Carol Burnett may guest star on 'Glee'

For a show that promises to dial down in the second season, "Glee" is sure acting like a show about to dial up: Carol Burnett has now been added to a list of stars expected to appear in the second season.

The short list of some other stars: Cheyenne Jackson . . . Javier Bardem . . . Susan Boyle . . . John Stamos . . . and Britney Spears - or at least her songs. Those are all locks, although Fox Wednesday declined to confirm an Entertainment Weekly report saying Broadway and TV legend Burnett, 77, would join the show as Sue Sylvester's (Jane Lynch) mother at some point in the fall.

At the TV critics' press tour in Beverly Hills on Monday, show runner Ryan Murphy said "We really do pull from the Broadway community," adding, "We . . . do love that sort of triple threat of actor/singer/dancer."

Burnett last was involved with Broadway in 2002's "Hollywood Arms," an adaptation of her memoir, "One More Time," though her most famous role - the musical one, anyway - was in 1960 as Princess Winnifred in "Once Upon a Mattress." The original "Carol Burnett Show" aired 1967 to 1978, and Burnett's triple-threat talents were keenly evident throughout the run.

But Burnett has also been a remarkably durable and effective guest on a number of series, with an Emmy-nominated run on "Mad About You" and particularly memorable outings on "Law & Order: SVU" (for which she also earned an Emmy) and "Desperate Housewives" as Bree's (Marcia Cross) Cruella De Vil mother.

The guest outing on Fox - assuming this is only a guest outing - is notable since Burnett sued Fox, alleging copyright infringement over use of her famous charwoman character on "Family Guy." A federal judge tossed the lawsuit in 2007.