Todd Oldham is back for more Top Design 

Yes, it's a big gay week over at Bravo. Hot on the heels of announcing the cast of Project Runway 5 (which starts ... um ... last night! More on that later...), the net is immediately diverting attention to their ongoing Top Design franchise by announcing that cast over a month and a half in advance of the show's premiere. Are they deliberately stealing Runway's thunder now that it's a lame duck franchise bound for Lifetime?

It's all the same to us ... More Team Gay!

If you remember Season 1 (and we barely do), it went a little something like this: Four guys on Team Gay ... We Heart Todd Oldham ... Pacific Design Center ... What the eff is Kelly Wearstler wearing ... Why is Goil crying again ... "Mayor of Excuses Village" ... Straight Matt wins.

Though the challenges actually got interesting by the end, the show overall was a snooze. There's just something about dressing up a plain white space that isn't nearly as interesting as making a living person wear produce (Runway) or cutting their hair with hedge shears (Shear Genius). But Bravo took drastic steps for Season 2 in hiring Runway producers Magical Elves and adding a host (India Hicks) to play Heidi (Oldham is back as mentor, and Jonathan Adler, Wearstler, and Margaret Russell are back as judges). Here's to hoping the renovation makes a difference.

So here are your gay contenders for Season 2 (note that 6 out of 7 total men are gay, or 6 out of 13 total contestants). 

Nathan 

Wisit 

Eddie 

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.)

For NBC's "Green is Universal" week, Bravo's Andy Cohen had a video chat with designer Todd Oldham and Amy Sedaris about being green friendly. The mix of Sedaris and Oldham turns out to be pretty cute, blending silliness with some serious eco-talk.

Sedaris, BTW, came to the chat wearing a cute green skirt she got while filming a music video with a monkey for Dolly Parton. That's right, there's a Dolly Parton video coming up that has both Amy Sedaris and a monkey.

Both Sedaris and Oldham make finding ways to turn waste products into a craft. Oldham turns an old plastic bag into a snowflake and a bathroom tissue roll into a toy for her pet rabbits. (Unsurprisingly, Sedaris also reveals a love of making the Land-O-Lakes butter mascot flash her top.) Sedaris seems to be able to find a new use for everything.

On a more serious note, the trio compare a lot of little ways they try to reduce the strain they put on the environment. Oldham requests a pitcher of water instead of bottled water. Top Design's Goil also calls via phone in to bring up the impact of buying locally (and then he and Todd discuss renewable building materials).

It's all cuter and a little more fun than I would have expected when I checked it out. You can see it for yourself at Bravo's web site or watch each clip individually after the break: