Here’s a quick look at some of the casting announcements made recently:

Greek: Some Kind of Wonderful’s object of desire is now the parent of a college student. Lea Thompson will guest on the ABC Family show as Cappie’s mother. Her arrival will happen during an ‘80s-themed episode. The show kicks off again on January 25.

The Vampire Diaries: The L Word‘s Mia Kirshner has been given a recurring part on the CW program. The actress has been cast as the wife of Matt’s history teacher. Look for the “sweet-yet-dangerous” character to emerge on January 21.

Big Love: The HBO series will be down one woman in just a few months. Mamma Mia‘s Amanda Seyfried has decided to leave the drama to pursue her big screen prospects full time. Fortunately, Sarah Henrickson will be around for most of the season beginning January 10.

Nurse Jackie: A different cable program has decided to drop a character from its upcoming season altogether. Haaz Sleiman, who played gay nurse Mohammed “Mo-Mo” De La Cruz, will be absent when the program returns on March 22. No explanation from Showtime has been given.

True Blood: The Season 3 cast of this bloody-good hit jumps keeps growing. Lindsay Pulsipher (The Beast) will play Crystal, a woman with an “electric connection” with Jason; James Frain (The Tudors) will appear as Franklin Mott, Tara’s vampire man; Natasha Alam (The Bold and the Beautiful) will romance Eric; Sam will call J. Smith-Cameron (Law & Order) “mom”; Alfre Woodard (Three Rivers) will call Layfette “son”; and Joe Manganiello (One Tree Hill) has nabbed the role of Alcide Herveaux, Sookie’s werewolf crush.