After spending almost all of Season 6 off camera, and remaining a very big part of the storyline, Elizabeth Banks is set to reprise the recurring role of Avery Jessup on 30 Rock.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Banks will appear in an episode of 30 Rock later this season. Though the exact timing is uncertain, sources confirm that it won’t be for the recently announced live episode on April 26.

Banks, currently appearing as Effie Trinket in the blockbuster The Hunger Games, has 13 episodes of 30 Rock under her belt playing Jack’s journalist wife. Shortly after giving birth to their first child in Season 5, Avery was detained in North Korea while on assignment and forced to marry Kim Jong-un.

There has been lingering questions over how the series would handle the Avery storyline — mostly pertaining to Korean dictator Kim Jong Il’s December death, which happened after much of the current season was already filmed.

“We realized that, luckily, we hadn’t referred to King Jong Il by name yet — just to North Korea in general,” showrunner Robert Carlock said at the time. “The fun puzzle is turning around and trying to figure out how to get her out of there and how to continue things.”

Most recently on the series, Jack tried to raise awareness about Avery’s situation by producing the made-for-TV movie, Kidnapped by Danger, in which Jenna (Jane Krakowski) played Avery.

Mary Steenburgen has taken on the recurring role of Avery’s mother, Diana, since Banks was last on the show.

HollywoodReporter.com

The actress and her author/producer husband Max Handelman have sold a single-camera comedy titled Dave’s Dead to the top rated network. The project, which hails from 20th Century Fox Television, is being billed as Shaun of the Dead meets My Name is Earl.

The couple, who have been married for nearly a decade, will serve as non-writing executive producers on the comedy, joining a growing list of high-profile actors — including Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Portman and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith — getting involved as producers this development season.

In this case, Eric Siegel and Eric D. Wasserman (Traffic Light, Hard Times of RJ Berger, Roommates) are on board to write and executive produce the project.

Banks, whose on-camera TV credits include 30 Rock and Scrubs, is repped by UTA.

Source

You can learn more about the special and how to help the foundation at Stand Up 2 Cancer.org.

We went straight to the big-time fancy movie star herself for the answer and here’s what she had to say: “You would think I’ll be back. I am knocked up, for sure by Jack Donaghy on the show so you’ll have to wait and see.” A vague, non-committal yes? We’ll take it!

From E! Online