You’ve played Simon Says, but today it’s all about what Simon’s Brother Says: Tony Cowell, Simon’s older bro, says American Idol judge Simon will be leaving the show after season nine (which debuts on Fox on Jan. 12), so he can focus on bringing his U.K. talent search series X Factor to America.

True? Or just another Simon-is-leaving-AI rumor? According to EW.com, Fox reps and Simon Cowell’s personal rep have both failed to comment on the story, which Tony Cowell shared with the listeners of his podcast.

Which brings about several questions: If Simon goes, is that the end of AI? I say yes; an Idol sans Paula Abdul can endure, but a Cowell-less AI … what’s the point? To give us another milquetoast talent like Kris Allen? Nah, I’m gonna need a big dose of Simon to get through another season with a potential winner like Allen waiting at the end.

Another question (as pointed out by an EW.com reader): Who the who is Tony Cowell, and why does he have a podcast, and why is anyone listening to this podcast? Is it only because he’s Simon’s bro? Is he the Billy Carter/Roger Clinton of the Cowell clan?

Let’s hear from other Idol devotees: Would you continue to watch if Simon was no longer a regular part of the show? Will you watch this season, the first without Abdul? And if yes, will you watch out of habit, or are you still excited about the show?

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• Filed in American Idol, TV News
• Tags: American Idol, Simon Cowell, Simon Cowell leaving American Idol

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Paula Abdul‘s still out, but Simon Cowell is reportedly extending his stay for three seasons, so at least something is right in American Idol World.

– Is it her declining ratings or part of a deal with Beyonce that led Oprah to reconsider her ban on having rappers on her show? Either way, MediaTakeOut reports that Jay Z will hang with The Big O for a September episode in which the two will visit the Brooklyn housing project where Jay Z grew up.

– Everything you never wanted to know about the Octomom and more: Fox’s Octomom: The Incredible Unseen Footage two-hour documentary, which will air on Aug. 19.

– The Big Brother house has gotten disturbingly real this season, with houseguest (and current Head of Household) Chima telling her housemates about being a victim of a vicious attack by a serial killer.

– And then there’s the more surreal aspect of Big Brother, in which Entourage star Jeremy Piven, promoting his new big-screen comedy The Goods, popped in for a visit at BB, apparently after he’d gotten into a tiff with Chris Kattan at MTV.

– King of the Hill will wrap its 13-season run on Fox with a one-hour series finale on Sept. 13.

– TNT’s hospital drama HawthoRNe, which needs a whole lot more Michael Vartan screen time, has been renewed for a second season.

– There’s a mini Arrested Development reunion happening on Fox, where AD creator Mitch Hurwitz will produce a sitcom starring AD star Will Arnett as a rich, obnoxious Beverly Hills type who falls for a woman repulsed by his money and lifestyle. Maybe working together again will help the fellas nudge that in-development Arrested Development big-screen movie along …

– Charlie’s Angels star Cheryl Ladd, who definitely does not look 58, will play a cougar on an episode of CSI: Miami this season.

– Courteney Cox says her Friends friend Jennifer Aniston will likely guest star on her new ABC sitcom Cougars if a part is written for her. Sounds like a perfect opportunity to throw Lisa Kudrow into the mix and reunite all three female Friends friends.

– And tonight in primetime:

– Gordon Ramsay‘s wife Tana makes an appearance on Hell’s Kitchen (8PM ET, Fox)
– The Power of Veto competition is held on Big Brother (8PM, CBS)
– Kat complains about the easy grading system in one of her classes on 10 Things I Hate About You (8PM, ABC Family)
– Regis tries to give away more big bucks on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (8PM, ABC)
– Cheech and Chong are the subject of tonight’s Lords of the Revolution on VH1
– Back-to-back episodes mark the first season finale of Better Off Ted on ABC (9 and 9:30PM)
– The first season of NYC Prep comes to an end (9PM, Bravo)
– Christina tries to come up with some clever solution when she’s told to cut six nurses from her staff on HawthoRNe (9PM, TNT)
– New ep of Warehouse 13 on SyFy (9PM)
– Luke hosts a prom for the remaining ladies on More to Love (9PM, Fox)
– It’s the season premiere of Daddy’s Girls (10PM, MTV)
– Grace and her brother search for Neely on Saving Grace (10PM, TNT)
– Tommy and Needles fight over who should be Lou’s best man on Rescue Me (10PM, FX)
– What would happen if Ariel threw a fashion show and none of his friends attended? We’ll find out on Miami Social (10PM, Bravo), but my guess is that we’ll be looking at a professional hissy fit
– A woman asks William to help her addict son, but the son doesn’t want help on The Cleaner (10PM, A&E)

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• Filed in TV News
• Tags: American Idol, Arrested Development, Big Brother Jeremy Piven, Jennifer Aniston Cougars, Octomom Fox special, Oprah Jay Z, Simon Cowell

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– The New York Post claims Simon Cowell has been offered around $144 million per season – more than triple his current salary – to return as an American Idol judge. Is he worth it? Is anyone worth that much money for any job? Still, I don’t think I could sit through the show every week if it were Simon-less.

– Discovery Channel will go ahead with its plans for a Pitchmen marathon on July 1 (beginning at 11AM ET), leading up to the show’s season finale at 10PM. The show, of course, stars the late Billy Mays and shines the light on how his $1 billion business, with partner and fellow pitchman Anthony Sullivan, works.

– Mays, by the way, apparently suffered a heart attack and died in his sleep.

– Law & Order: Special Victims Unit stars Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni, who had been in reportedly contentious salary negotiations, have both signed on to return to the NBC drama next season. Christine Lahti is also joining the show as an ADA for four episodes.

– Former Saturday Night Live star Chris Kattan has signed on to be a regular on the new ABC comedy The Middle, which stars Patricia Heaton and Scrubs‘ Neil Flynn.

– CBS will premiere its reality series There Goes the Neighborhood on Aug. 9. American Idol alum Matt Rogers will host the show, which finds eight families stuck behind a 20-foot wall in their ‘hood, without electronic communication or entertainment (No TV! No videogames! No Internet!). The fams have to work together and compete against the other fams to win the $250,000 grand prize.

– Among VH1’s upcoming series: Reality shows starring Chili from TLC, Pepa from Salt n’ Pepa and Frank “The Entertainer” Moresco, the I Love New York and I Love Money alum who currently lives with his parents. The Entertainer will find Moresco looking for love. Line up, ladies … it’s not every day you get the chance to hook up with a 32-year-old who lives in Mom and Dad’s basement. I hope it isn’t, anyway.

– It’s official: the sixth, and final, season of Lost will include 18 hours of island drama.

And tonight in primetime:
– Fox is showing Legally Blonde (8PM ET), one of my all-time fave chick flicks
– Stars Reflect on the Man in the Mirror (8PM, TV Guide Channel), features celebs talking about Michael Jackson‘s impact on music and pop culture
– Catch Farrah Fawcett‘s chilling, Emmy-nominated performance in the 1984 TV flick The Burning Bed on Encore Drama (9:35PM)
– There’s more bratty teen drama on Bravo’s “real-life Gossip Girl” docudrama NYC Prep (9PM)
– Sean gets a surprise visitor in the hospital on Rescue Me (10PM, FX)
– More early auditions on America’s Got Talent (9PM, NBC)
– Linda has to move into Ted’s office after some toxic substance runs amuck on Better Off Ted (9:30PM, ABC)
– The BET Awards repeat (6:30PM, BET) in case you missed all the Michael Jackson tributes
– William’s father/son bonding weekend is interrupted when a pair of alcoholics need William’s help on The Cleaner (10PM, A&E)
– One smokin’ dude gets a cigar lounge on a new ep of Man Caves (9PM, DIY)
– And Dr. Mike tests leech therapy in India on Bite Me with Dr. Mike (10PM, Travel Channel)

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• Filed in Celebreality, Lost, Reality, TV News
• Tags: American Idol, Billy Mays, Chris Kattan, Chris Meloni, Christine Lahti, Farrah Fawcett, Frank "The Entertainer" Moresco, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Lost, Mariska Hargitay, Matt Rogers, Neil Flynn, Patricia Heaton, Pitchmen, Saturday Night Live, Simon Cowell, The Middle Chris Kattan, There Goes the Neighborhood

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– I was skeptical about Scrubs returning next season with most of the cast MIA, but the show’s radical makeover, which will shift much of the action from the hospital to the classroom as Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) and Turk (Donald Faison) become medical school professors, will finally give the oh-so-Emmy-worthy McGinley a chance to get the leading man props he deserves.

– All these guessing games, but really, what else could the big Jon & Kate Plus 8 announcement be on tonight’s episode (9PM ET, TLC)? It’s gotta be a separation/divorce confirmation of some sort, doncha think?

– Here’s a story I hope is just conjecture: Legendary TV news man Walter Cronkite is reportedly “terribly ill.”

– Dancing with the Stars pro Julianne Hough will star opposite People mag’s Hottest Bachelor, Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford, in the upcoming Footloose remake, though rumor has it that producers are hoping she’ll improve her acting skills before filming begins.

– In addition to the cast of Seinfeld, Meg Ryan will also guest star on the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

– Ryan Seacrest confirms via Twitter that he is talking to Lindsay Lohan about starring in a reality show he would produce. Seems like her best option for making some cash these days, as her personal life and professional reputation seems to continue on the downward spiral.

– Simon Cowell has ‘fessed up to making some mistakes as a judge and producer in a lengthy mea culpa published in the British newspaper The Mail on Sunday.

– The West Wing‘s Bradley Whitford and Malcolm in the Middle and Raising the Bar‘s Jane Kaczmarek: one of the most surprising celeb divorces in a long time.

– And free wireless Internet access in New York City is just one of Sci Fi’s promos for its campaign to rebrand itself as the Syfy network.

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• Filed in TV News
• Tags: Bradley Whitford, Chace Crawford, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Donald Faison, Footloose, Jane Kaczmarek, John C. McGinley, Jon & Kate Plus 8 divorce, Julianne Hough, Lindsay Lohan reality show, Meg Ryan, Ryan Seacrest, Scrubs, Simon Cowell, Syfy, Walter Cronkite

Susan Boyle did it again. The worldwide Internet sensation made the finals of Britain’s Got Talent on Sunday with her rendition of “Memory.” And yep, even Simon Cowell gave her a standing ovation:

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• Filed in Reality, Ya Gotta See This!
• Tags: Britain's Got Talent, Britain's Got Talent finals, Finals, Memory, Simon Cowell, Susan Boyle