Guest Star Goodness: Franklin & Bash “Waiting on a Friend” 

Warning: Major Spoilers for episode

Apparently, “Waiting on a Friend” is the episode before the Franklin & Bash summer finale. Who knew? And how has the summer season gone by so quickly? You know the finale is going to be big when the episode that has Jared and Peter being accused of misconduct and defending themselves is second to last. Some thoughts:

• I wish the flashbacks had been even more extensive. Loved finding out the origin stories of how everybody met.

• The changing hairstyles were ridiculous. Awesomely ridiculous.

• Pindar being too cool for school was too good to be true. Loved seeing him that way, however.

• Carmen’s just a badass character, isn’t she? I love how she dealt with Tafflinger.

• Jared’s real name is Elmo? I have no response to that.

• I love how Peter was a bit chubby when he was a kid. And Jared was the taller one. Hilarious.

• I did feel some chemistry between Jared and Emily. They’ll make a cute (and tiny) couple.

• Very interesting to see how Jared was the initiator of the Franklin and Bash courtroom antics. It makes sense because he still takes things to another level, especially in the office. I just always thought Peter would have been right there with him. And he wasn’t. Until they won that first case, that is.

• How many women were in bed with Stanton? He’s got some serious game. But it’s touching how much he wants to protect Jared and Peter. He’ll go to the mat for them.

• Too little Hanna again. Boo. Although, I’m so glad Tafflinger didn’t have to interview her in order to make a case against Franklin and Bash.

Tons of guest stars to talk about. Let’s get started with this latest Guest Star Goodness:

Synopsis for “Waiting on a Friend”: Peter and Jared must clear their name when a former client is arrested for skipping trial, only to accuse her two lawyers of paying her to disappear. This promotes an internal, misconduct, investigation at Infeld-Daniels against the pair that could cost them their job. Jared meets an unexpected love interest when some New York associates show up in LA to investigate the claims. In this episode we also see how the dynamic legal duo of Franklin and Bash (along with Pindar and Carmen) came to be.

David Costabile
F&B Role: Richard Tafflinger, an Infeld-Daniels Senior Partner out of the New York office. He’s also the firm’s HR hatchet man. When he’s around, somebody’s in trouble or getting fired. He’s in the LA office because of a case against Franklin and Bash. You never know what’s up with this guy but you suspect it’s nothing good. Stanton was pretty sure he was trying to railroad Jared and Peter in order to get at him. There’s definitely some bad blood between Stanton and Tafflinger.
The Actor: This summer, Costabile has mainly been a troubling presence in another law firm called Pearson and Hardman. That’s the firm on USA Network’s Suits. As Hardman, Costabile has been helping make season 2 a turbulent and tense one for Jessica and Harvey. Other than Suits, he’s had sizable roles on The Wire, Flight of the Conchords, Damages and Breaking Bad. He’s also recently guest starred on episodes of The Good Wife and Person of Interest. Love this guy.

Shiri Appleby
F&B Role: Emily Adams, Tafflinger’s associate at the New York law firm. She’s there to help investigate Franklin and Bash. In the end, she ends up falling for Jared. Very cute.
The Actress: Appleby was Liz Parker on the WB’s late great sci fi show, Roswell. She was on a short-lived series called Six Degrees. She recurred on ER as an intern. More recently, she played a mom of a teenager on the CW’s Life Unexpected. Loved that show lots. And if you haven’t checked out her season of the web series, Dating Rules from my Future Self, you need to. The web soap is about to begin its second season of which Appleby is a producer. Season 2 starts August 2 with resident Vampire Diaries scene stealer, Candice Accola, as the lead. Here’s the trailer:

A.J. Trauth

F&B Role: The lawyer for Tammi, the ex-client accusing Franklin & Bash of misconduct.
The Actor: On Disney Channel’s Even Stevens, he was Louis’ best friend Alan Twitty. You know who played Louis, right? That would be Shia LaBeouf. Trauth also had a role on a blink-and-you’d-miss-it series called Pepper Dennis (starring Rebecca Romijn and Lindsay Price). And he’s guest starred on Rules of Engagement, 7th Heaven and Ghost Whisperer.

Carla Gallo

F&B Role: Tammi, Franklin and Bash’s ex-client who accused them of paying her off and then forgetting about her once they got their big, fancy, law firm jobs. She was trying to get her revenge on them and it didn’t work. It all came down to a tattoo that was strategically placed on her left breast.
The Actress: Gallo’s had roles on Undeclared, Carnivàle and Californication. The lucky girl played Scott Bakula’s much younger girlfriend on Men of a Certain Age and she’s Daisy Hicks, the squintern that ends up falling in love with Sweets on Bones.

Jake Busey

F&B Role: Dr. Doug, Franklin and Bash’s go to tattoo/tattoo removal artist, who calls Tammi one of his clients.
The Actor: Gary Busey’s son, Jake co-starred in the short-lived but memorably titled Shasta McNasty on UPN; he’s guest starred on Karen Cisco, The Mentalist, The Closer and The Finder. On the big screen, he starred in the movies Starship Troopers and PCU.

Ernie Hudson

F&B Role: The judge in Franklin and Bash’s trial
The Actor: This awesome actor is Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters series of films. The veteran of TV and movies has had roles on Flamingo Road, St. Elsewhere, Law & Order, Desperate Housewives, White Collar and Heroes. Plus, he was Warden Leo Glynn on Oz, one of the finest HBO series of all time.

Kimberly Caldwell

F&B Role: Bree, Tammi’s former roller derby coach.
The Actress: Kimberly first came on the scene as a finalist in season 2 of American Idol. She had a Melissa Etheridge sort of feel to her voice. Ruben Studdard won her season. Caldwell also served as a host for TV Guide Network’s Idol Tonight and hosted a search for America’s best tattoo artist called Best Ink. It aired on Oxygen earlier this year.

The Franklin & Bash summer finale airs Tuesday, August 14 at 10/9c on TNT.