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.

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Mark Cornelsen and T.R. Knight look smart at Get Smart

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.

• Access Hollywood caught up with T.R. Knight last night (at the Get Smart premiere with boyfriend Mark Cornelsen), and got his thoughts on the historic day in California marriage history.

• Here's a clip of out hottiepants Cheyenne Jackson being interviewed at the Tonys red carpet!

• Groomer Rumor has it that Queer Eye vet Jai Rodriguez will be playing Desi Arnaz in a West Hollywood production of the musical Dance With Me (which tells the love story of Desi and Lucille Ball) in July.

• One of our greatest (and funniest) straight allies, Stephen Colbert, was awarded another Peabody Award last night. Keep 'em comin'! Other recipients included 30 Rock, Dexter, Mad Men, and Project Runway.

• Hey, remember that unsavory TiVo/Focus on the Family collaboration that we wrote about last week? Looks like FoF has pulled the TiVo logo from their ads. Nice!

• Neil Patrick Harris and Michael Urie (as gay assistant Marc St. James on Ugly Betty) are amongst the nominees for this year's Teen Choice Awards. For the full list go on over here ... I'm sorry, I love Jake Gyllenhaal as much as the next guy, but is there anyone who qualifies as a "teen" who has even heard of Rendition?

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Anyone who says that gay men coming out in Hollywood doesn't make a difference should take a look at the coverage that this week's symbolic commitment ceremony in Los Angeles got in the mainstream entertainment press. T.R. Knight's star wattage (and, subsequently, Jay Leno's) attracted a great deal of attention to the event, which was co-hosted by Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew and tireless supporter of gay rights.

This pic of T.R. and boyfriend Mark Cornelsen holding hands and looking all sincere is really, really sweet. Although that guy behind them looks like he's doing a Jerry Lewis impression! 

Here's Access Hollywood's coverage, here's Entertainment Tonight's, and here's Extra's. Keep it comin'!

Thanks to Lee for the tips!

T.R. Knight and his boyfriend Mark Cornelsen, who have been snapped here and there are various events and while mulling about Los Angeles, walked the red carpet the other night at the 7th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball with an assortment of other celebs. (The organization helps homeless and disadvantaged individuals become self-sufficient through employment opportunities.) It's great to see the gay fellas doing photo op duty just like any other Hollywood couple ... remember when gay celebs generally opted to keep their significant others off the press line? Yeah, like ... up until about last year.

A few more pics of Knight and Cornelsen and some of their pals (like Grey's co-stars Eric Dane and Katherine Heigl and Brothers & Sisters' Balthazar Getty) after the jump!

Out Grey's Anatomy star T.R. Knight may be ready to take a huge step with his boyfriend, the ... slightly younger UCLA student Mark Cornelson. Or it could be just tabloid innuendo.

T.R. tells OK! Magazine that he's looking forward to raising children in the future:

“I wouldn’t rule [adoption] out at all. I think it would be adopting versus any other route. But yeah. I mean, there are a lot of kids who need homes.”

Of course, he doesn't say when or even if he'll be doing it, but the article makes it seems like he's ready to hit up Angelina Jolie for one of her spares.

According to BGAY.COM,the couple may be hearing wedding bells soon:

T.R. Knight will join the Matthew Shepard Foundation to help kick off National Gay-Pride month with a symbolic dusk commitment ceremony at the famed West Hollywood hotspot, The Abbey, on June 4, 2008. Couples from around the nation will “tie the knot” in an event officiated by the Mayor of West Hollywood and rumors has it T.R. and Mark will be among the marrying couples.

Again, this conjecture travels and warps quickly. I guarantee that what started as T.R. to attend charity function with boyfriend will eventually morph into T.R. and boyfriend to marry & adopt Cambodian conjoined twins.

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.

• The Queerty fellas read Star (so we don't have to!) and noticed that the rag did a piece on T.R. Knight's new fella, Mark Cornelsen. A mainstream tab covering a gay love interest just like they would a straight one? Awesome! (Except for you, Mark. Kiss your private life goodbye.)

• A recent episode of MTV's True Life focused on gay-for-pay porn star Aaron James, and Kenneth has all his vital stats. (He also has some commenters that suggest that James might be lighter on the "-for-pay" part than he suggests.)

• Us Weekly makes a point of acknowledging their GLAAD Media Award nomination.

• Gawker asks, "Hipster or Homo?" Really, if they all dress like that, we're good.

• Don't forget that we're liveblogging the Project Runway finale tonite at 10PM EST. And to prepare, check out this hilarious megamix of Christian's greatest moments (Courtesy of our fierce PR recapper, Christie Keith!)

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This past weekend T.R. Knight performed in a benefit for Grey's Anatomy crew affected by the writers' strike and it looks like he got swept up in the glitz and glamour of the evening. From the looks of this video, Knight was enjoying the moment and signed autographs for as many people as he could, even as new boyfriend Mark Cornelsen and BFF Katherine Heigl tried to drag him away repeatedly (presumably to get backstage). Some sites are running this video saying that Katie is being controlling, but really, look at the smiles on their faces. It's totally cute. And hey, someone's gotta be "bad cop", right? (More pics like the one above over at A Socialite's Life.)

T.R. Knight - who has been conspicuously single since coming out publicly last year - has been hitting the town with a dashing young man who is rumored to be his boyfriend. And really, you don't hold hands at a table with your squash partner, so I'm inclined to believe it. The fella in question is the 2007 Matthew Shepard Point Scholar, Mark Cornelsen. Cute AND smart? Say it ain't so.

This pic was snapped at Elton John's 16th Annual AIDS Foundation Oscar party. Not a bad night to debut an adorable new relationship, eh?

The Point Foundation website says that Cornelsen is a student at San Francisco State University and that he is majoring in resort/commercial recreation management. The bio also notes that he came from a very conservative Christian family from which he has been estranged and financially independent since coming out at age 16, and that he graduated high school a year early by taking college courses. Now, seeing that T.R. turns 35 next month, that's quite an age gap to overcome. Hope it's not a problem for them.

Here's a video interview that Cornelsen did for the Youth Advisory Council upon receiving the scholarship last year.

Photo, Getty Images