Tuning In to TV

’Iron Chef’ at WH

Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden is about to become a culinary battlefield.

The Food Network announced Wednesday that an episode of “Iron Chef America” will be taped at the White House featuring Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse, Associated Press reports.

The three chefs, joined by White House chef Cristeta Comerford, will be welcomed by the first lady and allowed to use anything found in the garden to help create their meals.

The competition will then move back to the network’s Kitchen Stadium in New York, where Mr. Flay and Miss Comerford will face off against Mr. Batali and Mr. Lagasse to produce five dishes showcasing the ingredients.

The judges will include chef Nigella Lawson, Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin and actress Jane Seymour.

The episode airs Jan. 3.

Kirstie gets a series

Kirstie Alley is returning to television - this time as the star of an A&E reality “docu-series” about her life as a single mom and her efforts to lose weight.

According to Associated Press, the cable network has ordered 10 half-hour episodes of the untitled series from “American Idol” producer FremantleMedia North America. The show will follow the actress at home with her teenage children, at work and as she launches a new weight-loss program.

Miss Alley, 58, who starred in the sitcoms “Veronica’s Closet” and “Cheers,” appeared in the 2005 Showtime comedy series “Fat Actress.” She played a version of herself coping with Hollywood’s fixation on thinness.

She also has been a spokeswoman for the Jenny Craig diet program.

The A&E series is set to air next year, AP says.

PTC targets ’Gossip’

The Parents Television Council has sent letters to CW affiliates - about 120 in all - asking them to pre-empt Monday’s episode of “Gossip Girl,” Broadcastingcable.com reports.

The group cites reports in Entertainment Weekly and elsewhere that the installment will include a sexual tryst among three main characters.

A PTC spokesperson said calling for the pre-emption was an unusual move for the organization, saying the last time it did so was in May 2008 for the season finale of “Dexter.”

The group is asking all its members (it claims 1.3 million) to write to stations as well. “I appeal to your highest sense of decency, respect and common sense in urging you to preempt this episode,” writes PTC President Tim Winter in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by B&C.

According to B&C, Mr. Winter put the sting - or at least the threat of one - in the letter’s end.

“Please be advised that the PTC will monitor this episode very closely,” he writes. “Our members will not hesitate to contact local and national advertisers; and if this program violates broadcast decency law, rest assured that our members will contact the Federal Communications Commission.”

A CW spokesperson had no comment, B&C said. While the CW does not generally comment on PTC complaints, it did use a quote from the group criticizing the show in its marketing campaign for “Gossip Girl” two seasons ago.

According to Nielsen, the median age of show’s viewers is 27; the median age of CW viewers overall is 33. “Gossip Girl” is rated TV 14 (parents strongly cautioned).

PTC gained national attention when it generated hundreds of thousands of complaints about the 2004 Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake Super Bowl half-time “wardrobe malfunction,” helping prompt a congressional inquiry and an FCC fine.

In a recent filing, three former FCC commissioners opposed to the indecency crackdown chastised the FCC for what they said was effectively turning over the TV-monitoring function to the PTC.

Ramsay cooks it up

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has some new people to yell at.

The verbally abusive star of Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” has signed a deal with Fox for a second show, Associated Press reported Wednesday. Tentatively titled “MasterChef,” it will feature Mr. Ramsay trying to turn people who have no experience in the food industry into expert cooks.

Contestants will compete by whipping up dishes to be judged by a panel of expert chefs. The new series follows a format that has proven successful in England and Australia.

Fox did not immediately say when the new show will go on the air.

’Conchords’ may end

“Flight of the Conchords” star Jemaine Clement has said his offbeat HBO comedy series may not continue for a third season because it requires so much work, Reuters news agency reports.

A final decision will be made within a month.

Mr. Clement told Reuters he needs to discuss the future of the show with his co-star Bret McKenzie and with James Bobin, the director of the series.

“It very likely might not” return for a third season, Mr. Clement said. “It could come back in a shorter season or like a special,” he added.

The largely autobiographical “Flight of the Conchords,” an offbeat, cult favorite in the U.S., follows the adventures of two New Zealand band mates named Jemaine and Bret who move to New York to try to make it in the music business.

The show began in 2007 and is based on Mr. Clement and Mr. McKenzie’s folk parody band Flight of the Conchords. The second season ended this spring on premium cable’s HBO.

This year, the show was nominated for an Emmy Award for best comedy series but lost to NBC’s “30 Rock.” Mr. Clement also was nominated for best lead actor in a comedy series.

Mr. Clement, who also has a starring role in the new film “Gentleman Broncos” (which opens Friday) said he and Mr. McKenzie are challenged to keep up with the work required for the show.

Last year, Mr. Clement and Mr. McKenzie’s musical duo Flight of the Conchords won New Zealand’s first Grammy since 1984 for their EP release “The Distant Future.” They won for best comedy album.

More ’Accidentally’

CBS has picked up five more episodes of the Monday-night comedy “Accidentally on Purpose,” which stars Jenna Elfman as a successful 30-something film critic who discovers she’s pregnant after a one-night stand with a 20-something aspiring chef.

The show has been a solid performer on a night where the ratings bar is set very high. Although “Accidentally” has been the lowest-rated performer of the lineup, it has improved on retaining its “How I Met Your Mother” lead-in and, on Monday night, hit a season high among total viewers.

c Compiled by Robyn-Denise Yourse from Web and wire reports