Gail Simmons will host Top Chef Just Desserts; Bravo renews several shows

The second spin-off of Top Chef, the pastry chef competition called Top Chef Just Desserts, will be hosted by one of the series’ regular judges, Gail Simmons.

I have mixed feelings: On the one hand, Gail is fantastic, and she will be a lot better than some bland or awkward unknown host, or some over-the-top host who tries to monopolize attention. On the other, she’s a great judge, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into being able to be a great host.

Meanwhile, Bravo made several announcements yesterday. First, my favorite show on the network last year, Top Chef Masters, will return April 7. The cast hasn’t yet been revealed.

The network has renewed several of its docudramas: Flipping Out, My Life on the D-List, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and The Rachel Zoe Project. At least one of those will have a major cast change: Rachel and Brad no longer have TayTay, so they’ll get another employee. Also, Bravo’s information about Jeff Lewis’ show doesn’t mention Ryan Brown, who fought with Jeff last season, so it’s possible he may not be back.

In addition, The Real Housewives of New York will return in March, and the new Jackie Warner series Thintervention has officially been picked up to series; the photography competition Double Exposure will debut sometime in April; and Bravo announced details about Bethenny Frankel’s new series, which is called Bethenny’s Getting Married?. It actually has a question mark in the title even though, as Bravo says, it will follow Bethenny “as she juggles her happy love life, plans a wedding and prepares for baby while managing her insanely busy schedule and career as a natural foods chef.”