By Lisa de Moraes
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Lifetime, the cable network that purports to be about empowering women, has gotten into bed for one of its new projects with Donald Trump, the guy who seems just the teensiest bit dismissive of women who are (a) plus-size, (b) lesbian, (c) over 40 or (d) Angelina Jolie.

"Trump Tower" is described by Lifetime as "a juicy nighttime soap set in one of New York City's most glamorous Trump apartment and condominium complexes."

But the ring-kissing did not stop there. At its new-season development unveiling ceremony in New York, Lifetime went on to say the show is a "microcosm of the world's most chic, sophisticated and powerful players, and a rare insider's look at how they live, love and interact with the men and women who work in this plush and well-appointed building."

And, best of all, Trump, who is executive-producing, will narrate the voice-over bits, Lifetime announced, though no writer has yet been assigned to the project.

Trump, you'll recall, got nicked by Rosie O'Donnell when he gave a reprieve to then-Miss USA Tara Conner after she got busted for underage drinking, among other things, if she'd enter rehab. Trump owns the Miss USA and Miss Universe franchises.

He responded that Rosie was a "fat slob" and said he was going to send one of his friends to try to break up her relationship with TV exec Kelli Carpenter, with whom she is raising four children. "I imagine it would be pretty easy to take her girlfriend away, considering how Rosie looks," he said.

Speaking of Rosie, she's executive-producing a movie in development at Lifetime called "America," about a teenage boy by that name who is separated from his foster mother. No word on what Trump thinks of that project.

Rosie is in good company in Trump's No Beauty List. He also put stunning Jolie in that camp. Trump also slammed her for dating multiple men, once telling Larry King in a CNN interview she has "been with so many guys she makes me look like a baby, okay, with the other side." On the other hand, Trump had only good things to say about Jolie's partner, Brad Pitt, in that same interview for not marrying Jolie, with whom he now has two children.

Anyway, the whole women-empowering Lifetime in bed with stuck-in-the-1950s-Donald-Trump irony thing seems to have been lost on the Reporters Who Cover Television who attended Lifetime's upfront presentation to advertisers in New York, knicker-knotted as they were by the formal disclosure of the pinching of Bravo's "Project Runway."

Attending Lifetime's clambake, according to news reports, were "Runway" den mother Tim Gunn and Harvey Weinstein, whose Weinstein Co. is being sued by Bravo parent NBC Universal. NBCU claims Weinstein Co. violated terms of its contract by not affording it the opportunity to match the Lifetime deal.

Weinstein told the Hollywood Reporter the move to Lifetime would help his show reach its potential. Lifetime promises to televise two new Weinstein reality series: "Project Pygmalion," in development for 2009, which will remake some lucky gal and give her entree into "high society," plus a series looking at "Project Runway" from the perspective of the models who wear the contestants' designs.

Trade publication TV Week, meanwhile, reported that Weinstein insisted he and NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker were "best friends" and "that after three years of cleaning his house and babysitting his kids, they would be best friends again." Which reminds me of that old gag -- you know, the one about "with friends like these . . ."

Gunn, Heidi Klum and Michael Kors are on board to continue as judges; judge Nina Garcia is less of a sure thing -- she was just shown the door at Elle, which was her calling card on the fashion-design competition series.

Weinstein apparently was still getting traction out of the line that NBC Universal knew "Runway" couldn't stay on Bravo anyway. NBCU had been talking to the Weinstein Co. about moving the show to a network in the NBCU family with greater distribution.

Bravo's upfront presentation, ironically, is scheduled for today.

* * *

See Regis Philbin return to a prime-time game show!

See the much-ballyhooed '70s swingers drama!

See a Canadian drama series bought in the thick of the writers' strike, starring the "Just Shoot Me!" photog-turned-"Veronica Mars" dad you didn't even know was Canadian!

It's all on CBS!

This summer!

CBS is offering about 90 hours of new-and-not-just-to-you programming this summer, the network announced yesterday.

"By a factor of two, it's our most ambitious schedule in terms of original content," CBS Senior Executive Vice President Kelly Kahl told The TV Column.

It's a pitch to win back viewers after the 100-day writers' strike that threw the broadcast networks into summer-esque rerun-and-reality-filler mode.

Philbin will host "Million Dollar Password," a remake of '60s game show "Password," in which two teams are each made up of a celebrity and a John Doe. Brought back by FremantleMedia North America, whose credits include "American Idol," it's getting the good, if older-skewing, Sunday 8 p.m. time slot, right after "60 Minutes," starting June 1.

In case you've missed the many iterations of "Password," a secret, um, password is given to one member of each team, who tries to get his or her partner to guess the word, using single-word clues. The first team to clock 25 points wins the game and moves on to a lightning round worth up to -- $250.

Betty White will be among the celebrity competitors, CBS announced yesterday -- a bit of campy fun that will be lost on most. White was a frequent guest on all the show's various iterations; she even met her husband, Allen Ludden while participating -- he was the show's original host. Other celebs who've agreed to participate include Rosie O'Donnell, Rachael Ray (gak!), Neil Patrick Harris and Monique Coleman of "High School Musical."

"Swingtown" -- one of those new swing-for-the-fences series CBS execs said they were going to try this season (including the since-canceled "Cane," the since-canceled "Viva Laughlin" and the since-probably-canceled "Kid Nation") -- is getting the plum-ish Thursday 10 p.m. slot following "CSI," starting June 5. Yes, "CSI" will be in reruns, but it repeats pretty well. And, of course, HUT (homes using television) levels at 10 are strong in the summer -- much more so than during the regular TV season, thanks to daylight saving time.

CBS says "Swingtown" is about the sexual and social revolution that introduced women's liberation and shag carpeting -- that's right, blame it on the women.

Asked why CBS didn't slap "Swingtown" on its prime-time lineup during the writers' strike instead of subjecting us to an extra round of "Big Brother," Kahl said CBS only had about four episodes shot when the strike hit.

"We didn't want to put four on -- that didn't feel right," he said.

"This is one where the strike gave us an opportunity. . . . It's a show that takes place in the summer and we needed summer programming. We're kind of sick of ceding summer to cable."

Enrico Colantoni stars in "Flashpoint," a procedural crime drama inspired by Toronto's Emergency Task Force, which, CBS says, rescues hostages, busts gangs, defuses bombs, climbs the sides of building and talks down suicidal teens. Starting July 11, it gets the less plum Friday 10 p.m. slot, where its lead-in will be the like-minded "Numb3rs." "Flashpoint" will have its first airing on Canadian TV.

Taking "Survivor's" place Thursdays at 8, starting July 10, "Greatest American Dog" pits show dogs and their owners against mutts and their owners to see who has the greatest dog.