A lot of people were surprised to learn that the reality competition Top Design had been renewed for a second season by Bravo. When it comes to Bravo's cashcow of homocentric reality shows, Top Design was the runt of the litter. Unlike Project Runway, Top Chef, and Shear Genius, it suffered from tepid ratings and even worse reviews. We even stopped recapping it before the finale, because all of the gay competitors had been eliminated, and because the show was, well ... suckish.

Things are looking up for the second season, though (currently filming for a late summer debut). The show has switched production companies, with Magical Elves (who produce Project Runway) stepping in to add their high gloss expertise, and model and designer India Hicks serving as the new host. Out design legend Todd Oldham will return as the contestant's mentor, as well as judges Margaret Russell, Kelly Wearstler, and gay designer Jonathan Adler (no word on whether he'll unveil a new line of funky ties).

Personally, I think they should start the season with some REAL challenges, like fixing up my bedroom. (I've tried, but there's only so much you can do with spackle, beanbag chairs, a poster of Color Me Badd, and a phallic-shaped lava lamp.)

If you heard a collective gasp Monday afternoon, that was the sound of TV reporters learning that Lifetime had picked up the rights to air five seasons of Project Runway, snatching the popular show away from Bravo. Bravo, meanwhile, is suing, saying that they weren't given the chance to beat Lifetime's offer, even though that's stated in Bravo's contract with the show.

In the past few years, Lifetime has found its claim as the "network for women and their gay men" challenged by networks like Oxygen, with its younger and more outrageous voice, and Bravo, which transformed itself into a style and culture network. Lifetime, however, has been fighting back, finding success with new, original series like Army Wives and with reality shows like How to Look Good Naked, which is hosted by Carson Kressley, another name we first got to know at Bravo.

The most interesting bit, here, is the timing. According to the Chicago Tribuine's Maureen Ryan, Bravo has the rights to five seasons of Project Runway but has only aired four so far (casting for the fifth season is in progress). Meanwhile, Lifetime is eager to air Runway themselves and hopes to be airing new episodes by the fall. That means both networks could plausibly end up airing new episodes of different seasons at the same time, or that Bravo's fifth season could air after the show makes its debut on Lifetime. Is your head spinning yet? It's going to be really interesting to see how this story develops.

What do you think? Will the show feel the same airing on Lifetime? Does it give Lifetime a hipper image? What goes better with "Auf Wiedersehen": Golden Girls reruns or Work Out marathons?

Hulu.com officially launched last week, and for those who may not be aware, it is the online distribution channel developed as a joint partnership between NBC and FOX. The site contains clips and full episodes from television shows both old and new. Like YouTube, users can freely embed content from Hulu.com anywhere else on the web (the clips that follow are examples). Unlike YouTube, the site won't host any user-generated content, and each media clip has short advertisements at the beginning and/or the end.

In addition to material from FOX and NBC, Hulu also offers content from their many media partners such as Bravo, the Sci Fi Channel, FX, Sony, the USA Network, E!, and others. (Unfortunately, ABC, which among the major networks has the best LGBT track record, does not participate in Hulu.)

Despite having a lot of titles to choose from and uniformly excellent video quality, I was a little disappointed by how Hulu's content was presented and its scattershot coverage.

For instance, you missed a recent episode of Bravo's Make Me a Supermodel and want to catch it. Too bad they only have one full episode from this series online and, predictably, it's not the one you want. Aargh!

The only available Supermodel episode (108):

Or, you might see they have Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the list of available titles. You click through and start scanning the Buffy offerings to discover that Hulu only offers the season 1 episodes. Boo!

Since searching by show title wound up being so frustrating, I checked out the other methods of browsing their catalog. For instance, you can search by genre. Under the genre listings you'll find: Comedy, Horror, Family & Kids, Lifestyle & Fashion, etc., but "Gay & Lesbian" isn't listed anywhere.

Striking out in my hunt for gay content there, I decided to run a word search. I was a little curious what would pop up if I searched for “gay.”

Predictably, much of the “gay” material that floats to the surface is from Bravo. Near the top we find a clip of Kathy Griffin hosting the Gay Porn Awards; or Patty Stanger of Millionaire Matchmaker giving her dimwitted opinion on the mechanics of gay dating:

Okay, who are we kidding? When Unofficial Gay Network Bravo announced the latest addition to their ever-expanding lineup of gay vocation-related reality competitions, we knew to batten down the hatches for a tidal wave of gay once more details became available.

Sure enough, Gay it Up Step It Up & Dance looks to be the heir apparent of Bravo's "gayest ever" crown, which has been passed around amongst Project Runway, Top Chef, Top Design, Shear Genius, and Make Me a Supermodel like ... well, let's just say it's been passed around.

Out choreographer Jerry Mitchell (pictured above in prime lithe form) is the ringmaster, and a few of the contestants are also card-carrying gays. And if that weren't enough, Nomi Malone herself, Elizabeth Berkley, will be the host (please please PLEASE tell me she's going to recreate some of her greatest Showgirls moments! "Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!").

We've gotten a hold of pics of the gay fellas, Michael, Oscar, Miguel and James, and posted them below. The 12 dancers will step it up on Thursday April 3rd, and we'll be there for every step-ball-change.

Michael, 25, Los Angeles

Oscar, 31, New York

James, 23, Charlotte, N.C.

Miguel, 24, Delano, CA