Dave Bjerke, Bravo "The Real Housewives of Orange County" will follow the lives of, from left, Kim Bryant, Lauri Waring, Jeana Keough, Vicki Gunvalson and Jo De La Rosa. Click photo for larger image.

First there was "The O.C.," followed not long after by the verite version, MTV's "Laguna Beach."

Then came "Desperate Housewives," taking the prime-time soap to levels not seen since the heyday of "Dallas" and "Dynasty." Now, perhaps inevitably, someone is training cameras on nonactresses who live out their own dramas in an upscale community.

This spring, cable network Bravo will unveil "The Real Housewives of Orange County," which will follow five women who live in a gated community in O.C., south of Los Angeles. In keeping with its fictional template, four of the women, among them a former Playboy Playmate and a "self-made" insurance broker, are in their 40s, while the fifth, a newcomer to the community, is younger.

Jeana Keough, the wife of former major league pitcher Matt Keough, is the former Playmate; she also starred in several ZZ Top videos in the 1980s and appeared in several films, including "History of the World: Part I" and "Up the Creek." A mother of three, she also sells real estate.

The other four principals on the show are Vicki Gunvalson, the insurance broker, a "devout Christian" with two teenagers; "trophy wife" Kimberly Bryant; recently divorced Lauri Waring, who works for Gunvalson and is adjusting to life as a single mother; and Jo De La Rosa, the youngest of the five and not actually a wife -- she's engaged to a divorced dad who lives in the community.

(Zap2it.com)

'Drake' star recovering

Drake Bell, the star of Nickelodeon's popular show "Drake & Josh," has been released from a hospital after suffering a broken neck and other injuries in a car accident.

The 19-year-old Bell also suffered a broken jaw and cuts to his face in the accident last week. Several news reports say his car, a 1966 Ford Mustang, was hit head-on by a Mercedes on the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica. Bell was idling in the road's left-turn lane when he was hit; the other driver had reportedly fallen asleep.

He was initially taken to Santa Monica Hospital, then transferred to UCLA Medical Center. Although serious, the injuries weren't considered life-threatening.

In a statement, Bell's publicist says the actor is "resting at home" and "thanks everyone for their concern and well wishes."

"Drake & Josh," in which Bell and Josh Peck play stepbrothers with markedly different personalities, debuted on Nickelodeon in January 2004. It's one of the cable network's more popular shows, regularly drawing more than 3 million viewers.

(Zap2it.com)

Shalit enrages GLADD

"Today" show film critic Gene Shalit has come under fire from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for his review of the gay cowboy flick "Brokeback Mountain" in which he referred to Jake Gyllenhaal's Jack as a "sexual predator" who "coaxes" Heath Ledger's Ennis into "sporadic trysts."

Even "Today" anchor Katie Couric and Matt Lauer sub David Gregory seemed taken aback by Shalit's review last week. GLAAD is asking for an apology from Shalit and "Today."

(Wire reports)