And here's another surprise: BOO! (A short pause) SURPRISE!!!!!......

by Maria Virobik

Ian Sander, one of the executive producers of CBS' Ghost Whisperer, told reporters that Jay Mohr will play a professor in the upcoming second season”and hinted that viewers may not have seen the last of Andrea, Aisha Tyler's character, who appeared to have perished in the first-season finale.

"You may have heard that Camryn Manheim is joining the show," Sander said in a news conference at Comic-Con International in San Diego. "She will bring a whole other level ... [and] depth to the show, [and] we're really looking forward to exploring ... [her] character. ... Jay Mohr is [also] joining the show. We will have a season-long arc with Jay. He actually worked his first day yesterday, and he's a pleasure. ... He plays a great character, ... a professor [who Melinda] goes to. ... He's funny [and] edgy."

The season finale saw the death of Andrea Moreno (Tyler), the best friend of psychic Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt). But is she gone for good? Sander declined to offer specifics, but he confirmed that the audience has not seen the last of Andrea. "I'm not going to tell you how it's going to play out, but the idea of the season finale was something that we had been dealing with for quite some time," he said. He added: "Ghost Whisperer is a little bit different than most shows. Just because we kill somebody doesn't mean they go away. We deal in the past with flashbacks. We deal in the present as we all know it, and we deal in afterlife. We deal with good, and we deal with evil. I can tell you that [Tyler's] character will play out in all of the above, ... and hopefully it will be surprising. If you think you know how it's going to end, I hope that we're going to surprise you." Sander also declined to say whether Tyler, who has left the show, would appear.

Kim Moses, an executive producer, said separately that Mohr's casting has spurred positive fan feedback. "When ... [Mohr] gave an interview last week that he was going to be going on Ghost Whisperer, ... we monitor the [Internet] chat every day, and it just spiked," she said. "The guys went crazy, because ... they love him, and he's a nice, fresh surprise for a traditional television show."

Ghost Whisperer returns in the fall and will air Fridays on CBS at 8 pm ET/PT.

Story: © 2006 SciFi Channel - an NBC Universal Company. All Rights Reserved.
Image: © 2005 Touchstone Television LLC - a Walt Disney Company and Paramount Pictures Corporation - a Viacom Company. All Rights Reserved.