Today in news of things you already assumed but still appreciate hearing: Elizabeth Banks is returning to 30 Rock

By Sean O'Neal | March 29, 2012 | 9:59pm

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Earlier this year, the sudden transformation of Kim Jong Il into his new, ball-of-undying-light form sent thousands of wailing mourners into the streets, scraping the sidewalks with their foreheads as they unleashed their baffled, guttural cries to the heavens about what this might mean for 30 Rock. But soon they were comforted by producer Robert Carlock’s reassurances that the show would indeed address the sudden changes in North Korea and how they would affect kidnapped journalist Avery Jessup, and today they can also take solace and shut up knowing that Banks is officially slated to appear sometime during May sweeps.

TV Line confirmed Avery’s return (alongside a somewhat spoiler-y synopsis for the recently announced live episode, if you want to read that), although it stops short of revealing her fate—saving that particular surprise for the inevitable over-sharing NBC promo. But considering Carlock said they were trying to “figure out how to get her out of there,” you can probably assume that Kidnapped By Danger: The Avery Jessup Story, Brought To You With Limited Commercial Interruptions By Pride Bladder Control Pads. Pride: Make Every Room A Bathroom did its job, and that Avery will soon make a triumphant return to New York, then explode herself as a sleeper suicide bomber. Or, perhaps something a little more lighthearted.