Katherine Heigl and her big ‘ol mouth and ego are going to take a five episode leave of absence from Grey’s Anatomy and the good news is that Ms. Ungrateful won’t be paid for her time off – at least by ABC. She will be getting a fat paycheck for the movie she’ll be filming when she’s off the show, a no-doubt predictable romcom co-starring Josh Duhamel called Life as We Know It. (There was a gem of a TV show called Life as We Know It that aired on ABC for one season in 2004. I don’t think that’s related to this film at all though.)

The last time Heigl trashed the show that launched her career was on “The Late Show”. She complained bitterly that she was on set the first day for 17 hours, and it later turned out that the 17 hour day was all Heigl’s fault – producers had rearranged their filming schedule to accommodate her promotional appearances for The Ugly Truth. After that, we heard ABC President Steve McPherson call Heigl’s comments “unfortunate,” and hint that she was being ridiculous. “People are going to behave in the way they choose to behave.” He added that “There are so many people who work so hard on ‘Grey’s,’ and all of our shows, without any notoriety and those are the ones I’d be concerned about, people who feel like they’re being criticized or looked down upon.” All Heigl has to do to demean someone is open her mouth and the words just come shooting out. She can’t seem to grant an interview without being blatantly offensive.

We don’t have enough space to recap most of the mean things Heigl has said, but it’s worth noting that she did trash the writers on the show when she deemed to pull herself out of the Emmy race in 2008, saying in a statement “I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination.”

If this spoilerific story on E! Online is to be believed, the writers have exacted some revenge on Heigl’s character Izzie. I won’t reveal much more here, but Izzie’s fate seems quite fitting given the terrible attitude of the actress who plays her. Will any of our Grey’s fans miss Dr. Izzie if her leave of absence is made permanent, (I’m not saying it will be, I’m just posing that scenario) or has her time come to get her ass kicked off the show? I’m kind of surprised this hasn’t happened earlier, and that it’s not yet permanent.

Katherine Heigl is shown shopping on 8/22/09 with her mom and her husband, Josh Kelley. Credit: Fame Pictures.

Last month, Candy Spelling sent her daughter a really snotty, bitchy open letter through TMZ. Candy’s complaints were mostly of the woe-is-me, my-daughter-sucks variety, but Candy did go off on a bitchy tangent about how Tori is “middle-aged” and insinuated that Tori’s reality show is anything but fresh and updated. Candy’s words were: “My husband taught me that the plots have to be fresh and updated. The same old whining gets tired after a while. Enough complaining about what may or may not have happened during first grade or YMCA camp, or what vegetable you were forced to endure, especially when you are privileged enough to be on TV and get paid for it. For all the reality show personalities, please remember that real life doesn’t get edited to make things better or worse or get better ratings. You’re responsible for what you do. Life isn’t just a show. And your families can’t just be props. Make your own season finale without creating conflicts you will regret later.”

So Candy doesn’t think much of Tori’s reality show, or reality shows in general. Surprise, surprise – Candy has a new television show in the works. But she wants us to know it will not be “unscripted”. Candy snots: “I wouldn’t do reality.” How apropos, in so many ways. So what exactly is the concept then? Just a scripted show about a gift-wrapping room?

In an exclusive interview Candy Spelling revealed to RadarOnline.com that she is going to have her very own television show. Even though the mother daughter duo have been famously estranged lately, Tori Spelling told us that her mom having her own show “would be great.”

As the wife of television mogul Aaron Spelling, Candy is no stranger to hit shows. At the I’m Every Woman non-profit organization book signing on Saturday Candy talked about her possible foray into TV, saying “Yes, there is,” going to be a show. But Candy is not following in her daughter Tori’s footsteps – her show will be scripted. “I wouldn’t do a reality show,” the author of Stories from Candyland said.

Later Saturday night at the Much Love Animal Rescue & Secure-A-Pets Summer fundraiser, Bow Wow Wow of Howlywood, Tori was suprised by the news that her mom was going to have her own show but was supportive, saying “I wish her the best.” Maybe a reconciliation between the two women isn’t too far off?

[From Radar]

I’m going to admit something – I watch Tori and Dean’s reality show. Not religiously or anything, but if there’s a marathon on, I’ll get into it. Tori comes across as a princess trying not be a princess. Dean comes across a devoted husband and father. It’s actually a really cute show, and Tori often cracks me up. I find her naturally funny, without a script. I can’t even imagine how supremely boring Candy’s “scripted” show is going to be.

Here’s Candy shopping on April 15th. Credit: Fame Pictures

Tuesday night, the cast of Mad Men played host to a special screening of the first episode of Season 3 in Hollywood. All of us peasants have to wait until is August 16, 10 p.m. EST for the AMC premiere. So close and yet so far! Anyway, initiate your countdown. It’s coming! As some know, I’m obsessed with this show. I love, love, love it. Every episode kills me, and I’ve been waiting all summer for the show to return. Meanwhile, I’ve been enjoying the official Mad Men website.

Many journalists and television critics showed up for the screening, so there are lots of little pieces of Mad Men-related news out there. Unfortunately for everybody, Mad Men’s star John Hamm didn’t show up. Where was the Hamm-ster, perchance? On vacation… and we know this because Best Week Ever got exclusive pictures of John smoking and drinking and playing with a cute dog on his vacation. Best Week Ever calls him a “GQ Motherf-cker” and he really is. These vacation pictures look like a photo shoot with a young George Clooney.

OK! got interviews with two of Mad Men’s coolest ladies, January Jones (Betty Draper) and Christina Hendricks (Joan Holloway). Christina is actually a little boring, she didn’t talk at all about the show, she only talked about her upcoming wedding. She’s going to wear Carolina Herrera. Good choice. January admitted that Mad Men producers told her she was too thin for her role, and that she’s have to gain some weight to play a natural, curvy 1960s housewife:

Mad Men star January Jones admits she’s been having trouble filling out the girdle of the curvy late ‘60s character she portrays on the critically acclaimed AMC show — and it’s gotten her in hot water with producers.

“I got told a couple of days ago that I look too skinny, and I was in trouble,” January sheepishly told reporters at the July 28 party for the AMC network. “I’m naturally pretty thin, so I’m trying,” the beautiful blonde actress said, showing reporters she was drinking an Amstel Light beer at the party.

Also, January says, “I eat whatever is at craft services. I’m a big eater. I’m from South Dakota, so meat, potatoes, carbs.”

The star notes that to maintain Mad Men’s early ‘60s look, in which women definitely had more meat on their bones, she and the other actresses are “encouraged NOT to work out. We want soft; we don’t want any muscle definition.”

January’s character, who is married to advertising guru Don Draper, played by Jon Hamm, is pregnant during the show’s third season, premiering August 16. It has affected her wardrobe: “We’ve done a little bit less petticoats and it’s been really fun.”

“They tell us to gain weight, gain weight, gain weight, because they want a soft, voluptuous woman which they were [back then] which is beautiful, as it should be.”

[From OK! Magazine]

I love January and her character Betty Draper. At first, I thought January was brilliantly playing her as a kind of icy Grace Kelly blonde, but January has really built layer upon layer for Betty. At the end of season two, a pregnant Betty was getting soused at a downtown bar, right before she went off to some random little backroom to have sex with some random dude. From what I’ve heard, Season 3 doesn’t skip ahead massively in time like Season 2 did – I think we’re going to see Betty’s pregnancy this season. I hope so.

In one other little piece of news relating to John Hamm – he just signed on to play an FBI agent in The Town, a “romantic crime thriller”. Ben Affleck and Rebecca Hall are also attached, and it should begin filming this fall.

Warning: Spoilers for season finale of Grey’s, which aired last night, below
Grey’s Anatomy creator Shondra Rimes spoke with EW’s Michael Ausiello about the fate of characters Izzie and George, whose lives seemed to hang in the balance in a cliffhanger episode, the last of the season. It’s known that both Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight want off the show, although Heigl has since tried to say that she’s happy to stay on, probably because of the bad economy and lack of job prospects. Rimes wouldn’t say whether Heigl and Knight are aware if their characters return next season, and she also wouldn’t say if they both suffer the same fate, whatever that may be. It all sounded a bit tense, which is consistent with pretty much everything we’ve been hearing about Grey’s for years.

Rumors have been swirling all year that Katherine and TR wanted off the show. The season ends with both their characters’ lives hanging in the balance. Purely coincidental?
SHONDA RHIMES: I don’t think there are any coincidences. I think Katherine’s stated publicly that she’s happy to stay. I think that there have been lots of rumors about TR, but TR’s never said anything. Take from it what you will.

This kind of cliffhanger almost seems tailor-made to capitalize on some of those headlines and generate buzz.
RHIMES: You have to remember, I have two shows. It’s not as if I spend a lot of time reading the press. We talk about stuff in the writers’ room that other people have read, but, mostly, we were really moving on character. Every year at the beginning of the season I pitch what the end of the season is going to be. And I literally sat down and pitched the last 10 minutes of this season at the beginning of the season, so we were headed towards the place that we knew we were going to go.

Do you know which one of them lives and which one of them dies?
RHIMES: Yes. And I don’t know that you should be saying “which one of them lives and which one of them dies.” I know what happens to the characters.

Have you shared this information with Katherine and TR?
RHIMES: [Crickets, then...] I don’t want to answer that. I don’t want to talk about my private conversations with the actors.

Katherine said in a recent interview that she was as much in the dark about Izzie’s fate as anyone. Do you keep this stuff close to the vest in order to prevent leaks?
RHIMES: There was a joke for a while there that if I got hit by a bus [no one would] know how to end the season. I do feel like a secret’s not a secret if anybody knows about it. It was really about trying to keep the storyline as secret as possible, because I wanted the last moment of the season to be a real surprise.

Did TR ask to be released from his contract?
RHIMES: I absolutely am not going to talk about any private conversations I had with the actors. I feel like that invades their privacy.

Why haven’t we seen very much of George this season? I understand that there are ebbs and flows on ensemble dramas but…
RHIMES: There are ebbs and flows. Every character this season has had a lot of ebbs and flows. And every season is shaped differently. With George, I really wanted you to not notice that he wasn’t there for most of this episode. I don’t think anybody noticed because of the way we laid it out this season. He’s an incredibly talented actor. And, actually, he was really lovely and elegant about lying there in all that very painful makeup and prosthetics for much of the episode with no words. That moment where he grabs Meredith’s hand is one of the most affecting moments of the episode, and it was without words.

There was criticism that the Denny hallucinations went on too long without an explanation. Looking back, do you regret not revealing Izzie’s diagnosis sooner?
RHIMES: Do I regret it? No. As writers, we had a lot of fun figuring out how we were going to tell that story. I don’t regret anything we’ve done. Every season is a learning process for me. This is my first television show. Granted, I’ve done five seasons now, but it’s still my first television show. As we head into season 6 everything is still a learning experience for me. It’s been a great, crazy experiment that has happened fairly publicly, but, for me, it’s been my learning process.

There was a period there where the show was being relentless mocked, especially where the “ghost sex” was concerned. Did you ever take it personally?
RHIMES: You’re the first person to tell me that, because I, of course, don’t read a lot of press. One thing we’ve gotten used to is being in the public eye and we learned to let everything roll off our backs. We knew where we were going; we had a road map. The rest of the audience didn’t know where we were going. We all thought it was really surprising that anybody thought there was a ghost on our show. We’re a medical show. We thought it was surprising that anybody would look at it and go, “Gee, that’s a ghost.” So that was surprising to us. But, other than that, we took it with a grain of salt.

[From EW]

Doesn’t Rhimes sound so haughty when she says she hasn’t even read or heard criticism of the show? I heard Ausiello on NPR’s Talk of The Nation yesterday in an episode about the season finales. A woman who called in to talk about Grey’s complained about the fact that Izzie was having dream sex with her dead ex boyfriend and how weird it was. You would think that Rimes would have a clue so she could make adjustments where needed, but she sounds perfectly happy to be oblivious. She doesn’t seem like the easiest person to work for and you have to wonder what’s happening on set every day when you hear about so many feuds and problems with the cast. When asked what she would have done different, Rimes quipped “That would mean I have to admit that we made some mistakes, and I’m not going to do that.”

For you Grey’s fans, what did you think of last nights finale? Did you end up feeling gipped by the non-ending, or was it worth the ride?

A few weeks ago Jenny McCarthy was on “Chelsea Lately” and mentioned that she’s not going to write any more books about autism – but that doesn’t mean she’s done talking about it. Turns out, McCarthy will get to do a lot of talking in the future – she’s just inked a deal for a new talk show with Oprah’s production company. She’s dipping her toe in the water with a blog on Oprah’s website, then moving on to her syndicated talk show.

Jenny McCarthy is poised to become the next star in Oprah Winfrey’s media empire.

McCarthy has inked a multi-year overall deal with Winfrey’s Harpo Prods. to develop projects on different platforms, including a syndicated talk show that the actress/author would host.

The first collaboration under the pact is a blog by McCarthy on Oprah.com, which launched on Friday. Like other Winfrey proteges-turned-TV moguls, including Rachael Ray and Dr. Phil, McCarthy has been a frequent guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

McCarthy talked to the chat queen about her struggles with her son’s autism in conjunction with the releases of her best-selling books “Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism” and

“Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds.” McCarthy also was part of Winfrey’s Friday Live panels twice, including this past Friday.

A former Playboy model, McCarthy burst into the TV scene as the engaging host of MTV’s dating show “Singled Out,” a gig that jump-started her acting career. She later segued into writing with a string of best-selling books and became an activist for curing autism.

[From the Hollywood Reporter]

Normally whenever I hear about a new talk show my only clear thought is a loud groan. Which isn’t really a thought – and that tells you something. But this is something I will definitely watch. Jenny has truly shocked me with how smart, insightful, and committed she is. And she’s also real and funny and hot –all things that will make her show successful. I can’t speak for other people but I find her immensely likeable now, whereas she used to grate on my nerves when she hosted “Singled Out.” I think she’s really matured into a passionate, dedicated woman, while remaining fun and spirited. I admire the devotion she’s brought to her autism work, and it’ll be interesting to watch her tackle other issues.

Here’s Jenny leaving the CNN studios in Hollywood on December 3rd. Images thanks to WENN.com .

It’s an age-old negotiation tactic that can work (example: “Friends”) or backfire (example: “Three’s Company”). Sources confirmed that the two stars of NBC’s “Law and Order: SVU” have been in the throes of a bitter contract negotiation, asking for more money per episode of the show’s new season. But even though the show is one of the network’s few hit dramas, the studio execs aren’t ready to give in. There’s even been talk of replacing both Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni if they don’t toe the line.

They wouldn’t dare.

Multiple sources are confirming that NBC is threatening to replace Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni on Law & Order: SVU if the actors persist in their demands for more money.

Last week, NBC closed a deal with L&O boss Dick Wolf for an 11th season of SVU — which, at 10.5 million viewers, remains the Peacock’s No. 1 scripted show. That opened the door to a new round of negotiations with the stars, whose $350K-per-episode contracts will expire in May. Yet a source close to the matter said talks stalled when the duo — who, like in their previous negotiations, are banding together — attempted to go after back-end profits, a perk that’s almost never granted in the L&O universe (although exceptions were made for Vincent D’Onofrio and Chris Noth).

As a result, NBC cautioned that it may be forced to replace the MVPs — a risky move considering how integral Hargitay and Meloni are to the show. Many feel the Peacock won’t make good on its threat (reps for the network, studio and the actors would not comment for this story). “I don’t think in this environment, there’s any chance they could re-launch the show with both of them gone,” says a high-ranking exec at a rival network. “It’s a horrible time to retool a show. They already have to change the time-slot, because it’s not going to be airing at 10 pm next season.” At the same time, a Peacock insider says, “I can’t imagine either actor walking away from over $7 million a year.”

For now, Wolf is putting a positive face on the talks. Through his spokesman, he said, “It is my fondest hope that both Chris and Mariska will be back next season.

[From Entertainment Weekly]

Seven million bucks a year seems like plenty of money to me. More than enough, actually. But if this show is NBC’s number one drama, it must be raking in boatloads of advertising money. If NBC could find the cash to pay the whole cast of “Friends” $250,000 per episode, I’m sure they can work something out here. And if they didn’t want to pay back-end residuals to Mariska and Chris, then they shouldn’t have allowed other stars to get that arrangement! What did they think– these people all travel in the same circles — of course they’re going to talk to each other! Getting rid of the show’s two biggest stars would be a huge mistake. I mean, I like Ice-T, B.D. Wong and Richard Belzer – but they’re not the reason I tune in every week. It’s all about the smoldering sexual chemistry between Olivia and Stabler!

Photos courtesy of NBC.

My favorite childhood pastime was playing with my dollhouse. I didn’t want anything to do with Barbie and her uncomfortable-looking feet. She was just so vapid and lacking in personality, as was her furniture. That’s what really got on my nerves: the décor. Unfortunately my love of tiny things has persisted into adulthood, though I don’t let myself own any. Unless sample-sized cosmetics count. But when I stumble across them on the internet, I have to pass them on.

Fark linked to a Flickr account of someone who made a bunch of freakishly accurate dioramas of classic television show sets. Most of the furniture has a Lego base and seems to be covered with Femo clay. Here’s what the artist says about their unusual hobby.

As a kid I loved visiting Hollywood and seeing various TV sets in soundstages. I was always forbidden from taking pictures so I would come home and build what I saw. I have not built a set in 12 years and these make great dust collectors. Now I have brought them out for you to see and have some half finished ones as well I am finally getting done. Sets are made of lots of different things but the basis is Lego bricks. A set can take from 2 weeks to a month to complete. Strange hobby I know but I hope you enjoy them!

[From On The Set’s Flickr account]

A lot of the sets are incredibly detailed. The builder did models of Rosanne, The Facts of Life, The Golden Girls, Alice, Designing Women, The Brady Bunch, Three’s Company, Cheers, The Price is Right, Pyramid, Family Ties, The Young and the Restless, and Empty Nest. They even included all the tech stuff like the lights and microphones hanging above. It was definitely more about the filming of the show than reproducing what we saw on television. What an unusual way to compensate for not being able to take a picture. I’m guessing no one else in the world has this hobby.

You can see all the television sets here: On The Set’s Flickr photos. Thanks to Fark for the idea.

Images of the sets from The Brady Bunch, Cheers, and Family Ties thanks to On The Set.

Courteney Cox is pushing the envelope with her latest sitcom in development, “Cougar Town.” The show centers around older women getting it on with younger men. Some of the plot lines are said to be way too hot for TV, including a possibly offensive scene with a 15 year-old boy:

Following the failure of her lame gossip show, “Dirt,” Courteney Cox just sold a sitcom to ABC and censors call this one “FILTH!” The actual title is “Cougar Town,” a sleazy saga of middle-aged babes seeking sex from guys as young as 15 – and My Script Spy got kinda shy reporting all the X-plicit, raunchy references to kinky sex, the f-word, etc… plus a scene where a horny old cougar flips open her housecoat and flashes a 15-year-old boy! Stunned ABC censors and execs are already locked in a furious battle with exec producer Cox, warning her that network TV ain’t cable – and she and her Writers Gone Wild can’t push the envelope past “edgy” to “filthy.” Folks, I can’t give examples in our family newspaper – but one line that’s actually hilarious involves why a husband needs to shave. (Trust me – you won’t hear it when “Cougar Town” airs next season.)

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, Mike Walker's column, April 13, 2009]

From the brief clips I saw of now-canceled Dirt, the show was pretty awful. Courteney and David Arquette were executive producers, but there are so many people involved in those shows that it’s hard to know who to blame when one fails so miserably. You could charitably say that sometimes a good team just puts out bad work for whatever reason. Cougar Town is put out by Bill Lawrence, a screenwriter/producer/director who created the quirky show Scrubs, so Courteney’s latest effort might be good. If it’s as dirty as they say, it will definitely have to be toned down for TV. Plot lines involving older women seducing or even flashing 15 year-old kids are not cool.

It’s a shame that Courteney and the other Friends alumni apart from Jennifer Aniston have struggled so much in their careers since the show ended. They’re all pretty solid, well known comedic actors and it’s surprising that we don’t see them more on TV or film.

Courteney Cox and Busy Phillips are shown on the set of Cougartown on 3/26 and 3/27/09. Credit: PacificCoastNews.com

Of all the former cast members that could sign on for the “Melrose Place” remake, people seemed most excited about the possibility of Heather Locklear reprising her infamous role as super bitchy Amanda Woodward. However she ultimately passed on the project, leaving everyone wondering why. It’s not like her career is really blossoming right now – her last role was in “Flirting with Forty,” a made-for-TV-movie. You’d think she’d be chomping at the bit for a reoccurring role on a show that’s already getting so much attention, but apparently that’s not the case.

So what made Locklear pass? $100,000. Or rather, the lack of it.

Rumor has it Heather Locklear demanded too much moolah to land her a spot on the updated “Melrose Place,” but is it true?

Ka-ching! According to a report, Locklear wanted $100,000 per episode to reprise her role as bad girl Amanda Woodward, but the network wouldn’t pay her even half the dough she requested! Melrose Place does not intersect with Easy Street!

[From Extra]

The National Enquirer says that former co-star Lisa Rinna has been absolutely begging Heather to sign on to the show. Lisa’s desperate to be cast, and even went so far as to wear a sandwich board on Robertson Blvd in Los Angeles. It read, “HONK FOR LISA RINNA ON THE NEW MELROSE PLACE!” It got her some attention, but she still hasn’t been offered a spot on the show.

“Lisa thinks if Heather takes the part it will open the door for other former cast members,” a source says.

But as The Enquirer has reported, Heather turned down a deal to reprise her role as ad agency head Amanda Woodward. She expected a paycheck of at least $100,000 per episode and was disappointed with her proposed story lines, sources say.

“Lisa has phoned Heather at least a dozen times, trying to persuade her to overlook the salary and story line issues,” the source says.

“She keeps reminding Heather about all the good times the old cast had, and she’s trying to convince Heather it will be a great career move for her.

“But Heather vows she won’t budge unless the show’s execs meet her demands.

[From the National Enquirer, April 13, 2009, print ed.]

I’m sort of surprised Heather Locklear feels she can be so picky. It’s not as though the offers are rolling in, as far as I can tell. Or maybe they are, and she has been picky, and that’s why she’s only doing a few projects here and there.

It’s too bad Heather passed, because I think she’s really the only way the show will be successful. But to be fair, Lisa Rinna was asking her to overlook a lot. Money and bad plot lines? However Locklear would have gotten a lot of press for it, and Rinna was right – it would have helped Heather’s career. Something tells me there’s another TV movie in her near future.

Here’s Heather filming “Flirting with 40″ in Hawaii on May 1st. Images thanks to PR Photos.com.

Bravo, Lifetime and the Weinstein Company have reached a deal on Project Runway. Finally! I’m going through withdrawals. The details are still a bit sketchy, but People Magazine is confirming that the Weinstein company has basically paid off Bravo/NBC Universal to ship the valuable Project Runway property over to Lifetime.

The sixth season that will appear on Lifetime – reportedly this summer – has already been filmed, even though Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn had no idea if it would actually air anywhere. People has more:

Project Runway is returning to television this summer — and it will air on Lifetime.
According to the network, legal battles surrounding beleaguered reality show’s already-filmed sixth season have been amicably resolved.

“The Weinstein Company will pay NBCU for the right to move Project Runway to Lifetime. All of the parties are pleased with the outcome,” the networks say in a joint statement.

Changing gears, the upcoming season of Project Runway relocated from New York to Los Angeles, though it will continue to be hosted by Heidi Klum and judged by Michael Kors and Nina Garcia. Tim Gunn will also mentor the designers. As usual, the finale was shot during fashion week – this year, in February.

But ongoing legal disputes prevented producers from revealing any information about the cast, and the three final collections were shown blindly, with their designers unidentified. International Herald Tribute editor Suzy Menkes acted as the guest judge at the show.

In addition, sources close to the show have told PEOPLE that Project Runway’s season 6 will utilize “local resources” in Los Angeles — namely focusing more on Hollywood — and will feature appearances by Christina Aguilera, Eva Longoria Parker and Rebecca Romijn.

Project Runway producer Harvey Weinstein expressed his appreciation for the resolution to the legal battle. “I want to personally congratulate Jeff Zucker and NBCU on their success in the litigation and thank Jeff for resolving this in a professional manner,” he said in a statement.

According to Lifetime, the network will also air a companion series, Models of the Runway, alongside Project Runway. “All of us at Lifetime are thrilled to move forward with Heidi, Tim, Nina, Michael, The Weinstein Company and the entire Project Runway team,” network president and CEO Andrea Wong said in a statement. “We are proud to add these shows to our growing slate of original programming.”

From People Magazine

This deal is the product of more than a year of legal wrangling. It all started when Harvey Weinstein (executive producer of PR) thought he could get more money from Lifetime. Lifetime jumped at the chance to own the valuable ratings smash and cult-like favorite. Bravo/NBC was like, “Oh no you didn’t!” and thus, lawsuits were born.

It’s also wonderful to see that the deal includes Tim Gunn, who is basically the real star of the show. I like Heidi and everything, but I love Tim. Last season’s weak contestants almost killed me, but I was still hooked, so it’s good to know I’ll be getting my fix this summer!

Phoots are of Heidi Klum, Timm Gunn, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia on 2/20/09. Heidi Klum is also shown on Rodeo Drive doing a photoshoot yesterday, 4/1/09. Credit: WENN.com