"American Idol" is getting a makeover for season seven according to everyone's favorite cranky judge, Simon Cowell, who says he plans to leave after two more seasons.

Now if you have been following the pre-Idol news recently there has already been talk about the changes for this season... less celebrity mentors, more in depth coverage of the Idol's personal lives, contestants being able to use instruments during the Hollywood round.

So, I wont bore you with more of the same but I I can reveal that Idol will be getting a new set this year. Simon spilled the beans during a conference call with reporters today but didn't give any details. In the past few years they have typically made tweaks to the set that most viewers would not really notice. However, this year, I've learned from a show source that the change will be "drastic."

I do know that, like us here at Accesshollywood.com, their website www.americanidol.com, got a face lift too!

Meanwhile, Simon had lots more to say today on topics ranging from Hilary Clinton to Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis' less than stellar record debuts to his brutal take on Fantasia's brother auditioning.

On When He Will Leave The Show : "Nothing is going to last forever. I think the exit point to a point is determined by the public who eventually are going get sick to death of me if they haven’t already. I’ve always in my mind kind of thought I would go up until the end of my contract which would mean two more seasons after this one which would have made it nine in total and nine years is probably enough to inflict on anyone. So, that’s what I have sort of got in my mind. Can the show exist without me? Absolutely. It would probably get better."

If it seems like the TV landscape is bleak in the face of the writer's strike, I assure you there will be plenty of things to watch for the next few months. If a resolution doesn't come soon it's the Fall of 2008 that I think will see the biggest hit.

For now, while we will miss "Heroes", "Grey's Anatomy", "Desperate Housewives" and "The Office" we can at least tune into some brand new and returning shows that should tantalize our TV senses. Here's twenty shows worth a look.

COMEDIES/DRAMAS

"Cashmere Mafia" - premieres January 6th >(then moves to Wednesdays), ABC. Four professional women (Lucy Liu, Miranda Otto, Bonnie Sommerville, Frances O'Connor) juggle their high powered careers and their messed up personal lives in this Manhattan set drama from "Sex and the City" creator Darren Star.

"The Sarah Conner Chronicles" - premieres January 13th, Fox. Buzzworthy show that picks up where the second "Terminator" movie left off, as John's mom Sarah takes matters into her own hands to protect her teenage son. I predict that the nerd herd will help make this one a hit.

"Lost" - returns January 31st, ABC - The survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 return for this super short fourth season. Just eight episodes were filmed before the strike - but based on the trailer circulating the internet rife with clues about when and if the lostees get off the island, less is certainly more. One change we know for sure is that episodes will now feature flash backs and flash forwards.

Ah yes, it's January 2nd. The day when most of us have decided we need to get back in the gym, start eating healthy and lose our unwanted excess weight. Now granted at a size 4, it's not like I'm a candidate for the "The Biggest Loser" and really don't need to worry about such things - but if you have heard the saying 'the camera adds ten pounds' then you know why women who work in Hollywood are crazy about their weight.

So, I too will be hopping on a treadmill with the masses and trying to keep my New Year's Resolution to get in shape and shed ten pounds by April. Did you know that only 1 percent of people who make resolutions actually keep them?

In order to not be part of the 99 percent failure rate, I've decided that while at the gym I'm going to use the brand new Biggest Loser contestants as inspiration. Season five started last night on NBC with the reveal of 20 new contestants, this time paired together as couples. While we were shoving our faces with Halloween candy, Thanksgiving stuffing and Holiday cookies they have been at the ranch working their tails off to lose the weight since October.

By Jeremy Blacklow, Managing Editor

I awakened today to two pieces of urgent news:

1) Early this morning, another of Young Hollywood's elite, Mischa Barton, was arrested on Suspicion of DUI charges and driving without a valid license, and…

2) Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan was assassinated in a suicide attack, sending shock waves of rioting through a country already in the midst of nuclear instability.

Guess which story I've been spending most of my day on?

If you guessed "Mischa," you're correct!

Mischa… Mischa… Mischa … in the words of Jay Leno, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Your hit show's been cancelled, your career is at a stand-still and now you choose to jump on the DUI bandwagon?!

Looking back on 2007, this was the year when going to jail on illegal driving-related charges has been in vogue – Lindsay, Paris, Nicole, Kiefer, Michelle… the list goes on and on.

And what's truly frightening is how much these antics have kept these celebrities in the news!

Haven't been on the front pages of Celebrity Web sites lately? Heck! Get a DUI! You'll be right back up there with the rest of the pack.

By Maria Menounos

It's days like today when I love my job most. Being a reporter can, at times, give me tremendous perspective. I travel the globe to interview all different types of people, experiencing all different kinds of things: from my conversation with the health minister of South Africa about the growing AIDS crisis, to Michael J. Fox and his battle with Parkinson’s, to… Tara Llanes.

I recently interviewed Tara Llanes, a professional biker who was at the top of her game until a terrible crash on September 1, 2007 took her legs right out from underneath her. Before the crash she was a celebrity to the sport, posing in Maxim magazine, in ads for Subaru, AT&T, a beautiful, smart and determined athlete. I visited her at Craig’s Hospital -- a world-renowned hospital for spinal cord injuries. I saw so many people whose lives changed in an instant. Fifty percent of them were there because of car crashes. Second to car crashes was falls (as simple as a flight of stairs for one 15-year-old) and lastly, athletic accidents. I saw people that could only use their mouths to communicate or move. Tara is luckier than those, for sure, as she still has the power of her upper body.

Truly a moving day and a reminder of how lucky all of us are to be healthy and able to see and walk. I kept holding back the tears in this facility. Tomorrow, it could be you or I in there. Someone texting or talking on a cell phone while driving could cause a wreck. We could easily trip and fall down some stairs. Even the smallest luxuries, like having the ability to go to the bathroom alone, would be gone.

As sad as I am, I am inspired by Tara. She has an amazing spirit. The competitor in her is determined to walk again, and ride. She is fearless and hysterical, cracking jokes and even mooning our cameraman in the pool! Ha!! She has a wonderful network of family and friends helping her along the way as well as an amazing outpouring of support from strangers who hear about her story. When she told me of the strangers who had helped along the way, it reminded me of how wonderful people can be. And THAT brought me to tears!

It has been a hectic two weeks. We are shooting the last of our hiatus shows that will air during our week off for the Christmas holiday.

I am just drained. I have been working nonstop taping extra shows, anchoring, doing interviews AND Christmas shopping for family, friends, and co-workers. I had gotten in late last night but, somehow, I was able to get all the presents wrapped for my colleagues on the show, pack them into my trunk so I could pass them out at the office early this morning. Our studio is decorated to look so pretty and when I drift away, wishing for a little bit of sleep, I look at the beautiful pink and white poinsettias lining the wall, the huge white wreath glowing with balls of sea foam green, mauve, and lavender, the white garland wrapped in small white lights over the archway, and the snow gently piled next to the window near the 3-foot nutcrackers and Christmas trees - Joe and James, our show’s art directors - are so talented.

“Two minutes, Shaun, two minutes!” Our fill-in stage manager, Johnnie says to me indicating that I have to get up again to lead-in to the next story on the show. I dread leaving the warmth of the 4 heaters the crew has set up for me.

Usually, it’s near cold enough on our set to actually snow (the average temperature being about 45-to-50-degrees). Not great for gals who want to wear cute short sleeved dresses and open-toed shoes. My feet are tired from standing so long. Every moment I get, I kick off my 4-inch sandals, and slip on the white furry Ugg slippers that my makeup artist, Valerie, gave me today. They are sooo comfortable!

It’s that time of year again - when I get to sit at my desk and contemplate the year in TV. Unlike the big magazines and Internet sites with staffs full of people dedicated to watching every show ever made, here it’s just little old me. One person – watching at my desk, watching at the gym… on my iPod, watching at home, watching off my DVR. I only have so much time in my life between doing celebrity interviews and working part time for the show. So, this list encapsulates my favorite shows of the year, the ones I made it a point to tune into because I just had to know what happened next.

10. 'The Riches'
This quirky new F/X drama has grown on me, every time I turn my iPod on to watch it on the treadmill. If you can’t have the American Dream, then why not steal it? You definitely need to suspend your disbelief that a family of travelers (as they are called) can assume the identity of a dead guy and his dead wife, but Eddie Izzard does it so effortlessly you kind of get it. Minnie Driver received an Emmy and Golden Globe nomination for her role as the drug addicted mother but it’s Izzard who steals the show.

9. 'The 4400'
My heart was absolutely broken yesterday when I learned that USA would not move forward with a season five. After a slow start, this sci-fi show that “Heroes” owes much of its ‘ordinary people with abilities’ storylines too, ramped up this season with a terrific twist that saw NTAC agent Tom Baldwin turning bad and taking on 'savior' Jordan Collier. Unfortunately, now it seems we will never know why the 4400 were taken in the first place and what will become of the future. Let’s hope USA whips up one of those movies of the weeks to wrap things up for us one day. Sidenote: I saw Joel Gretsch having dinner in Beverly Hills last night and thought about tackling him to discuss my anger but a cooler head prevailed.

Did anyone catch "The Biggest Loser" finale last night? It's unbelievable how these people can drop that much weight and transform themselves into basically brand new people. It made me want to put down that last slice of pizza I was contemplating!

The show, in all of its makeover madness, is right up there on my craziest TV moments of 2007. But since it just happened, I won't add it to the list. Instead I'll just count down my Top Ten most bizarre, most laughable, most ridiculous and most intense moments in television this year (up until last night!).

10. Meredith Flat lines [And So Does Season Four] On "Grey's Anatomy."
What was one of my favorite shows last year has now become one of my least favorite shows. It all started when Dr. Grey nearly kicked the bucket after falling into the water last February. Along comes McDreamy to save the day - butc after the weak storylines this year, and the chemistry lacking pairing of George and Izzie, it might have been better if he put Meredith [and all of us] out of our misery.

9. Nancy Burns Down Her Own House On "Weeds"
What is a suburban pot dealing, widowed mother of two to do when her entire world is falling to pieces? Well, at least in Nancy Botwin's, case she sets her own home ablaze.

8. Rosie vs. Elizabeth
Who doesn't love a good catfight between politicians? Wait a minute…that's not what happened at all. Instead it was a right wing/left wing feud between two co-workers on a national daytime TV show. Clearly, there were others issues bubbling under the surface for such a heated argument to come to a head like that. Rosie left the show that day and never came back.

7. Marie Osmond Collapses
It's always hard to pick the wildest reality show moment, but this year it was easy. She made it all the way through her Samba but just as the judges were hitting her with their critiques, Marie suddenly collapses to the floor. She claims her fainting spell was due to allergies from all the recent fires, but there are still some who believe it was staged by Marie and her camp.

I just landed at LAX airport, returning from New York. I turned on my BlackBerry and it started churning out the emails. When it crossed over 50, I knew something was up.

I am shocked, floored, stunned, depressed, bitter, sad but mostly disheartened with the last name Spears.

What is nagging at me the most is the fact that OK! Magazine is rolling out this story. More than any other outlet, OK! routinely pays celebrities for access to their personal life. They usually are very positive in tone and I do not blame them at all for their pay to play approach - it works.

But if OK! paid, then little Jamie Lynn and her camp (which should be one person dealing with Tiger Beat a few times a month) had the instinct to profit at a moment like this.

A sixteen-year-old girl, a baby herself, totally ill equipped to raise a child and become a mother, gets pregnant and already opportunism strikes? It would be a product of what I view as the growing underbelly of Hollywood.

Now that the writer's strike (which seems like it could be never ending) has sidelined all my favorite shows, "Lost" is the only thing I have to look forward to this January - save for the one leftover "Desperate Housewives" episode floating around that will air on January 6th.

I kind of have mixed feelings about the return of the story of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 on January 31st, 2008. First of all, I'm annoyed that ABC moved the show last year to February so that they could run the back 16 episodes continuously -- worst decision ever by a network Entertainment President!

Having to wait all that time for it to return, the show lost (pun intended) a ton of momentum. Season three started out pretty weak, with too much time spent on the Others. But then it fortunately built to a brilliant flash forward crescendo in the season three finale.

It's clearly not just me who is excited for "Lost's" return. Have you seen the brand new 1:45 minute trailer that has hit the Internet with a tease for the new season? It's good. Really good. Goose bump inducing good.