St. Petersburg Times reporter Tom Tobin was expected to appear Thursday night in the first of two nights of reports on the Church of Scientology scheduled to air on ABC's late-night news magazine Nightline.

The show plans to explore much of the same ground the Times uncovered in its first three-part series on the Church published in June, The Truth Rundown, outlining tales of violence allegedly perpetrated against high-ranking church officials by leader David Miscavige.

According to  a spokeswoman for the show, Nightline on Thursday will feature interviews with at least some of the sources featured in the Times' reporting -- former high-ranking Church officials coming forward to publicly reveal controversial stories about Scientology leadership in a way never seen before. The show also features a recently-recorded interview with church spokesman Tommy Davis.

Friday's story is expected to focus on the celebrity angle of Scientology -- the church has aggressively courted celebrities such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta for decades -- showing how famous names are treated inside the group and examining how Miscavige may be influencing Cruise's behavior, according to the spokeswoman.

Nightline airs at 11:35 p.m. weeknights on ABC, WFTS-Ch. 28 locally. It is likely the Scientology stories will fill 60 percent of each night's show.