This is charming news: out actors John Glover (Smallville) and Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and Ron Rifkin, who is currently playing a gay man on Brothers & Sisters, will reprise their roles in The Paris Letter, by out playwright Jon Robin Baitz (who also created B&S) at the Los Angeles Theater Works. The trio have all performed in the play previously (Glover in the show's Off-Broadway run and Rifkin and Harris in 2004).

The play tells the story of a repressed, high-powered Wall Street type whose life is thrown into turmoil after an affair with a younger, male colleague. And given that since these gents last performed in the play one has been led to come out publicly as a gay man and another is playing one of the few gay characters on television, one can't help but wonder how it might have a new resonance. Josh Radnor (Harris's HIMYM co-star) and Patricia Wettig (B&S, thirtysomething) co-star.

It's also great to see Rifkin and Wetting working in another Baitz-penned work, particularly given his high-profile exit from the show, which is currently in production limbo due to the strike. 

Despite the fact that he has had little to do with the show since being asked to step back from Brothers & Sisters months ago, it's worth noting that Jon Robin Baitz has officially been officially fired from ABC Studios, as of Friday evening.

Baitz himself points out in his latest Leaving Los Angeles e-tome that he's not particularly shocked to be fired (it's being reported that ABC let go of most or all writers under contract who do not currently have a project in development), but takes a few minutes to reminisce about the characters and show that he created and the good times he had with cast and creative team.

What does this mean for the show? Well, given the fact that Baitz has been distanced from the drama for some time, this latest news doesn't equal much impact on the show when the strike ends and things start rolling again. If you're not up on all the backstage developments on B&S, check out our resource page.

Last Friday we posted on the writer's strike and its potential impact on some gay fave TV shows.

The walkout officially began on Monday. It's the first industrywide strike by writers since 1988. That strike lasted five months, and a lot of folks believe the current walkout could last as long or longer. The battle between the writers and the studios boils down to compensation for digital delivery of content. (Just before the strike, the union dropped its other demand for increased compensation for DVD sales - but got no counteroffer/concession from the studios on the digital issue.)

Both sides are digging in their heels and settling in for a long fight. We have some more specific information as to how that will affect some of your favorite shows:

The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. These two gems are already in repeats. If the strike drags on into 2008, Comedy Central has hinted that The Daily Show show might come back in a predominantly interview driven format. (There's an important election coming up and the nation will need its fake news!).

Note: on Monday there was a story circulating that, even though his show has been shut down, Jon Stewart would personally be paying his writers their salaries for the next two weeks. Turns out that is not in fact the case. Stewart's reps have denied the rumor.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the Brothers & Sisters set where I chatted with Matthew Rhys who plays Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin who plays Uncle Saul, and the show's executive producer Jon Robin Baitz. Friday's BEST.GAY.WEEK.EVER! will have all the details, but right now I thought I'd share some news Baitz revealed during the set visit. We'd already heard that Kevin's first love interest on the show -- Scotty Wandell played by Luke MacFarlane -- would be back for an episode. But for all you Scotty lovers I have good great news -- Scotty will be back for seven episodes and Baitz told me a little more about the character. Here is everything I learned about Luke, plus a few other details.

• The show returns Sundays at 10 PM starting September 30.
• Eric Winters is only back for one episode, but that could change. He was actually on the set during the visit though I didn't have time to chat with him. I'm happy to report he is just as handsome in person as on TV. (And Matthew Rhys is better looking in real life. TV just doesn't do him justice!)
  
• When asked if Kevin and Scotty would get back together, Baitz said: "We're really interested in exploring what it could mean for these two characters to get to know each other even more than they have. Not just romantically, but truly as friends; as people who can talk to each other. So you're going to see that storyline evolve surprisingly. I don't want to tell too much. I think having him back is such a delight. Where we find him when we come back is a man trying to pull his life together and I take really special care with those characters -- Kevin and Scotty."
• When asked about whether Luke was back because of fan reaction and his chemistry with Matthew: "I always knew that it was extraordinary and they freedom they had is why it is working so well and they're such great strong actors. Everyone agreed. The studio. The network. The people who loved the show -- so it was a given."