Matt's Inside Line: Scoop On Manifest, Ghosts, Chicago Fire, Grey's Anatomy, All American, 9-1-1, NCIS: LA And More

Will Manifest's final season flashback to a pivotal moment? Who helps whom woo whom on Ghosts? Who is left singed by Chicago Fire tragedy? Read on for answers to those questions plus scoop on many other shows. (You can and should email any brand-new Qs to InsideLine@tvline.com.)

Hawkins' death on Chicago Fire was tragic. Can we expect to see Violet more forward in upcoming episodes? –Lina"

"You're definitely going to see Violet have to cope with a whole new challenge," says portrayer Hanako Greensmith. "I'm confident in saying it's not something that I or Violet had to experience before. And so I think family is going to have a whole new meaning for her coming through that challenge and seeing how the firehouse really is able to be there for her in that time. it's definitely going to be a story shift for a lot of people, and I think it'll be exciting, and I'm excited to see how the fans react to it."

Any scoop on the new season of 9-1-1? –Erica

I am hearing that the sixth episode of Season 6, airing in late October, will be a flashback-heavy episode a la "When Hen Met Karen" — interspersed with the 118 racing to the rescue when Karen's lab suffers an massive explosion on the day Denny tags along to work with her.

Anything NCIS: LA-related would be awesome! –Ellie

"Down the line," showrunner R. Scott Gemmill told me, "we are going to introduce someone that Rountree used to work with from the FBI. Basically, it was a love interest that kind of went a little awry, so suddenly he's forced to work with someone he might not've called back when he should have, that sort of thing. It also creates some fun with him and Fatima."

Since we now know about Zeke's empathic abilities on Manifest, will that ability grow and evolve this season? And will it have an impact on Zeke's marriage to Michaela? –Angelica

I asked your question of Matt Long whilst moderating Manifest's PaleyFest NY panel this Tuesday night (see action shot above!), and Zeke's portrayer answered, in short, "Yes. And yes." (You can hear Long's detailed response once video of my 40-minute Q&A with the cast and showrunner Jeff Rake surfaces.)

Since there will be a two-year time jump when Manifest returns, will we not get to see how Zeke and Mick's "We need to talk" conversation went? –Dee

The same Matt Long confirmed at PaleyFest NY that, in fact, an early Season 4 episode will flash back to that delicate conversation — which I have watched, by the way, and it is some of Long and Melissa Roxburgh's nicest work.

My question for the Manifest cast: Now that you know how the show ends, is it what you expected for your character? –Daniela

I will just say that when I asked the cast for a show of hands as I asked, "Who was most surprised by where their character ended up in the series finale?", J.R. Ramirez's arm shot up fastest and highest. Long's Luna Blaise (who plays Olive) and Josh Dallas (Ben) were not far behind. (Reminder: Part 1 of Manifest's final, 20-episode season arrives Nov. 4 on Netflix.)

Do you know if Sami Gayle will be returning to Blue Bloods this season as Nicky Reagan? –Steve

I checked in on a possible Nicky visit when I spoke to showrunner Kevin Wade, and while he at first said, "Hopefully she'll swing by," he did go on to explain that "sometimes characters age out, in the sense that Nicky went off to college and then moved to San Francisco, and I realized, 'We don't have the real estate to tell Nicky stories.' But once it had become long enough, it was almost like, 'Well, we should bring her back at least for a family dinner, at least to meet Joe Hill.' We actually were going to do that least season, and I don't think her schedule matched up with ours."

Anything on #OneChicago, especially Chicago Med? –Laurel

Crockett will become a different level of local hero when he saves the life of a very wealthy entrepreneur. "He's dealing with a kind of celebrity as a doctor that he never faced before," executive producer Andrew Schneider previews. Beyond said brush with fame, "He will have a new doctor that he'll be interacting with most of the new season, which could be a romantic relationship."

We lived in the Portland Metro area for several years and have been interested in CBS' So Help Me Todd since it is Portland-based — lots of Portland and Oregon-local references, lots of cutaways to familiar landmarks and scenery. Then we discovered that the show is actually shot in Vancouver. But while So Help Me Todd is not Portland-produced, it does seem like ABC's Alaska Daily is actually shot in Alaska. Is it? –Jim

To paraphrase the great Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher, it's all Vancouver nowadays, Jim! Alaska Daily's pilot and portions of Episode 2 were filmed in Alaska, but the rest of the filming is based out of Vancouver.

Do you have any scoop on where Ghosts might take us in Season 2? –Laura

Next Thursday's episode of the CBS hit features a storyline that "was sort of based on some of my friends in like the early 2010s that used to memorize all the colors of the OPI nail polish," executive producer Joe Port says. "Trevor's advice is to 'be interested in things that women are interested in and then they'll like that.' So he advises Thor to take interest in some of Flower's interests to try to make headway with her."

What can we expect from NCIS' Parker and his ex-wife Vivian this season? –Regio

Nothing more, anytime soon. "There are no plans at the moment" for Vivian tor return, says showrunner Steven D. Binder, "but we loved working with Teri [Polo] — and loved the dynamic between Parker and Vivian even more, so there is always a possibility."

Walker's Cassie and Trey as neighbors has the potential to be a lot of fun, but am I also sensing some non-platonic chemistry between the two of them? –Leanne

"Not intentionally," says showrunner Anna Fricke. "We were joking, actually, in the writers' room that [Jeff Pierre] has chemistry with a broom — he's just so charming and warm that it may very well read as something non-platonic. But it's not our intention."

How many episodes can we expect for Season 3 of Walker and Season 1 of Walker Independence? –Alexander

Walker is on track for 18 episodes this season, while Indy, as with all freshman (fall) shows, starts out with a 13-episode order that in success can be added to.

What can be teased for Season 5 of All American? -H.

The most mature person in the Vortex friend group this season is going to be... Asher?! According to showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll, it's true. "The student coaching thing is really working for him," she says, though Asher's success could complicate his relationship with BFF and fellow footballer JJ. "[We'll see Asher] actually being seen as a legitimate asset to the team, and what that means in terms of his role with his players... He's really getting to dig into the intricacies of college football from a coach's perspective, and that's going to come with some pretty big highs and lows."

Will psy hounds, witches or other supernatural creatures ever appear on Vampire Academy? –KoS

"I don't think so. I don't think there's any of that left," EP Julie Plec answered when we delivered your Q. "We are trying really hard to keep the magic as grounded as possible to avoid things like witches and 'end of the world' kind of prophecies. I've done that, and it's hard — it always kind of like gets away from you. So we've been really focused on keeping this more about vampires. But the show is not without its magical elements, and we'll definitely be seeing an increase in all that magic in the next few episodes."

Any chance Grey's Anatomy's Levi will get a new romance this season? –Larry

Showrunner Krista Vernoff explained that since Levi is chief resident this season, "that is taking up the bulk of his storytelling in the early episodes. He is chief resident in a hospital that doesn't have any other senior residents, so that's a lot of stress for him."

Do YOU want scoop on a favorite show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com! Questions left in Comments will not be read and may very well count against your final score. (With additional reporting by Lauren Piester, Vlada Gelman, Rebecca Iannucci and Charlie Mason)