'Idol' Runner-Up Gets 'Ugly'

[Brian Damage]

"American Idol" will be in full swing come Feb. 1, but that night you'll find last season's runner-up on another network.

Katharine McPhee will make a guest appearance on ABC's "Ugly Betty" on Thursday, Feb. 1, the first night of sweeps. The sweeps guest-star parade on the network will also include Margot Kidder ("Superman"), who will pop up on "Brothers & Sisters" Sunday, Feb. 11.

McPhee will be playing herself on "Ugly Betty." The Feb. 1 episode centers on fashion week, and she's a celebrity guest at the Mode runway show. Not coincidentally, Feb. 1 is also two days after McPhee's debut album hits stores.

As for Kidder, she'll play a character named Emily Craft on "Brothers & Sisters." The episode, "Valentine's Day Massacre," finds Nora (Sally Field) having dinner with a friend (Kidder, presumably) and later taking "a risky ride that could land her in trouble."

Kidder is best-known for playing Lois Lane in the Christopher Reeve "Superman" films, cachet she traded on for a guest role on "Smallville" a couple of seasons ago. Her credits include "The Amityville Horror," "The Great Waldo Pepper" and a slew of TV roles, including parts on "Boston Common," "Law & Order: SVU" and "The L Word."