Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie star in "Doctor Who"

'Doctor's' orders: After much searching and speculation, The Doctor's new companion has finally been found. Relatively unknown British actress Pearl Mackie has been cast to star in the 10th season of BBC's "Doctor Who," following the departure of Jenna Coleman ("Emmerdale"), who spent three seasons as the Doctor's companion.

Mackie appeared in the British film "Svengali" (2013) alongside Martin Freeman ("Sherlock") and Michael Socha ("Once Upon a Time"), but "Doctor Who" is her first big shot at stardom.

"I'm incredibly excited to be joining the 'Doctor Who' family," Mackie said when her casting was announced. "It's such an extraordinary British institution. I couldn't be prouder to call the TARDIS my home."

Mackie gets to star alongside the current Doctor, Peter Capaldi ("World War Z," 2013), who is set to return for his third season as the show's titular Time Lord.

The new companion, whose name is Bill, is featured in a short video (available online now) introducing her to the world's "Doctor Who" fans. It reveals Bill as a talkative lady with a lot of grit and gumption, who seems unshaken by her first encounter with a Dalek, one of "Doctor Who's" most nefarious villains.

The 10th season of the series began filming this month, and besides the addition of Mackie to the cast, there's another milestone on the horizon: the program's showrunner, Steven Moffat ("Sherlock"), will be moving on next year after more than decade of shaping the show's direction.

"Doctor Who" companions come and go, but with the sort of international reach it gets, it could be the perfect jumping-off point for Pearl Mackie and her acting career. The 10th season of the BBC hit is currently in production. 

Questions answered: What was last summer's hit game show that pitted some of the country's smartest minds against some of the most brain-puzzling general knowledge questions ever devised? The answer, of course, is "500 Questions," which ran for seven consecutive weeknights on ABC last summer and is coming back for another season of trivia, starting Thursday, May 26, with a two-hour premiere.

It's more than just a new season with new contestants, though. This sophomore run of "500 Questions" also has a new host. "Nightline" co-anchor Dan Harris is taking over the hosting duties from CNN anchor Richard Quest, who hosted last season.

And that's not the only familiar face who will be on the show's set. In a test to see if lightning really can strike twice, "Jeopardy" legend Ken Jennings, who famously won a record 74 "Jeopardy" games in a row, will be competing in "500 Questions."

In this game show, a trivia buff is tasked with answering 500 trivia questions drawn from a wealth of categories without getting three wrong in a row. 

By the end of the first season, no contestant had come even close to the magical 500 mark, but with experienced game show trivia buff Jennings taking a shot at it, this season may be the one that finally sees someone take home the grand prize.

"500 Questions" returns to ABC Thursday, May 26.

Fostering a happy home: A hit Freeform (formerly ABC Family) series is diversifying its cast. Elliot Fletcher has signed on to play a recurring character in the upcoming fourth season of "The Fosters," Freeform's family drama series. 

The actor holds the distinction of being the first openly intersex actor to play an intersex character on screen, which he does in MTV's romantic comedy "Faking It." He's set to make his "Fosters" debut in the July 11 episode (the show premieres Monday, June 20), in which he plays a good-looking young law student with whom one of the other characters has a chance meeting in a coffee shop.

"The Fosters" stars Teri Polo ("Meet the Parents," 2000) and Sherri Saum ("Rescue Me") as Stef and Lena Foster, a married couple raising a mixed family consisting of their biological and adopted children, along with two foster kids who have been rescued from an abusive home.

Noah Centineo ("How to Build a Better Boy," 2014), David Lambert ("Aaron Stone"), Hayden Byerly ("Parenthood"), Maia Mitchell ("Teen Beach Movie," 2013) and Cierra Ramirez ("The Secret Life of the American Teenager") all star as the couple's diverse cast of kids, while Danny Nucci ("Titanic," 1997) stars as Stef's ex-husband and the father of one of the children.

With the entire premise of the show being a same-sex married couple raising a family, and more traditionally "adult" plot lines frequently popping up, "The Fosters" has never been a show that's afraid to push the boundaries of its audience.

The fourth season of "The Fosters" premieres Monday, June 20, on Freeform, with Fletcher first appearing later in the season.