Mitch Hewer as Maxxie on Skins

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Fans of randy British teen dramas rejoice! Skins, a beloved (and racy!) nighttime soap featuring Mitch Hewer as gay teen Maxxie, will premiere on BBC America in August.

• John Barrowman took second place as Britain's cheesiest celebrity, barely nosing out Graham Norton but losing to former EastEnders star Shane Richie. The contest was run by a cheese company who should probably put themselves on the list next year for devising such a pungent promotion.

• And speaking of Barrowman, could he be on the list of Doctor Who companions who might be killed off (if you listen to rumors) in this weekend's big finale?

• Good news: Both Neil Patrick Harris and T.R. Knight have made the Emmy nomination "short lists". No, I'm not making fun of their stature.

• Gay video retailer (and porn distributor) TLA is coming under fire for making Heath Ledger's full-frontal in I'm Not There the selling point for the DVD in their catalog. On the one hand, the pickle-shot in question is certainly news to me. On the other, a dead guy's junk is a pretty trashy way to sell a DVD.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

Who's who? John Barrowman David Tennant Catherine Tate something something

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Great news, Torchwoodies and Barrowmaniacs®: Captain Jack and team will be appearing on the Season 4 Doctor Who finale (yes, Ianto will be there, too, although he's not in the above pic).

• A book by a gay man about double-dating with his octogenarian father? What's more, it's got the brilliant title Assisted Loving? Sign me up!

• Since we have a policy of not speculating on the sexuality of celebrities, I'm just going to go ahead and wish Garfield a "Happy Birthday" without any further comment. 

• Out actor Neil Patrick Harris and gay-fave Pushing Daisies (and Wicked) star Kristin Chenowith will announce the nominees for the 60th Annual Primetime Emmys on July 17th.

• I'm as big a fan of gratuitous beefcake as anyone else, believe me. But isn't Mario Lopez trying a little hard lately?

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

This week the Emmy committee announced that a new award would be given out at the next ceremony: Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program.

Now, while the idea of debating if Jeff Probst or Tom Bergeron adds more to their show sounds like a worthwhile discussion, I initially filed that bit of news aside since I couldn't quickly think of many openly gay men hosting reality shows.

But what about the gay men who do regularly appear on reality shows ... namely, the mentors and sidekicks? Are Heidi Klum's contributions to Project Runway greater than Tim Gunn's? Similarly, we're seeing more of Step It Up & Dance's mentor Jerry Mitchell than host Elizabeth Berkeley in the show's early episodes. Aren't they a major part of why we enjoy a show?

I guess you could make an argument that these mentors could be seen as co-hosts since they perform many host-like duties (like when they take charge of a challenge), but would the Emmy committee see things that way? If not, the awards would risk missing out on a major part of what makes these shows so praiseworthy.

Then again we're talking about the Emmys. Don't they usually miss out on the most praiseworthy parts of television?

Mario Cantone came onto The View to share his thoughts on The Emmy Awards and of course proceeded to do what he does best: overreact, scream and offend (and I mean that as a compliment, seriously). After ribbing the ladies for not giving him a full-time gig ("Thanks for the job, bitches!!"), Cantone launched into a litany of nit-picks about the broadcast, including the following:

• In discussing Joan Rivers' coverage of the Awards... from her living room sofa, on the Internet: "What is she gonna do, go door-to-door next year?! Ding-dong, 'Hi, it's me Joan! Did you see Aida Turturro-' SLAM! Ding-dong, 'Hi, it's me, Joan! Oh my God, The Sopranos-' SLAM!"
• In response to Robert Duvall's acceptance speech claims that all actors want to be in Western: "I'd be the first homosexual to star in a Western since Montgomery Clift," referring to Clift's role in Red River. He insisted, "John Wayne hated him in that movie, he was like "What is this homo doin' in a Western?!'"
• On Helen Mirren's comment that Americans are a lot of things, "some good, some bad": "Oh no you didn't! How would you like it, Helen, if I got up at the London Palladium and said, 'You British people have a lot of teeth ... some good, some bad.'?"

That's right, folks: I've got one leg on board the Good Ship AfterElton.com and the other on my couch as I attempt to provide some long-overdue perspective on the high-fashion feeding frenzy that is The Emmy Awards. We've got two out gay actors up for major awards (T.R. Knight and Neil Patrick Harris, of for supporting actor awards in drama and comedy) and hey -- it's the Emmys. The combo of live television, overzealous correspondents and double-sided tape is magic-making.

To join the fun, just click through the jump and refresh often to get the latest updates. (And if you join late, just start at the bottom so as not to miss a moment!) Throw on your best bowtie and enjoy!

• It's practically Mormon-palooza! First we've got the openly gay Todd Herzog on Survivor: China (debuting Thursday) and now we've got "Mormons Exposed" a calendar designed to help get rid of misconceptions about Mormons. I don't know if that'll happen, but at least I'll have a nice ice-break the next time they come knocking on my door.
• GLAAD tells Ja Rule they are so not down with his homophobic interview in Complex Magazine.
• No fair-minded person can look at JaRule’s interview with Complex Magazine and believe for one second that his children could be more harmed by what they might see on television than by the vulgarity and prejudice that comes out of their father’s mouth.
  

• Don't forget this week's BEST.GAY.WEEK.EVER! where I talk about Sunday night's Emmy awards and the DVD release of the first season of Brothers & Sisters which has Matthew Rhys shirtless! And that alone is worth the price as you can see.




• And after the jump, you'll find a promo for this week's episode of Torchwood!