All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- Oscar winner Diane Keaton is set to star in a new HBO comedy inspired by Gloria Steinem. Keaton will play a feminist icon who tries to spark a rejuvenation of the feminist movement by starting a porn magazine for women. The series (which would make an interesting primetime block with HBO’s Hung) is being written by Buffy the Vampire Slayer producer and writer Marti Noxon.

- When Jon & Kate Plus 8 returns with new episodes on TLC on Aug. 3, the action will not include the separated couple’s extracurricular love interests.

- The Emmy folks are considering pre-recording a handful of categories’ winners and inserting them into the live Neil Patrick Harris-hosted telecast on Sept. 20. Organizers are calling the idea “time-shifting” those awards’ presentations … really, Emmy people? If those award categories (which includes the drama writing category for which Mad Men nabbed four of five nominations) aren’t deemed important enough to air live, why air them at all during the main Emmy telecast?

- TLC has renewed Cake Boss with New Jersey baker Buddy Valastro for a second season, which will air sometime in the fall. The current debut season wraps on Aug. 17.

- Life co-star Donal Logue will star in FX’s new dramedy Terriers, written by The Shield’s Shawn Ryan. The new series will feature Logue as a P.I. who, partnered with his best friend, isn’t exactly the most mature private eye on the block.

- Ugly Betty/Harper’s Island/Popular alum Christopher Gorham has been cast  in USA’s new CIA thriller Covert Affairs. The show will star Gorham as a blind special ops agent who helps train a newbie CIA agent played by Piper Perabo.

- The Hills – sans Lauren Conrad and with new star Kristin Cavallari – kicks off its new season on Sept. 29 on MTV.

- Must-see-TV clip of the day: Anderson Cooper, subbing for Reeg on Live with Regis and Kelly, asking The Bachelorette’s Jillian Harris the question we all really want the answer to.

- While promoting her new TV Land show How’d You Get So Rich?, which premieres Aug. 5, Joan Rivers made it clear she’s no fan of Jay Leno.

- The big news coming out of the annual Television Critics’ Association gathering about Starz’ 2010 drama Spartacus: Lots of nudity. Lots and lots of nudity.

- And tonight in primetime:

- Another one bites the dust as a contestant is Michael’s on the hunt for a client list on Burn Notice (9PM, USA)
- Sean Paul sings and JabbaWockeeZ dances as two more are cut on So You Think You Can Dance (9PM, Fox)
- She’s Got the Look wraps its second season and chooses a winner on TV Land (9PM)
- What kind of 3BR house will $700,000 buy you in Los Angeles? Find out on House Hunters (9PM, HGTV)
- Duff cakes a precariously balanced Cirque du Soleil cake on Ace of Cakes (10PM, Food Network)
- Jill and Hank tussle over a patient on Royal Pains (10PM, USA)
- It’s season two – and the return of NeNe! – for The Real Housewives of Atlanta (10PM, Bravo)
- Is Audrey dunzo on LA Ink (10PM, TLC)?
- MTV has unaired footage from season one of 16 and Pregnant (10PM)
- Penn & Teller: Bullshit! (10PM, Showtime) examines the claims about organic food
- And it’s beauty queen vs. gossiper vs. salon owner on WE’s Most Popular (10PM)

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• Tags: 2009 Emmys, Buddy Valastro, Cake Boss, Christopher Gorham, Covert Affairs USA, Diane Keaton HBO, Donal Logue, Joan Rivers, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Kristin Cavallari, Marti Noxon, Piper Perabo, Shawn Ryan, Spartacus Sstarz, The Bachelorette, The Hills new season, The Hills returns

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

-Just not a good month for TV celebs: On the heels of the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, MTV video legend Michael Jackson and pitchman Billy Mays, The Gale Storm Show and My Little Margie star Gale Storm – one of TV’s first big stars – died on Saturday at age 87, while comedian, celeb impersonator and frequent late-night TV guest Fred Travalena died Sunday at age 66 after a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

- The B-Side Blog has a sneak peek at the new Big Brother house, where the latest round of reality TV hamsters will move in on July 9.

- For TV fans, this is the year to attend Comic-Con in San Diego. The TV-heavy line-up includes panels with the casts of Lost, 24, Chuck, Bones, Burn Notice, Glee, MythBusters, The Cleveland Show, Futurama, Heroes and upcoming series V, Flash Forward and Human Target.

- No good Oprah deed goes unpunished? May be, as her gifts to her staff – a fancy luxury cruise – is reportedly going to cost each of them $1,000 in taxes.

- As the Sept. 18 series finale of long-running daytime soap Guiding Light grows sadly closer, 60 Minutes is planning a special Sept. segment that includes interviews with cast, while the Daytime Emmy telecast on Aug. 30 will also include a special tribute. Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter’s Roger Friedman claims the show’s sponsor, Procter & Gamble, is purposely trying to turn fans against the show because the company wants out of the soap biz.

- Casting news: Reaper star Missy Peregrym has signed on to star in ABC’s Canadian cop drama Copper, while Desperate Housewives guest star T.J. Ramini – he played Gabby’s trainer, Yaniv – will be a recurring star on season eight of 24, where he’ll play Tarin, a cohort of the Middle Eastern leader who’ll be played by Anil Kapoor.

- And tonight in primetime:

- The premiere of Oxygen’s Dance Your Ass Off (10PM ET), a Biggest Loser-meets-Dancing with the Stars/So You Think You Can Dance-ish reality competition
- Brenda and Fritz clash when they work together on a missing person/murder case on a new ep of The Closer (9PM, TNT)
- New York will apparently be unemployed after the season finale of New York Goes to Work (10PM, VH1)
- Zoey wigs when she loses her first patient on Nurse Jackie (10:30PM, Showtime)
- Celia’s baaaa-ack – and living in Nancy’s garage, while Agent Roy Till also pops back into Nancy’s life on a new Weeds (10PM, Showtime)
- Buddy bakes a cake and plans to stash live birds inside of it on Cake Boss (10PM, TLC)
- Kathy Griffin hangs with Paris Hilton (is getting off the D-list really worth that?) on My Life on the D-List (10PM, Bravo)
- Guy Fieri hits the road for pumpkin-oatmeal pancakes and bacon-wrapped meatloaf on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (10PM, Food Network)
- And it’s down to five on The Bachelorette (8PM, ABC)

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• Filed in 24, Reality, TV News
• Tags: 24, Big Brother, Big Brother house, Cake Boss, Comic Con TV, Dance Your Ass Off, Desperate Housewives, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, Fred Travalena, Gale Storm, Guiding Light, Guiding Light finale, Guy Fieri, Kathy Griffin, Missy Peregrym, My Life on the D-List, New York Goes to Work, Nurse Jackie, Oprah, Paris Hilton, The Bachelorette, The Closer, Weeds

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- I still can’t believe that Adam Lambert’s sexuality is such an issue … like being gay in the entertainment industry is such a new phenomenon? Or being gay on American Idol for that matter. Whatever. Adam lands a solo cover on the new Entertainment Weekly, even before he wins the show, as “the most exciting American Idol contestant in years.” Can’t argue with that.

- It’s not Project Runway, but the Runway-ish The Fashion Show, which debuts tonight on Bravo (10PM ET), does have the fabulous Isaac Mizrahi.

- Grey’s Anatomy airs its 100th episode tonight (ABC, 9PM), and it’s supposed to include a McDreamy/Meredith wedding. Supposed to being the key part of that sentence.

- Even if the Mer/Der wedding does go down, will it be one of the best tube weddings ever? Maybe one of the worst? I countdown a few of each at Hollywood.com today.

- Are you more or less likely to watch the new season of Jon & Kate Plus 8 on May 25, given the whole affair brouhaha?

- Tomorrow’s Good Morning America will feature Diane Sawyer’s interview with Connie Culp, the woman whose face transplant made headlines this week.

- Chuck executive producer McG weighs in optimistically to Sci Fi Wire about the show’s chances for a third season on NBC. It’s tough to remember the last time an on-the-bubble series generated as much support and good will as Chuck has, so here’s hoping again that it returns next season.

- Seth Green and his Robot Chicken cohorts are bringing another show to Adult Swim.

- Only The Big O could incite riots by trying to give away some damn chicken.

- Is it just me, or do most of the contestants on the new season of The Bachelorette look alike?

- And Simon Cowell reportedly earns $36 million a season for American Idol, while co-judge Paula Abdul nets “just” $2 million. Sounds right to me.

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• Filed in American Idol, Chuck, Reality, TV News
• Tags: Adam Lambert, American Idol, Chuck, Connie Culp, Grey's Anatomy, Isaac Mizrahi, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Oprah, Paula Abdul, Project Runway, Robot Chicken, Seth Green, Simon Cowell, The Bachelorette, TV weddings