Ask AfterEllen.com (Feb. 3, 2009)

Want to know the status of a particular movie, TV show, or band? Wondering what a certain actress is up to these days? Send your entertainment-related questions to askafterellen@gmail.com — with your first name, city and country — and we'll try to answer as many as we can.

Question: Is it true that the character of Anna Wu on Chuck is bisexual? ... I'm a sucker for bi women in sci-fi shows, so I'm wondering if this one should be on my radar.

— Sarah

Answer: Yes, Buy More employee Anna — played by Julia Ling — is bisexual, although it's understandable if you missed it: Anna's bisexuality has only been referenced once so far, in the first season when Anna quipped "speak for yourself!" to a comment from Morgan about none of them having sex with a beautiful woman. It's also referenced again in next week's episode.

Ling as Anna, left, and at a video game launch party in January

I asked Chuck co-executive producer Allison Adler a few questions about the character, including whether there's any same-sex relationships in Anna's future, and here's what she said:

Not this season, because we're exploring the Morgan-Anna relationship, which will come to a head sometime this season. But maybe next season. It's nothing we've really played with in the present because she's always had this Morgan crush, but in the absence of Morgan, we'd love to explore any of that.

"We really appreciate [Ling]," Adler added, "and think she's a tremendous addition to our cast."

What about Chuck's chances for a third season? "We have our fingers crossed," Adler said, "and hopefully we'll be able to explore all these things in a third season."

Chuck's one of the shows that I was iffy about at first, but it grew on me, especially in the second season. It's nice to see an Asian American female character in a semi-prominent role on TV, even if Wu doesn't get a girlfriend.

In an interview with TV Guide in December, Ling said about playing Anna, "I love the skirts, the boots — her outfits are so sexy. I like dressing all Goth, and I like the ass-kicking."

The 25-year-old actress speaks Mandarin, the Chinese dialect Trieu Chou, and German; graduated in second place in her California high school class, with a 4.0 GPA and perfect SAT scores; and describes herself as, "a nerd my whole life."

Smart, outspoken, and made her TV debut on Buffy the Vampire Slayer? I'm sold!

Here's Ling as Anna in an NBC.com webisode with a fellow Buy More employee, reviewing romantic comedies:

Learn more about Ling at julialing.net, and we'll keep you posted on any developments on Chuck.

Question: What's the latest on the development of the American version of Bad Girls, with Alan Ball at the helm?

— Mary Kelly, Newfoundland and Labrador

Question: I have been searching for any updates on the usa (alan ball/hbo) remake of uk's bad girls. i can't find anything beyond may/june '08. please find those beans and spill 'em :)

— Stephanie, Columbia, MO

Answer: I contacted HBO after being sent this question by dozens of readers in the last few weeks — clearly there's interest in this show! — and received this response from a publicist:

At the moment there is no updated information [on the Bad Girls remake]. Alan Ball is busy writing the second season of True Blood so I would guess we just need to keep this in the category of "in development." 

Sorry, American Bad Girls fans. But there's always The Farm! (Maybe.)

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