The gang from Pushing Daisies talked to a sold out crowd at PaleyFest ‘08 last night, revealing behind-the-scenes tidbits plus some scoop about season 2. Attending the panel were Bryan Fuller (creator), Lee Pace (Ned), Anna Friel (Chuck), Kristin Chenoweth (Olive), Chi McBride (Emerson), Ellen Greene (Vivian), Peter Ocko (coexecutive producer), Dan Jinks (executive producer), Bruce Cohen (executive producer). In addition, Field Cate (Young Ned) and Sammi Hanratty (Young Chuck) walked the press line and were in the audience during the panel. Swoosie Kurtz (Lily) was originally scheduled to attend but was away tending to her ailing mother.

Scoop from the panel is under the cut, and the full set of photos is in the Gallery. For video clips, visit The Paley Center website - they already have a clip with Chi McBride available!

• The cast kept the audience - and each other - in stitches during the panel. They were clearly happy to be together again.
• Season 2 of Pushing Daisies begins filming in June. The writers are currently finishing the first script for season 2 and have the first five approved by the network.
• Bryan Fuller’s guest cast wish list includes the incomparable Carol Burnett.
• While season 1 was “a soft, romantic arc”, Fuller says in the second season they want to go “more stark, more dramatic.”
• The DVD set for season 1 is currently scheduled for release in September in the US and June in the UK. A soundtrack is also being discussed.
• It is unlikely Ned and Chuck could have children, because, says Fuller, “I think her egg would die when his sperm hit it.”
• Although it hasn’t been addressed on the show, Ned is a vegetarian by default. If he did eat meat, it would come back to life and “crawl out of him”, turning this into a horror show, obviously.
• Lee Pace sees the character of Ned as one with “longevity”, someone with a lot of layers to develop.
• Chi McBride revealed that his character, Malcolm, on the short-lived series The Nine was the one behind the bank robbery. “He had a lot of bills to pay.”
• After being offered the role of Vivian, Ellen Greene Googled everyone involved “and saw these were people of authenticity”.
• Anna Friel accidentally touches Lee “a lot” during scenes, meaning they have to reshoot. Lee prefers to sit on his hands to avoid accidentally ending the series by killing Chuck.
• Kristin and Chi broke out into an impromptu duet:
  • Kristin: I love you Chi, you rock my world,
    You’re very tall, I can tell when you need to trim your nose hair.
    Chi: I love you too, but you’re very short
    I can eat crackers on top of your head.
• Field Cate (Young Ned) suggested an episode where Young Ned and Young Emerson cross paths, which met with much applause from the audience.
• Sammi Hanratty (Young Chuck) asked if we would ever meet Emerson’s daughter. Fuller replied that Chi suggested that Emerson became a detective to look for his missing daughter, which Fuller thinks is an interesting way to go with that storyline.
• SPOILER: Chuck will find out who her real mother is in season 2, which will put a strain on her relationship with Ned.