TV on Tap: Lady Gaga Meets Gaultier, Anderson Cooper's Daytime Talk Show Debuts and HGTV Picks the Next "Design Star"

Anderson Cooper joins the daytime lineup with the debut of Anderson.

News

I'm not familiar with the source, but John Barrowman is reportedly asking fans to write to the BBC and voice their desire to see Captain Jack in the celebration of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary. It can't hurt for Captain Jack fans to make their voices heard.

HBO is going forward with Aaron Sorkin's drama about a cable news channel Hopefully, it'll be Sports Night meets The West Wing with none of the self-parody that was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. (The more I see of Kristin Chenoweth, the more disappointing the character of Harriet Hayes becomes.) When the series was early in the development stages, there was talk that Keith Olbermann would help write the news segments. I wonder if that will still happen.

I find The Bachelor host Chris Harrison to be smug and patronizing, so making him the host of a "feel-good" game show kills my interest before you can tell me how the game works. Then again, I can't think of the last time an ABC game show asked a question a Cash Cab contestant would find challenging.

TV Land has certainly found success bringing performers who've earned a gay following back to the small screen, and now they've got Judith Light. Light is joining the cast of The Exes, which stars Kristen Johnston as a woman who helps three divorced men with their relationship issues. The Who's the Boss? star will play Johnston's mother.

Scrubs alum Sarah Chalke will be heading to Cougar Town (or whatever it's called when it returns.) The role is a bit of a reunion since both Scrubs and Cougar Town were created by Bill Lawrence.

Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter put his foot in his mouth again, this time saying that the small number of female TV writers is because television is created "for white guys" and women aren't as good at writing about "the struggles of men." There are so many problems with what Sutter said, I don't know  where to begin.

NBC's highly-anticipated midseason drama Awake just added Laura Innes to its cast in a recurring role. Innes will also direct an episode or two. The show just keeps sounding better.

Sigh. Proposed Sex and the City prequel series, The Carrie Diaries, has taken the next step forward. They're not going to stop until I start hating the original series, aren't they?

Bravo certainly seems happy with the ratings for Flipping Out. The network is bragging that the fifth season finale drew a series high in the ratings. That undoubtedly helped the fourth season premiere The Rachel Zoe Project get 29% more viewers than the third season finale.

So far, it looks like the audience for The Talk hasn't been fazed by the changes in the host line-up. Ratings for the first new episodes since the shake-up have been holding steady with the May and July averages.

Listings

Anderson (syndicated) Check local listings
The CNN fave expands his empire with a daytime talk show that debuts today. His first guests are the parents and boyfriend of Amy Winehouse who will discuss the singer's battle with addiction and her state of mind before her death.

The Nate Berkus Show (syndicated) Check local listings
Nate kicks off his second season with some big surprises, including a couple who gets the biggest "Nate's Crate" ever — one that contains Nate! (Grr, jealousy rising.)

Gaga by Gaultier (CW) 8:00 PM ET
Fashion icon Lady Gaga and fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier meet to discuss Gaga's view of fame, fans and art.

Eureka (Syfy) 8:00 PM ET
The latest mystery Carter has to figure out is a melted cow. Again, someone at Global Dynamics really should look into product safety testing procedures. Maybe that will happen in the series finale.

The Lying Game (ABC Family) 8:00 PM ET
The drama and intrigue moves to an earlier time slot as Emma faces her latest test, convincingly running for Homecoming Queen as Sutter would.

The Closer (TNT) 9:00 PM ET
The civil case against Brenda hits an important point, leading to a big decision by the judge presiding over the case. I hope that doesn't mean the last we see of Mark Pellegrino, who has been a hoot as Brenda's lawyer, I never expected anyone to give reactions as good as Mary McDonnell.

Warehouse 13 (Syfy) 9:00 PM ET
While we're all asking "Where's Steve?" Pete ends up walking into Jane's memories in an attempt to figure out who is killing the regents.

HGTV Design Star (HGTV) 9:00 PM ET
In the finale, the two finalists film a pilot for their proposed shows. With Karl still in the finals, will we finally see a second gay Design Star winner?

The A-List: New York (Logo) 10:00 PM ET
Austin tries to clean up his messes. He tries to prove to Jake that he can keep his relationship with Reichen from being sexual, and he begs Derek for forgiveness. 

Hair Battle Spectacular (Oxygen) 10:00 PM ET
The remaining competitors have to come up with their best Marie Antoinette-inspired hairstyle. I hope someone tries to sculpt their model's hair into a big cake.

The Big C (Showtime) 10:30 PM ET
An argument with Lee and a dinner with Dr. Sherman gets Cathy realizing she's got a big choice to make.

Death Valley (MTV) 10:30 PM ET
The Undead Task Force tries to stop the latest crime wave as vampires start hijacking bloodmobiles.

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC) 12:35 AM ET
Since I know a lot of you are excited about the debut of Ringer tomorrow, I figure some of you will want to watch Sarah Michelle Gellar as she chats with Jimmy. Even better, Alexander Skarsgard is also on tonight's guest list.

What will you be watching tonight? Please share in the comments!

Tomorrow's Preview

Anderson (syndicated) Check local listings
Coop tells us what he did over the summer, which includes sunbathing with Kathy Griffin, spray tanning with Snooki and hanging out with Daniel Radcliffe.

The Nate Berkus Show (syndicated) Check local listings
Nate got his home renovated over the summer, and he recorded the entire process so that he could share it with you.

The View (ABC) Check local listings
Kristin Chenoweth will be visiting today. Let's hope she's got some stories about Good Christian Belles to share.

The Talk (CBS) Check local listigns
It must be the day for gay-fave singers to visit panel shows tomorrow, since The Talk will have Stevie Nicks.

Ringer (CW) 9:00 PM ET
Sarah Michelle Gellar returns to TV in a double-role that has her playing estranged twins who live very different lives.

Want the extended outlook for TV listing suggestions? Check out this week's Appointment Viewing.