It's looking clear that Popular and Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy won't be getting any rest for quite some time. He's just added yet another project to his 'To Do' list — a new pilot for NBC about a stressed-out man who suffers from a wide variety of psychosomatic ailments. "Hyper-chondriac" is based on a memoir of the same name by Brian Farzer.

If my count is right that leaves Murphy working on two series and four films right now! While Murphy's gotten some mixed reactions from his gay fans, the way Murphy brings a gay sensibility to his work is always worth getting excited about, so we thought it might be fun to take a look at what Murphy has in the works and rate how gay each project could be by the "Mary Cherry standard." In case you don't remember, Mary Cherry was the hilariously superficial and judgmental comic relief character from Murphy's first series, Popular.)

Mary Cherry (Leslie Grossman) from Popular

Check out how Mary Cherry rates each of Murphy's new projects after the break!

Out producer Ryan Murphy is hoping to bring the bane of my high school existence, the Glee Club, to TV this season, with a one hour comedy for FOX.

Glee has been given a pilot commitment, and if all goes well, could air in March as a companion to American Idol: 

"Glee, which takes place in the Midwest, centers on Will, a Spanish teacher suddenly called upon to coach the glee club at the high school. The club is one of the worst in the nation -- but the adults and kids are inspired to turn things around.

Murphy's looking for a multicultural cast, as well as a mix of straight and gay characters.

The show's leads won't break out into song, but Murphy said the series will contain at least four songs per episode -- organically sung onstage by the choir. Taking a page from Idol, the performers will croon popular, well-known tunes."

As opposed to his Nip/Tuck or tabled transgender drama Pretty/Handsome, this show will have a much lighter tone, although it will keep what Ryan calls the "Fox Edge" (which I assume means lots of torture scenes):

"It's a 9 p.m. show, it's not designed for 8," he said. "But it is designed for families to watch together. It's sweet, but it will appeal to both kids and adults, it's written for both of them."

"There's so much on the air right now about people with guns, or sci-fi, or lawyers running around," he said. "This is a different genre, there's nothing like it on the air at the networks and cable. Everything's so dark in the world right now, that's why 'Idol' worked. It's pure escapism."

Well, if this show can come anywhere close to Ryan's late, lamented classic Popular, it'll definitely be worth watching, even if the subject matter conjures bad memories. Every year I tried out for the Glee Club, and every year they would say the same thing after my rendition of "Flashdance- What a Feeling": "Well, we appreciate your ... enthusiasm". Bastards.

I'll admit, I've never given Nip/Tuck a full run for its money, but I've certainly tried. The leering unpleasantness of it all just doesn't appeal to me. It's odd, because gay creator Ryan Murphy's previous series, Popular, is still one of my favorite series of all time. I guess I'd rather watch Leslie Grossman play identical twins separated at birth and Tammy Lynn Michaels run down the prom queen than see transgender teens have their genitals hacked off by homophobic fathers.

This season the fellas open up shop in Los Angeles, and from what the season preview suggests, the gay stereotypes are there to roll out the red carpet. Granted, all the characters on the show seem pretty despicable, so it's not just the gays that are given the short shrift ... at least it's equal-opportunity misanthropy!

Check out the trailer below for more...

It's being reported that the lead actor for Ryan Murphy's sex-change drama 4 oz has been cast (although it's just "Untitled" for now), and it's none other than Shakespeare in Love himself, Joseph Fiennes. Fiennes (who played gay for Murphy in Running With Scissors) plays the transgender lead (who will undergo transition to female over the series' run) and Blythe Danner and Robert Wagner will play his parents.

Considering Fiennes famously wooed Danner's daughter Gwyneth in his breakout role, it's kind of nice to see her playing his mom here. Given the explosion of transgender characters in recent months (everywhere from the doc series Trans Generation to Ugly Betty to Dirty Sexy Money to Big Shots) it's about time we saw a pilot ordered with a lead transgender character. Now we just have to see if it's good, and if FX picks up the show.

The new fall TV season is upon us which means there's a new line-up of shows to discover. However, only a third of those shows will get a second season and, unfortunately, some will be worthy of a second (or third or fourth). As a fan of "Brilliant but Canceled" shows myself, here are a few shows that included gay characters and deserved a longer run.

My So-Called Life (ABC)

A teen drama that managed to find the fine line between exploring teen angst without letting their characters come off as shallow and self-obsessed, My So-Called Life managed to realistically explore issues teens faced, especially with gay teen Ricky Vasquez, memorably played by Wilson Cruz. Despite a loyal fanbase, the show struggled against Mad About You and a freshman Friends on Thursday nights and ABC canceled the series. Reruns on MTV, however, helped the show find an even larger audience.

Action! (Fox)

A cynical and bitter view of Hollywood, Action focused on Peter Dragon, a selfish and mean-spirited movie producer fighting to maintain his clout after his latest film bombs. Peter heaped abuse on his gay assistant Stuart (played by out actor Jack Plotnick) while repeatedly losing power games against Bobby Gianopolis, a gay mogul whose generous endowment would mesmerize Peter. One of Action's many memorable episodes came when Peter has sex with a closeted star (played by Richard Burgi) in order to convince him to stay closeted. The series also featured Fab Filippo, who'd later play Justin's violinist boyfrined on Queer as Folk, as a drug addicted young star.

• FX has reportedly greenlit a pilot for Ryan Murphy's (Nip/Tuck) transgender series 4 oz., which details a married gynecologist who undergoes a sex change over the planned five-season arc (the character was a sportswriter when last we reported on the project). Murphy will direct and co-produce with Brad Pitt. (t/y Josh!)
  
• Paul Reubens is reportedly joining hype-crazy Pushing Daisies (created by out Bryan Fuller) in a recurring role. Awesome.
• USA Today is running an opinion piece on just how significant the de-wrapping of The Advocate really is.
  
• I know people are all stoked about Vicky Pollard and Daffyd making the trek across the pond for the much-anticipated US version of Little Britain, but it's duplicitous Fat Fighters taskmaster Marjorie Dawes that I'm really excited to see make the trip. Seeing this unimaginably evil woman in the land of the Super-Size is going to be downright horrifying.
• The trailer for gay filmmaker Todd Haynes' Bob Dylan rumination, I'm Not There, is on the web, and despite not being even a tiny bit a Dylan fan, I'm So There. How crazy is it that of all the actors playing Dylan, Cate Blanchett is the closest fit, looks-wise?
  
• Ross "the Intern" Mathews is the cover boy for next month's Instinct, and yet he still speaks in non-gender-specific terms regarding his love life, noting in the press release that his "special someone" has been elusive so far. "It would be nice to be swept off my feet. I want to cut through all the rest: the ones that don't work out." It's fine to not discuss your sexuality on The View or Tyra, but the cover of a gay magazine is a bit different, no? Oh, right ... guess not! UPDATE: a friendly reader noted in the comments that the article itself does refer to Mathews as a gay fella.