TLC has signed up Kate Gosselin for a new reality series that will feature her "trying new things" without Jon or her brood, TheWrap.com reports. The reality star and her new litter of hair extensions has been reclaimed by the network "because they are worried if they don't do it with Kate, someone else will," according to a shady-sounding unnamed source.

The new show, which is slated to debut in late spring/early summer, will supposedly have an "interactive" factor in which viewers can suggest new challenges revolving around Kate trying various different professions. I'm picturing something kind of like "The Simple Life," only set on a farm for one week, then a restaurant the next, and perhaps a hardware store after that. I'm sure there will be plenty of fame-mongering businesses that would love to have her around. No fashion-related jobs, please, though -- for all our sakes.

The show is unnamed as of yet, but hopefully will be titled something like, "Kate For Hire," or "Working Mother of Eight," or "Jon Doesn't Pay Child Support." I'm going to make a totally wild prediction that the series ends with Kate getting "challenged" to host her own talk show, and then...she gets hired! Pure conjecture, though.

You know how Kate Gosselin is on the cover of People magazine this week, posing with hair extensions, even though her show has been canceled and nobody wants to think about her or her ex-husband anymore? Oh, you didn't know that? Well, that's to your credit because technically, it doesn't matter. But nobody got around to telling Jon Gosselin's ex-girlfriend, Hailey Glassman, about things that do and don't matter. Because if they had, she'd know that she was one of the things that didn't.

And yet, here is Hailey on "Entertainment Tonight," opining on Kate's appearance on the cover of People because somebody asked her what she thought. I didn't ask her what she thought, so put down that polo mallet, or at least redirect it. But after she went public with her opinion that Kate looks "really good," Glassman started yammering about other things nobody cares about, like her own hair color being brown now, and how she's trying to get "back into [her] old self," which doesn't mean anything.

So, there you have it. Another 'Aughts phenomenon that everybody tried really hard to leave in 2009 that hasn't gone away yet: The Gosselins and their collateral damage. But stand by, because the year is just getting started, and it's a marathon, not a sprint.

Last night, Barbara Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" special aired on ABC. She is proud of her selections and calls it the most "provocative" group of people she's ever had. Watch the clip above from "The View" to hear her thoughts on her interview with the fifth most fascinating person, and click "continue reading" to see who else rounded out the list (but maybe shouldn't have).

Last night's series finale of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" was depressing in as many different ways as there are Gosselin children whose lives will be negatively affected by the public crumbling of their parents' marriage. That's right, it made me sad in eight different ways. At least!

It totally makes my head spin when pop culture goes full-circle like this. Speidi, what are you doing to my brain?! Apparently, the celebrity couple put an edge on their costume by hiring two extras to act as a TLC camera crew. Does this mean that they had MTV filming them pretending to be filmed? So meta...anyway, I wonder how much we would have to pay Jon and Kate to dress up as Heidi and Spencer. Jon would be easily bought, I'm sure; plus, he and Spencer have the same wardrobe, so it would be a piece of cake. Kate would demand more, for sure, but everyone has a price...

Just when Kate Gosselin was starting to win her media battle, Vanity Fair published this article, which details her whirlwind press tour around New York in August (see her backstage on "The View," above). Her publicist and bodyguard squire her around the city, discouraging her from doing things like going to Nobu a mere few hours after sobbing during an on-camera interview. Granted, Jon Gosselin hasn't been doing himself any favors in the public eye; their TLC publicist complains, "He's gone rogue...I can't control him." After reading about Kate stomping on a small boy's foot in three-inch-heels at FAO Schwarz (and barely stopping to apologize), it's pretty hard to take anyone's side. I am, however, looking forward to hearing about Kate Gosselin wig sales.

Above: Jon Gosselin's next project?

Nice try, Jon Gosselin! If you thought all your public carousing with Lohans, creepy Euros and nubile twentysomething airheads would embarrass TLC into releasing you from your boring reality show so you'd have more time to "host" horrible pool parties and smoke cigarettes on your ATV, you...were right, it turns out. According to The Hollywood Reporter, TLC plans to relaunch "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" as "Kate Plus Eight" in November.

TLC says the new show will "include a deeper focus on Kate's role in the family and her journey as a single mother building the next chapter in her life. TLC will continue its exclusive relationship with Jon Gosselin and he will continue to appear on the show, but on a less regular basis."

Good to know TLC stlll retains their "exclusive relationship" with Jon. Just in case they want to do a line of body sprays or industrial-strength condoms somewhere down the line.

In her long and scandalous career, Kathy Griffin has talked smack about Oprah Winfrey, Lindsay Lohan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman, Barbara Walters, the Olsen twins, and many other famous ladies. But in the clip above, from "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Griffin takes aim at a target that can't really get attacked enough -- starting with her haircut, and moving on through all her other attributes.

The Keith Olbermann/Glenn Beck conflict is as bitter as they come. It is up there with Israel/Palestine, Ohio State/Michigan, Jon Gosselin/Kate Gosselin, and Jon Stewart/Glenn Beck. How can there ever be peace? Enter the great mediator: Jimmy Fallon, the Henry Kissinger of jokes. Watch the video above and learn how to resolve any problem, Fallon-style.

Tim Gunn, the Buddha of style and criticism on "Project Runway," finally voiced his opinion on Jon Gosselin's...uh, choices in apparel. Gunn believes Gosselin is committing "the biggest crime against fashion" for men (wearing items in the wrong size), which he says is the result of the "slobification of America." Gunn makes it easy to know if you've come down with a case of it: "if you want to dress in clothes that make you feel as though you never got out of bed, then don't get out of bed."

But Gunn was sympathetic toward Kate and her asymmetrical (re: spikey, beaver-like, 1/3 Anna Wintour bob) haircut. After all, she's with the kids while Jon throws pool parties in Las Vegas and hangs out with a certain celebrity's dad, but at least she still finds time to look for clothes that fit her frame.