Eliza Dushku

Jensen Ackles—the delicious heartthrob whom you may remember from Dawson’s Creek, Days of Our Lives, Dark Angel and E! Online’s Sizzlin’ 16 2004—is joining Smallville this season. Everyone and their mother (even mine) knows that, has set the TiVo and has the drool bucket standing by. But here’s what you don’t know—he almost got a gig on one of our favorite shows, one that almost didn’t make it to its second season. Yep, Tru Calling.

A source tells me the producers were rabid about Jensen, asking him over and over to join the show as Eliza Dushku’s love interest for the new season. Seems they had it bad for him and were heartbroken when J.A. declined, only to take up residence in Smallville instead.

But here’s the genius part. Instead of crying over spilled yummies, the producers simply moved forward, cast some other schmoe and renamed the character Jensen. How scrumptious is that?

Now, mind you, both Smallville and Tru Calling shoot in Vancouver, Canada, so the casting peeps are still hoping Jensen might pop over for an episode or two. (Please, oh, please!)

Meanwhile, Tru herself, Eliza Dushku, was looking stunning per usual at Comic-Con and gave a few hints on what to expect in the upcoming season.

"We have Jason Priestley coming back, and I couldn’t be happier about that," says Eliza. "He’s been so much fun, and he’s great, because he gives Tru someone to play off. We know now what Tru’s job is in the universe, and now she appears to have an opposite. We’ll be asking, is one of them right? Is one of them wrong? We kind of open up the mythology a little bit."