And don’t even get me started on Jon’s escapades or his recent lawsuit against Kate for the custody of the children. Who’s he kidding? I wouldn’t trust him with my dog, much less kids. I’ve just gotta chalk this one up to yet another publicity stunt. He has been on the back burner lately – I guess he thought it was time to make waves again.

But I digress.

Of course, I’m really here to talk about Kate’s new show, “Twist of Kate”. As I understand it, Kate has managed to land, not one, but two shows on TLC. First, Kate Plus Eight will relaunch (sans Jon of course). This gives the eight yet another chance to have all of America watch as they work their way through all the embarrassing moments of childhood (and beyond in to puberty, perhaps?).

Second, we will all be treated to more Kate Gosselin in Twist of Kate (which sounds like she’s going to be served “on the rocks”). The new show will have Kate hosting as she highlights strong woman figures and their journeys through adversity. My understanding of the show makes it sound like one big Kate worship fest.

Yahoo! News:

“Twist of Kate” will follow the reality star and supermom as she visits the homes and workplaces of her subjects, where she will exchange insights for living.

Her subjects?? I know we’ve all called her a “queen” bee, but seriously, she’s no royalty.

I don’t even want to bother with her “insights”. Go with the $5,000 hairdo, or splurge on the $7,000? Hmmmm….

So what does TLC have in store for its viewers?

According to US Magazine, this last episode will treat us to two separate outings with the kids – one with Jon and one with Kate. Jon will be taking them to a  fire station, and Kate will cart the kids over to local dairy farm.

As if these kids haven’t had enough family outings. But hey, I guess they’re more interesting to watch than Kate emasculating Jon at the grocery store.

After this, we shouldn’t see any more of the Gosselin family for a while. The word is that TLC will be focusing on the production of Kate’s new show until it launches in early spring.

What will the end of the show mean for the Gosselin family? Will we continue to see them in the news, or will they finally be allowed to fade back into obscurity? Obviously we will be seeing more of Kate, since she does have another show slated with TLC. Hopefully she will be satisfied with that amount of media exposure, and from here on out, won’t see it necessary to involve her children with anymore show business.

But what about Jon? He whined that regular employment was no longer an option for him, due to the flock of paparazzi that shadow his every step. Will that still be a problem when the show ends? We all know exactly how skilled Jon is at attracting media attention. There was also the rumor that he and BFF Michael Lohan were putting together a new reality show tentatively called “Divorced Dads”. With the end of his TLC contractual obligation, will Jon once again pursue that  avenue of income?

So many questions, and no real answers. I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see what Jon and Kate decide to do. The ball is in their court.

Do you have any thoughts on how this saga will end? Go ahead and jot them down here in the comments.

But as the evening continued on, it seems that the second episode breathed new life into a show that had gone stale. This episode featured the new post-divorce “format” that we will be seeing more of in the future. Without Jon around, the usual tension was absent. Kate seemed overall a little calmer, though she did let that uptight side out of its cage when she made the kids take showers before sleeping outside in sleeping bags.

Given the comments that I’ve been reading on the various public forum medias, at first blush it seems that this new “Jon and Kate” has a following after all. People seem to like the new pace being set. Granted, I think a lot of the supporters of the show have been “Team Kate”, and this first episode post-divorce was certainly Kate-focused. There have been rumors that TLC intends to play up Jon’s faults and indiscretions in order to appeal to this crowd, thus building itself a whole new fan base. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what the next episode brings. Will the next airing be more “Team Jon” oriented?

I’ve been perusing the popular opinion forums and blogs, and it sounds like Jon and Kate Plus 8 has really lost a following. While everybody loves a train wreck, many people just seem sick of the drama. And not just sick of the parental-based drama, but sick of seeing these beautiful children figuratively stepped on. They’re stuck in the middle and that’s not healthy. But as far as a viewer base goes, will it matter if there is a strong decline in ratings? I found an article talking about the relevancy of Jon and Kate’s divorce experience to the general populace, and it had this to say about viewer numbers.

“Goldberg declined to comment on advertiser pullout, but industry analysts predict that Jon & Kate Plus 8 will have no trouble finding advertisers as long as TLC can produce a reasonably credible version of a family in the process of separation and divorce. The reason for that: The show’s audience was so large by the standards of basic cable during the past season that even if one-third or one-half return, the show will be profitable.”

If that’s the case, I guess all of us who have sworn off watching the new season of Jon and Kate won’t make one iota of a difference on the bottom line of profit. Huh.

If you are interested in reading the rest of the article, here’s the link. It’s a relatively thought out article addressing the idea that Jon and Kate can now provide divorcees with something relatable. I think the author has some points on how that could be true, but I still (personally) think that the scale of the Jon and Kate drama puts the pair on an unrelatable level. Yes, Jon and Kate are human, and they are going through a common situation (we’ve all either gone through a divorce in the family or have friends who have). But when you add cameras, photo shoots, and network sponsors (with all the perks), I really do think you lose the ability to relate to your audience, and vice versa. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

So what will this next season bring? We already know the iconic couch has been cut. We know that the separated pair will be trying out new activities (though to me it sounds more like they will try doing things that previously a set member did for them). TLC claims to be handling the new family situation delicately, but how “delicate” can they actually be? The network hasn’t exactly given viewers a reason to think it’s capable of tact.

Previous announcements of the coming episodes claimed that absolutely no love interests would be introduced to the cameras, but today it seems that TLC has changed their tune.

“Going forward, the couple will be shot separately in the interview portion of the show, and some of the couple’s outside relationships could be shown.” (Source)

Personally I don’t think that sounds like the network is planning to be tactful at all. Sounds more like a recipe for “reality TV-soap star drama”. That wishy washy wording will certainly make it easy for someone to justify bringing in Hailey, Kate 2.0, or any of the other chickies Jon feels like having around on the show. Perfect for ratings!

So how will the show do in the next season? Will all the summertime drama help ratings or have people gotten a sour taste in their mouths from watching all the media muck? We shall see this Monday.

Jon and Kate Gosselin reunited Thursday afternoon for the first time since he took new girlfriend Hailey Glassman on a luxe getaway to France.

See photos from Jon and Hailey’s trip.

The exes were spotted hanging out in the driveway of their $1.1 million Pennsylvania home with two of their sextuplets. Jon drank Vitamin Water, while Aaden sucked on a popsicle. (They were last together on the fourth of July.)

While Kate lives at the home full-time, Jon stops by when he has visitation. “We flip-flop that way,” Kate explained on the same episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 they announced their split. Read on…

In TLC’s case, a record 10.6 million viewers watched Jon and Kate Gosselin announce their marital breakup during the June 22 episode. But the show — only six installments in a 40-episode order have aired — has since gone on hiatus until August 3 to figure out how to move forward.

The “Jon & Kate” phenomenon has sent shock waves through Hollywood’s unscripted TV community. Read on…

TLC said last week that “Jon & Kate Plus 8” was on hiatus until August, as the network tried to find a new formula for the show.

Reportedly, TLC will now show each parent separately with their brood of eight children.

This article brings up doubts as to whether this format could even work.  From what I’m hearing, “Jon & Kate” is just degrading into yet another reality TV show focused on negative attention and ridiculous arguments. They certainly are no longer the role models they once were.