LL Cool J 

Credit: CBS

Though it's been a year since Whitney Houston died just hours before the Grammy Awards, the topic is still at the top of mind for many people. At press tour Executive Producer Ken Ehrlich said that all questions about how the death impacted the show will (probably) be answered in a one-hour documentary scheduled the night before the Grammy Awards (which will air on CBS Sun. Feb. 10). "It gives people a look at something you very rarely get to see," he said. "We tell the Whitney story... all of the footage came in after the fact. We didn't plan to do this. We put together a little reel about this... and [President, CBS Entertainment] Nina Tassler said, this would be a great show."

 "Project Runway All Stars"

Credit: Lifetime

Okay, guys, I'm bringing this to you a little late as I'm in the thick of TCA press tour madness, so hopefully this all makes sense. I'm a little worried Josh's dress might have been a hallucination of mine, but I'm sure someone will tell me if I'm really that sleep-deprived. 

The designers, who all address Carolyn with that singsongy voice usually reserved for mean schoolteachers, get some good news from the stick figure -- they're going to Paris! And they're getting a tour of the House of Valentino! And they're learning about couture for a couture challenge! And they get to buy fabric and Janssens & Janssens! And you get a car, and you get a car, and you get a car! 

 "Kathy"

Credit: Bravo

Last year one of the most unexpected TV talk shows on the circuit was "Kathy," and it speaks to Kathy Griffin's engaging presence that the unusual formula worked. Instead of featuring the usual spate of celebrities plugging their latest projects, Griffin instead found real people (and her own celebrity friends like Anderson Cooper and Lance Bass) to sit on the couch to discuss what she found most interesting in the news (or in the reality TV programming) of the day, sometimes finishing the show with a group of sexy firefighters, strippers or cops.

This year the show, which returns for its second season Jan. 10 at 10:00 p.m., will have some big changes -- more celebrities and a live format, which will be an interesting challenge for the potty-mouthed performer. I spoke to Griffin one-on-one at press tour about the changes, why she's "hungry and bitter," and what she's watching when she's not watching "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo."

 "Top Chef: Seattle"

Credit: Bravo

So, Dallas John is gone and that leaves the title of resident jerk to Stefan. I actually like Stefan in all his sexist crankiness (I ate at Stefan's at L.A. Farm and have to say the food was wonderful, so I'm biased). Of course, Stefan misses Dallas John. He was his morning friend! I like the idea that Stefan has friends assigned to certain times of day. Perhaps that's as long as he can stand someone. 

Wolfgang Puck joins Padma for the Quickfire Challenge. The chefs will be working with one of the most refreshing ingredients in the world -- ginger! I thought this might be a product crossover and Padma was going to say, "Diet Coke!" but not this week. Oh, wait, this is the Canada Dry Quickfire Challenge -- I was JOKING about the Diet Coke, people! Egads!

 "American Horror Story"

Credit: FX

Preparing to watch "American Horror Story," I braced myself for another round of bleak, bad news. I mean, the middle name of this show is horror, for crying out loud. There's no room for happy endings, or upbeat twists, or feel good resolutions in this cruel genre. Okay, in most horror movies someone survives after running for his or her life and cleverly outsmarting the bad guy and possibly choking said bad guy to death with chicken wire or inch-thick rope, but he or she is usually horribly scarred and needs a great deal of therapy and looks like he or she is going to cry as the credits roll. So, not exactly the stuff of Hallmark movies. 

 Ricky Gervais

Credit: AP Photo

"The Office" mastermind Ricky Gervais came to press tour to talk to journalists about "Derek," his new "bittersweet comedy drama" for NetFlix. The show is a mockumentary following the misfit Derek as he works at an underfunded senior living facility. Fans of the more acid "The Office" and "Extras" may be taken aback by the poignancy of the new show, a shift the star noted. "There's some more dramatic moments than 'The Office' or 'Extras,' maybe, and probably more, it's sweeter… [it] still has the existentialism of 'The Office,' but here it's not about being 30 [years old], it's about being 80 and 90, and the residents are 80 and 90 and are in homes themselves, so it has that reality. It's very funny, it is a sitcom, and a lot of it is plotted and character-led, but it's set in an old people's home, so they die sometimes."

 "Ben and Kate"

Credit: Fox

FOX pulled together some of their sitcom line-up's top talent --- Ike Barinholtz, Mindy Kaling, Jake Johnson, Zooey Deschanel, Nat Faxon, Echo Kellum, Lucas Neff and Shannon Woodward -- to talk about their shows ("The Mindy Project," "New Girl," "Ben and Kate," "Raising Hope") with a possibly punchy group of journalists at press tour. The results, while not sitcom-worthy, were often amusing and, less frequently, informative. 

Things started off slowly. When questions were slow to start, Deschanel ("New Girl") started pointing to people in the audience. "Am I supposed to call on people?" she asked. 

 Lily Rabe in "American Horror Story"

Credit: FX

Poor Sister Mary Eunice. The unluckiest nun (and that's saying something) of "American Horror Story" met an unhappy plot twist last week, which could be said of almost any plot twist on this FX show. Spoiler alert -- if you haven't caught up on the episodes in your DVR, stop reading now. 

 "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills"

Credit: Bravo

Tonight's two-hour extravaganza can be seen one of two ways -- one hour of "RHoBH" pasted onto an hour of the new show about Lisa's restaurant Sur, "Vanderpump Rules," or… well, there is no other way to see this, really. Whether or not you watched the whole thing has a lot to do with your tolerance for bitchy waitresses. Seriously, the only 

Ah, remember Faye Resnick tearing into Brandi like a delicious rump roast last week? Well, there's still a little blood left in the body, so we return to the scene of the crime to lick up the last drops. As Brandi's eyes well up, Faye Resnick viciously attacks her for viciously attacking Adrienne. When Brandi flees the party weeping, Faye doesn't blink, possibly because she can't from all the bad plastic surgery. "I don't feel bad about what I said. But I might send her flowers," Faye snipes as she nervously rearranges the silverware.