Taryn Manning will be a guest star on the first new episode of “Law & Order: SVU” in 2011 – airing Wednesday January 5, at 10pm on NBC. I have just added 3 production stills from the episode into the gallery!

LAW & ORDER: SVU Season 12 Episode 12 “Possessed” – Detective Saliyah “Sunny” Qadri (Aghdashloo) goes in search of Brooklyn District Attorney Page Ferguson, who she fears may be in danger. Qadri finds Ferguson just in time to witness her fall from the top of a parking garage. When Benson (Hargitay) arrives, she discovers that the crime scene has been tampered with. Benson turns to an old friend, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Danielson (guest star Gloria Reuben) for help. As the investigation progresses, Benson begins to question Ferguson’s suspicious past and Qadri’s involvement in the case.

I have good news and bad news for fans of Taryn Manning, who have been patiently waiting for her Hawaii Five-0 character (Steve McGarrett’s spunky kid sis, MaryAnn) to break out with a stronger screen presence. The Jan. 3 episode finally allows the actress to take center stage when MaryAnn gets kidnapped. It’s all part of a plot connected to the villainous Wo Fat and the murder of Steve and MaryAnn’s mother. But — without giving away the tearjerker ending — something happens during the course of the episode that could potentially make this Taryn’s swan song on the CBS crime drama.

The drama begins when Steve (Alex O’Loughlin) rushes to his sister’s new apartment and discovers “there was a struggle,” explains Taryn, who has been waiting months for an opportunity to demonstrate the acting skills that brought her attention in such films as 8 Mile and Hustle & Flow. “Steve discovers a tooth on the ground, basically establishing that MaryAnn was a badass and fought her whole way through. There’s a lot of emotion.”

So is Steve about to lose the last surviving member of his immediate family? My lips are sealed! But I hear one person who is sorry to be saying goodbye to Taryn is Alex. During my last visit to the Hawaiian set, Alex told me, “I haven’t worked with Taryn as much as I would like. She brings out a certain paternal caring that Steve wouldn’t normally have. With both their parents gone, he feels an obligation to keep an eye on her; especially since she’s troubled and kind of out of control.”

Indeed, Taryn confides that “Alex wasn’t very happy” with the producers’ decision to alter their plans for Mary Ann. “He liked me and liked our relationship. He felt my character was necessary to explore further aspects of his role and was prepared to fight for me.”

Taryn also expresses her thanks to Daniel Dae Kim (Chin Ho), who she says, “sat down with me and had a little heart to heart to make sure I felt okay about everything. He’s very thoughtful.”

MaryAnn proved a challenge for producers from the beginning. She was originally slated to appear in the first four episodes and recur throughout the season. “The family mystery was supposed to slowly unfold over the first season and I was going to play a big part in that with my own Nancy Drew mission,” says Taryn, who had been under the impression that her character would even return for future seasons. “It was told to me that the first season would be based around the team more, and I should just hang tight.”

However, producers chose to shift greater focus to McGarrett’s professional associations and less on his personal life. There was also concern that too much was being revealed too soon about the murdered mother. Also taken in the upcoming episode is Steve’s father’s lock box, which contains clues to the mother’s disappearance. “I think they were going to show more of this throughout the season, but now it’s all wrapped up in this episode,” says Taryn.

Before the episode’s end, Mary Ann will encourage her brother to keep delving further in to the case, and the team will be further aided by evidence discovered on MaryAnn’s cell phone. The final image, teases Taryn, is of Steve experiencing “sadness over another loss.”

The busy 32-year-old hasn’t allowed professional disappointments to get her down. A Buddhist who sits cross-legged and chants every morning and night, Taryn had been toting a travel-size altar back and forth from Los Angeles to Hawaii, which she credits for “quieting her mind from all the chitter chatter.”

In addition to focusing on her music (one of her songs, “Spotlight,” was played in an early episode of Hawaii Five-0 and is available on iTunes), she will guest star in a January episode of Law & Order: SVU. She may also return to her recurring role on Sons of Anarchy, and is mulling an offer to play Janis Joplin in an independent film. As for Five-0, she has no regrets: “I chanted to get this show and the benefits have been priceless.”

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Added captures of Taryn from this past week’s episode of Sons of Anarchy. As usual she was wonderful!

I have just added 127 captures of Taryn Manning from last night’s episode of “Hawaii Five-0″ into our gallery!

Taryn’s first episode of “Hawaii Five-0″ aired last night and I have just added 171 captures from the episode into our gallery!

We have the first still of Taryn Manning from “Hawaii Five-0″ – I have just added it into our gallery!

She will be making her first appearance as Mary Ann in episode 4 titled “Lanakila” – which airs on Monday October 11th at 10pm on CBS.

Taryn has appeared on “Sons Of Anarchy” this week and last – we have captures from both of the episodes in our gallery now!

Taryn Manning may play the less crime-savvy sister of Det. Steve McGarrett on “Hawaii Five-O,” but she’s prepping to expand her role should duty call.

The actress said she’s been hard at work on the Hawaiian set of the heavily promoted CBS show and her producers are attempting to give her character a bit more depth beyond emotional ballast.

“They are establishing her with a skill set,” Manning told PopcornBiz. “We’re starting to see that she’s really good on computers.”

“She’s off on her own Nancy Drew little mission to figure out stuff about her own family.”

Manning jetted off the Hawaiian set of “5-0″ to speak to us from the premiere of her heart-wrenching drama “Love’s Rain,” where she plays the victim of a terrible crime. But back in Hawaii, she’s all about the new CBS crime-fighting show that premieres on Sept. 20.

So could the “5-0″ show’s producers have a greater plan for her character? Perhaps make her part of the crime busting team as the season progresses? “I think she could be,” Manning said. “She’s got the skills.”

The actress will be introduced to the series as McGarrett’s (Alex O’Loughlin) estranged sister brought into the scene due to a family drama. Sister for now, perhaps more in the future.

To answer the inevitable follow-up, Manning replies, “Yes, I’m good with a gun.”

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The future of Taryn Manning on Hawaii Five-O is unclear. The actress has reportedly been cast on that new CBS drama as Mary Ann McGarrett, but does not appear at all on the pilot.

However, the future of Manning on Sons of Anarchy is bright: sources confirm she’ll reprise the role of Cherry this fall.

Manning last appeared on Sons of Anarchy in November 2008.

During that episode, her character admitted to Gemma that her real name was Rita; she was still “sorta married;” and, oh yeah: she was wanted for grand theft and arson.

She then went on the run and hasn’t been heard from since. But Manning will appear on at least three episodes of season three of the show, which returns to FX this October. We can’t wait.

Personally, I can not wait! I’d love to see her and Kip ‘Half Sack’ Epps on the screen together. Also, can’t go wrong with Sons of Anarchy and Charlie Hunnam on screen together.

I have just added 161 captures of Taryn from her guest appearance on this week’s episode of “Melrose Place” titled “Grand”. Click on the thumbnails below to see all the captures from the show…