This Week In Television: Nathan Fillion On The Big Bang Theory, Saved By The Bell Reunion, and More

Contributions from Amanda Coyne, Lindsay MacDonald, and Ashley Bissette Sumerel

We’ve got news of this week’s awkward moments, upcoming special guest appearances, and even an epic cast reunion. As always, you can expect some spoilers!

 

Nathan Fillion To Guest Star On The Big Bang Theory

Nathan Fillion revealed exclusively to EW that he will be making a cameo on The Big Bang Theory – as himself. The show has mentioned many times how big a Firefly fan Sheldon is, so you can probably expect them to throw in a few Captain Mal and Serenity references for good measure.

Milo Ventimiglia to Join the Cast of Gotham

If you’re a Heroes or Gilmore Girls fan, you might have heard the news about this fan favorite actor’s new role. Milo Ventimiglia is gearing up for an extended run on Gotham as the series’ new villain, The Ogre. We’ve got a wait ahead of us, as Ventimiglia won’t make his first appearance until episode 19 in April, but it’s promising to be an exciting one!

The Cast of Saved By The Bell Reunites, and It’s Amazing

On Jimmy Fallon this week, the cast of Saved By The Bell reunited for a hilarious skit that highlighted some of the most iconic moments of the 90s series as well as referencing some of the things the actors have gone on to do since. Check it out below!

Damon Wayans To Leave New Girl

Yep. He’s leaving again. Damon Wayans told TV Line this week that he would not be returning to New Girl after the end of the Season 4. Instead, he’s leaving himself open to other opportunities.

The Blacklist Is Back

The Blacklist returned with a two-episode mid-season premiere that left our heads spinning. “Luther Braxton” aired immediately following the Super Bowl on Sunday — and boy, were fans on Twitter upset when it didn’t start quite soon enough. Then, Blacklist made its move to Thursday night with an episode that focused very much on Elizabeth Keen. Be sure to catch up with our reviews of each!

Empire Ratings Continue to Rise

For the fifth week in a row, ratings rose for Fox’s new golden child Empire, breaking the typical downward trend you see in the first run of a new series. Here’s a recap of this week’s episode:

Cookie is still the queen of Empire after this week’s episode. She manages, seemingly in a very short time, to bride her way onto the Empire board, take out a hit on an enemy she made when she cooperated with the Feds (she knows this enemy is after her because he leaves a rose at her door – his calling card), and save Jamal from losing precious recording time (after the studio gets shot up) by calling in a bunch of newcomers. Meanwhile, Lucious strong arms Anika’s father into giving him a clean bill of health for the Empire board, even though he knows Lucious is dying, and Hakeem has to deal with his girlfriend having a girlfriend. Jamal and Hakeem continue to compete, and Jamal accuses Hakeem of being behind the shooting at the recording studio. The episode ends with Lucious asking Cookie if she got his anniversary gift. She’s confused. You know, the rose, he says. Whoops. Cookie tries to call off the hit, but it’s too late.

The Bachelor Gets Awkward

This week, Chris and the girls headed to New Mexico for more awkward times and more awkward confessions. The first date card was for Carly and it was… possibly the most uncomfortable scene ever to air on television. Ever. They went to a sex therapist and all of America had to look away.

The group date for the week was white water rafting, which started out fun, but then Jade fell in the water and apparently she has some condition where she can’t get cold, so Chris rubbed her feet while everyone else jealously watched. Then, when it was supposed to be cocktail party time, drunk Jordan showed back up asking Chris for a second chance. He sorta said yes, but then all the other girls were really mad, so he said no and she had to leave.

Then Britt and Chris went on a hot air balloon ride and took a ‘nap’. Also, Britt doesn’t shower. Finally, before the rose ceremony Kelsey broke into Chris’s hotel room to confide in him that she is a widow. But she also made out with him right after and seems weirdly giddy about the whole thing. At the rose ceremony Chris breaks down and walks away. In the last four minutes of the episode Kelsey storms off and then has a nervous breakdown. 911 is called. To be continued…