Shows Get Post-Strike Power
1.Troubled pop star Britney Spears' highly anticipated stint on "How I Met Your Mother" is just one example of stars' helping to buff up a poststrike spring season on network TV. Spears plays Abby, a receptionist in a dermatologist's office who becomes smitten with Ted (Josh Radnor). However, her crush goes unrequited as Ted repeatedly pursues his dermatologist (Sarah Chalke).
2. "Scrubs" star Sarah Chalke, left, joined the cast of "How I Met Your Mother" for a multi-episode arc as Stella, Ted's beautiful dermatologist. "Clueless" star Alicia Silverstone, right, was reportedly slated to star as Ted's love interest but dropped out when she heard that Britney Spears would have a part on the show, according to the TV Guide Editors' Blog.
3. Britney isn't the only Spears hitting small screens. Pregnant teen screen star Jamie Lynn Spears, right, who rose to fame on Nickelodeon's "Zoey 101," guest-starred on the new sitcom starring Judy Greer, left, "Miss Guided." The 16-year-old actress filmed the role before news of her pregnancy hit newsstands in December 2007.
4. Ashton Kutcher tapped his family connections to add a little pizzazz to his new production, "Miss Guided." Kutcher's daughter-in-law Rumer Willis stars in the season finale (April 3) of the sitcom in which Willis plays Shawna, a rebellious student who receives six months' detention for pulling the fire alarm.
5. Actor Robin Williams, who is known for his more comedic roles, reportedly takes a dramatic turn for the crime drama "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit." On April 29, the Oscar winner plays an "engineer whose life has gone terribly wrong." It's the series' 200th episode, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
6. Billionaire Warren Buffet, right, plays himself on an episode of the daytime soap opera "All My Children." Buffet comes to the aide of Erica Kane (Susan Lucci), left, who is in prison on a fraud rap.
7. "Desperate Housewives" is beefing up its hunk factor with "O.C" star Chris Carmack this spring. When the series returns with new episodes, Carmack will play the young male cousin of Susan Meyer (Teri Hatcher), seen at left in a scene from an upcoming episode (April 13).
8. Rapper Snoop Dogg adds a little flav-izzle to daytime television with an extended cameo on "One Life to Live." In addition to a stint on the show as an actor and performer, the rapper will remix the soap opera's theme song for the May 8 and 9 episodes. The rapper also offers a lesson in his trademark lingo, which adds an izzle to the end of words, according to the New York Post.
9. Actress Michelle Trachtenberg battled demons as Buffy's little sister on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV series, but her latest role has her going up against the princesses of the Upper East Side in "Gossip Girl." Trachtenberg plays Georgina Sparks, who returns from rehab and wreaks a little havoc in the life of Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) in the multi-episode arc airing during May sweeps, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
10. "Family Ties" alum Justine Bateman joins the "Desperate Housewives" crew to play "a hip artist living with Gabby and Carlos," according to the TV Guide Editors' Blog. Bateman, who played Mallory on "Family Ties," recently had a stint on "Men in Trees."
11. "The Simpsons" are no stranger to high-profile guest stars. This spring, actress Zooey Deschanel, right, gets a cartoon makeover for the show and wins the heart of Bart when her farm girl character helps Bart rescue a calf from death, according to Entertainment Weekly's Web site. The mag's site also reports that actress Glenn Close, left, will reprise her role as Homer's "hippie-fugitive" mom, Mona.
12. Pop star Mariah Carey offers some superstar power to "American Idol" as a guest judge April 16, according to Fox News. The appearance is planned for the day after the release of Carey's latest album, "E=MC2."
13. BEVERLY HILLS, CA - DECEMBER 03: Actor Gary Cole attends the Help Group's Teddy Bear Ball at the Beverly Hilton on December 3, 2007 in Beverly Hills, California.
