Love it or hate it, Sex and the City was a series that inspired plenty of empathy in in its audience of straight women and gay men, a series that helped HBO become a network with plenty of watercooler buzz. Since it ended in 2004, HBO's schedule has been missing a dynamic like one SaTC brought and the network has looked for another series that is similarly edgy and female-driven.

In 2005, HBO was looking at adapting Ruth Reichel's Comfort Me with Apples, which looked at how Reichel transitioned from chef to influential food critic, including a late-in-life sexual awakening. The following year, the network announced another pilot about urban career women, Whitney which was said to focus on four women navigating sexual politics in Miami. Generally, the rule for pilots like these is "no news is bad news" and since we've heard nothing about these shows after they were first announced, it's likely we won't see either show. Meanwhile another comedy project -- 12 Miles of Bad Road, which starred Lily Tomlin and Leslie Jordan as part of an absurdly wealthy Texas family -- was recently dropped even though six episodes were already filmed.

Now, two new potential series will try to revive what's been missing for HBO. Out producer Darren Star is adapting a memoir by former sex worker, Tracy Quan, Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl, into a comedy about the intersection of power, sex and money. Before Quan wrote her book, she was a columnist for Salon.com, telling the early chapters of the story that would continue in her book.

However, the series I have my eye on is an attempt to adapt the incredibly campy Britcom Suburban Shootout. Back before it was known for reality shows starring Tori Spelling or Janice Dickinson, the gay-friendly Oxygen network was making waves for importing dark comedies like Shootout and Nighty Night.

Suburban Shootout can be aptly described as Desperate Housewives meets The Sopranos -- or, rather, a combination of the good memories these series invoked when Shootout first aired. The series follows Joyce, a police officer's wife who thinks her days are going to be much calmer now that she has moved from the city to a small country town. Unfortunately, it turns out her new home is a battleground between two gangs of housewives who are eager to add Joyce to their roster. While women like Camilla Diamond and Barbara Du Prez seem well-mannered, stylish and peaceful, their battle for control over their little town often involves trading gunfire and bloody fisticuffs. On Joyce's first day in town, the local basket shop gets bombed for falling behind on their protection payments.

Barry Sonnenfeld, who recently directed the pilot for Pushing Daises, will be directing the pilot for Suburban Shootout. That's a hopeful sign that the adaptation will get the look and tone of the original series right. Still, one major drawback for Shootout is that its story of violent crime in a pleasant little town might remind audiences too much of last year's Hot Fuzz. Still, one thing Hot Fuzz doesn't have is tough women looking fashionable and fierce as they're committing over-the-top violence.

What do you think? Are there any fans of Quan's writing or the original Suburban Shootout out there? Do you think HBO can turn either pilot into the next heavily-buzzed comedy?

Vincent Cassel as the sexually confused Kirill in Eastern Promises

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.

• More proof that Canada is cooler than we are: Eastern Promises earned seven Genie Awards (the Canadian Oscar), including one for Best Original Screenplay.

• Big Brother 9 has managed to become even more vile, this time thanks to gay houseguest Joshuah.

• If these rumors about Torchwood and Doctor Who are true ... well, we'll always have Ianto.

• Is out Sex and the City creator Darren Star's new show Cashmere Mafia already on its way out?

• EW ran a readers' choice gallery of the 30 most datable TV characters. Sorry, but for some reason I just can't seem to click past "The Men of Friday Night Lights", for whatever reason... (oh, and Will Truman made the cut. Really?! High-maintenance city!)

• Just for fun, here's a remix of the moment from the Grammy's where Beyonce apparently stepped on Tina Turner's foot. (t/y Gary!)

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

• Today in Gay Irony: Out Sex and the City creator Darren Star's next pilot is based on a YouTube series called We Need Girlfriends.

• A columnist for the LA Times asks, "Is gay the new straight?" Yes ... that is, if "yes" is the new "no"...

• Harry Potter himself has noted that since he was outed, Dumbledore (aka Michael Gambon) has been "camping it up" on the set.

• Neil Patrick Harris pops up on Wheel of Fortune next week at Radio City. The look on the girl's face in that picture? You know he's totally pinching her tushie.

• ABC News, whose history with gay matters isn't exactly stellar, has been spotted in Alabama filming people's responses to the sight of two men kissing in public. How about people's responses to the sight of two anythings kissing in public? Eew...