peter Ocko (coexecutive producer), Dan Jinks (executive producer), Bruce Cohen (executive producer) and frenemy Kristin Dos Santos (moderator).

Kristin's Choice: Chenoweth chose Daisies over a starring role in Broadway's Young Frankenstein. "You have these decisions that come along in your career and sometimes they're not easy," she said. "But I definitely feel like I made the right one."

Wish List: Fuller wants Carol Burnett on the show.

Strike Fallout: "I think in the long run, [the break] was a really good thing for the show," Fuller admitted. "It gave us a chance to look back at the nine episodes and [figure out] what was working and what was not working. The arc of the first nine was a soft, romantic arc. In the second season, we want to do something a little harder and a little more aggressive in the style of storytelling. We learned a lot of lessons."

Spoiler Alert: Chuck will definitely find out who her real mother is in Season 2. "It's going to be interesting to see how she reacts to that information," said Fuller, "and how the Pie Maker tries to control her trajectory and how that will complicate their relationship. There are going to be some nice surprises."

Kristin of E! Online is reporting that even if the writers' strike is resolved in the next week, it's too late to get Pushing Daisies in production for more episodes this season.

Here's the quote from Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller:

"Lots of talk has been going down this past week," Fuller said. "Essentially, even if the strike is resolved in the next week or two, we wouldn't be back until next season. There was a preliminary conversation that involved a plan to hit the ground running and try to get episodes on the air as soon as possible, but it no longer seems like that's going to happen.

It seems most likely that we will have a very short first season and then come back in the fall for a proper season two."

In the meantime - and there will be plenty of it - visit our forum and talk about the show until it comes back! 

According to British newspaper The Mirror, Anna Friel has signed a new six-year contract to remain on Pushing Daisies.

Now, if we can just get that silly writers' strike to end, we can actually watch Friel on our favorite show!

Friel has also signed on to star in Land of the Lost alongside Will Ferrell.

TV Guide recently asked readers to name their favorite television couples. Not surprisingly, Ned (Lee Pace) and Chuck (Anna Friel) made the cut:

The Paley Center for Media will honor Pushing Daisies, Gossip Girl and producer/writer Judd Apatow at the twenty-fifth annual William S. Paley Television Festival (PaleyFest08), taking place from March 14 to March 27 in Hollywood.

PaleyFest08, named for William S. Paley (founder of both the Paley Center and CBS) celebrates television's rich and diverse programming, along with the creative process behind the medium for the last quarter century.

Every night, the audience views episodes or highlights of the featured work, followed by an exclusive question and answer session with the show's cast and creative team. Additional details and the complete schedule for PaleyFest08 will be announced on Monday, February 4.

Tickets will go on sale to Paley Center Members on Thursday, February 7 and will be available to the general public beginning the following Sunday, February 10.

Whenever the writers' strike comes to an end, Kristin from E! Online says fans can look forward to some "fantastic stuff" on Pushing Daisies.

As if we'd expect anything less.

Here's the TV columnist's take on the future of the show. (Mini Pushing Daisies spoiler warning!)

We're going to find out that Chuck's father is still in the picture. Can you hear Ned and Chuck's hearts mending? Yeah, those two are so not done. I'm also told this knowledge of Chuck's mama will put Olive in a verrry interesting predicament, as she has to decide whether or not to tell her. Really fantastic stuff coming up after the strike.

It's nice to see the Golden Globe Awards recognize Pushing Daisies, along with its two stars, for their work this season.

While we'd love to have seen Chi McBride and Kristin Chenoweth also honored, it's hard to complain about the following nominations:

MUSICAL OR COMEDY
"30 Rock"
"Californication"
"Entourage"
"Extras"
"Pushing Daisies"

ACTOR (MUSICAL OR COMEDY)
Alec Baldwin - "30 Rock"
Steve Carell - "The Office"
David Duchovny -- "Californication"
Ricky Gervais - "The Office"
Lee Pace - "Pushing Daisies"

ACTRESS (MUSICAL OR COMEDY)
Christina Applegate
America Ferrara
Tina Fey
Anna Friel
Mary Louise Parker

If this was, indeed, the final Pushing Daisies episode of the season (come on, networks, be fair to your writers and settle this strike!), the show certainly left us with an intriguing cliff hanger.

What was it? Check out our full recap now and see for yourself. There are the usual Pushing Daisies quotes and photos from the hour, as well.

Also, as you long for the series to return, remember to visit our Pushing Daisies forum and talk about it with fans. It at least makes you feel connected to the characters in some way until they come back to us.

We've added nine new photos to our Pushing Daisies pics gallery over the last couple weeks. As you wait for next week's new episode, enjoy these...