TVLine Items: Derek Hough's Nashville Return, SVU's New Boss and More

One of Juliette Barnes’ former leading men is returning for an encore.

Derek Hough, who appeared in Nashville‘s third season as Juliette’s co-star in a Patsy Cline biopic, is coming back to the ABC drama as Noah West, E! Online reports.

Specific details about Hough’s comeback are being kept under wraps; considering Noah was M.I.A. for the biopic’s big premiere, we’re curious to see what will bring him back into the fold.

Ready for more of today’s newsy nuggets? Well…

* Rick Eid, who worked as a co-executive producer on Law & Order and a supervising producer on Law & Order: Trial By Jury, has been tapped to succeed Warren Leight as the new showrunner of Law & Order: SVU for its upcoming 18th season, per The Hollywood Reporter.

* American Idol Season 6 winner Jordin Sparks has been cast in Kevin Williamson’s ABC pilot Time After Time, our sister site Deadline reports. Based on the 1979 Karl Alexander novel, the series follows a young H.G. Wells (played by UnREAL‘s Freddie Stroma) in New York City. Sparks will play Jesse Givens, a fashion designer and roommate of Wells’ love interest.

* WGN America has renewed Outsiders for a second season.