Lisa LoCicero

Fred Willard is stopping by 'The Closer' just in time to celebrate the TNT drama's 100th episode.

According to EW, Willard will play Santa. Sort of.

Willard's character is the owner of a Christmas village and he has delusions he's the real Santa Claus. Look for a serious casualty to happen -- via a zip line -- at the character's village.

The veteran actor was last seen on TV making a cameo on 'Franklin & Bash.'

In other casting news ...

Ski trip chaperones Olivia Falconeri and Steve Hardy have a blossoming romance on 'General Hospital.' However, it's about to truly hit the skids when a bus they're on goes over an ice patch and steers into trouble. Big trouble.

Olivia, Steve, Maxie and Matt will have to step up to save the children (including Michael and Kristina), but who will live and who (if anyone) will die? And just who will end saving whom?

The trip begins on Weds. Dec. 29, but the action will carry into 2011 thanks to ABC re-airing some classic 'GH' episodes on Dec. 30 and 31.

Read on for preview of the literal cliffhanger that's in store for some of your favorite 'GH' characters, straight from the actors themselves!

As we previously reported, James Franco made his big debut on 'General Hospital' this afternoon -- and we have the full scoop on what went down.

We already know that the movie star's run on the ABC soap opera is going to be loaded with surprises. For starters, although his debut was supposed to be today, regular 'GH' viewers noticed that the Golden Globe winner actually popped up on yesterday's episode (what would a soap be without twists?)

'GH' has done a great job of setting up Franco's introduction. From today's episode, we've gathered that his character, Franco, has photos of Claudia's dead body. Since A.J.'s Sonny's son Michael killed Claudia, the mobster is very interested in silencing the shutterbug/artist.

Read on for an analysis of Franco's official daytime debut.