Jimmy Kimmel has outdone himself with his latest post-Oscar telecast skit, the “Handsome Men’s Club,” in which a who’s who of People Sexiest Men Alive alumni join the late-night host in a very special club. Jimmy’s the president, but it turns out only one other person thinks he should even be a member.

I won’t list the celebs who co-star, because that would spoil the fun of seeing them as they pop up throughout, but there are actors, musicians, athletes … and a special “twist” at the end.

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• Filed in Award shows, Late Night, Ya Gotta See This!
• Tags: Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Kimmel Handsome Men's Club

It’s only one of the best TV-related books ever written, and given the recent Conan O’Brien/NBC/Jay Leno brouhaha, it seemed inevitable that New York Times TV industry scribe Bill Carter would write a sequel to his classic 1992 tome The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for the Night. Well, the sequel is definitely happening, as Carter confirmed today at Gawker.com.

Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily reported in December that Carter was working on a new book, but he was sorta denying it was a Late Shift sequel. At Gawker.com today, though, he confirms the Conan/Leno battle will be a focus of the new book, which will be published by Viking.

As for when it will hit bookshelves (or Kindle and Nook and iPad screens), the release date may not be before Fall, though Carter tells Gawker, “The events of the past month have made it kind of important to get it out as soon as we can, but the story is still going on.”

Meanwhile, Finke had suggested in her December story that Carter was having trouble getting access to David Letterman for the new book, but the NYT reporter’s story on the behind-the-scenes finagling by Letterman and company to make that Leno/Oprah Winfrey/Letterman Super Bowl ad happen suggests he’s got some sources at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

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• Filed in Late Night, TV News
• Tags: Bill Carter The Late Shift, Letterman Conan Leno, The Late Shift

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- R.I.P. Trapper John, M.D. and Bonanza star Pernell Roberts, who died Sunday after a battle with cancer. He was 81.

- Michael Lynche’s dad probably shouldn’t be expecting a great Father’s Day gift this year. Lynche has reportedly been bounced from the American Idol top 24 for season nine after his dad broke a confidentiality agreement and talked about his son’s participation to a newspaper. Meanwhile, if you want more AI spoilers, check out Rickey.org for names and photos of the alleged top 24.

- Conan O’Brien’s ratings for his final Tonight Show on Friday? Triple what he had been averaging, and better than most primetime shows in the coveted 18-49 demo for the week. Hopefully that’ll help him land a great post-Tonight Show gig. And about that, Fox, FX, USA, TNT, TBS, Comedy Central, HBO and Showtime are among those who’ve expressed interest in a new Coco show.

- Returning Tonight Show host Jay Leno, meanwhile, will chat with Oprah on Thursday. Hope it’s not a fluff piece and that she asks him about his hypocritical decision to return to the show after saying no one but Johnny Carson could host the late-night series in their 60s.

- Is Twitter the new way to audition for a TV role? It worked for American Idol season six winner Jordin Sparks, who’ll guest star on Bones after Twittering her love of the show.

- Meanwhile, AI season four winner Carrie Underwood is guest starring on a March episode of How I Met Your Mother.

- Liza Minnelli will play Justin’s drama teacher on Ugly Betty.

- And, another sad TV death: All My Children star James Mitchell, who played plotting business tycoon Palmer Cortland on the ABC soap for 30 years.

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• Filed in American Idol, Late Night, TV News
• Tags: American Idol spoilers, American Idol top 24 season nine, Conan O'Brien ratings, Jay Leno Oprah, Palmer Cortland All My Children, Pernell Roberts

It’s reportedly a done deal that Conan O’Brien’s last week as host of The Tonight Show has, sadly, begun, but fans of “Coco” are still holding rallies today in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle.

L.A.-based artist Mike Mitchell, who created that cool “I’m With Coco” image, is selling t-shirts and prints of the image, with a portion of the proceeds going to Haitian earthquake relief charities, while donations for Haitian relief – via Red Cross – will also be collected during today’s rallies.

Wonder if Conan will make an appearance at the L.A. gathering?

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• Filed in Late Night, TV News
• Tags: Coco, Conan O'Brien, Conan O'Brien fan rally

UPDATE: Okay, make that two things you should read: O’Brien has just released a statement saying he will not go along with NBC’s plans to move his Tonight Show to 12:05AM to accommodate The Jay Leno Show’s move to 11:30. Nice guy or not, and O’Brien is a nice, professional guy, no one should be treated so badly, so publicly.

If you read nothing else about the ongoing Jay Leno Show/NBC/Conan O’Brien mess – make that hot mess – check out Gawker.TV’s round-up of Conan’s brutally clever (and completely deserved) reactions to NBC’s shabby treatment of him and handling of the debacle on last night’s Tonight Show.

It’s hard to pick a favorite quote – he really lets everyone involved have it – but the quip about his possible future plans including “Move to FOX and follow their hit 24 with a new show called 24:05” might be it.

Meanwhile, also in the Gawker round-up: David Letterman and Craig Ferguson’s comments on the fuss and NBC’s treatment of O’Brien. Letterman, of course, knows all too well what it’s like to be unfairly treated as leftovers to Leno (who, by the way, in years of hosting The Tonight Show and the Leno Show, has never been as funny as Conan was in that one segment last night).

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• Filed in Late Night
• Tags: Conan Leno NBC, Conan O'Brien, Conan O'Brien 12:05, Conan O'Brien NBC, Conan O'Brien talks about Leno, Conan O'Brien talks about NBC