Great news … which better NOT turn out to be a cruel April Fool’s joke. I just received word from NBC that the disputing parties whose legal wrangling has kept Project Runway off the air have reached a settlement in the case — which means the show is finally free to return to the TV airwaves. Here is the full text of the statement that has just been released by NBC Universal:

NBC Universal, The Weinstein Company and Lifetime have resolved their disputes. The Weinstein Company will pay NBCU for the right to move Project Runway to Lifetime. All of the parties are pleased with the outcome. Harvey Weinstein added, “I want to personally congratulate Jeff Zucker and NBCU on their success in the litigation and thank Jeff for resolving this in a professional manner. We look forward to working together on our ongoing projects.”

I realize that in my excitement and in my haste to pass along this information I could be falling for the cruelest of pranks but the statement was sent to me by an NBC Universal employee and I can’t (well, don’t wanna) believe that something like this would be used as a joke. I will update with any news from confirming sources as soon as I can. I have to believe that this matter has finally been resolved ‘cuz I am dying for another season of Project Runway. It remains to be seen when we will be able to see the show on the air again but I’m crossing my fingers that it will be soon. We shall see.

UPDATE: The LA Times confirms the story, the disputing parties have settled to let Project Runway make the move to Lifetime:

According to a statement issued by NBC Universal today, the dispute is over because the Weinstein Company has agreed to pay NBCU for the right to move the popular reality series to Lifetime. “All of the parties are pleased with the outcome,” NBC Universal said in a statement. Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Company, added: “I want to personally congratulate Jeff Zucker and NBCU on their success in the litigation and thank Jeff for resolving this in a professional manner. We look forward to working together on our ongoing projects” … Andrea Wong, president and CEO of Lifetime Networks, who fought hard to land the show, issued the following statement: “I couldn’t be more excited that Lifetime will bring its viewers an amazing, all-new season of ‘Project Runway’ this summer. As the highest-rated cable network for women, Lifetime is the perfect home for this outstanding program as well as its companion series Models of the Runway. All of us at Lifetime are thrilled to move forward with Heidi, Tim, Nina, Michael, The Weinstein Company and the entire ‘Project Runway’ team. We are proud to add these shows to our growing slate of original programming, including the hit series ‘Army Wives’, the all-new upcoming series Drop Dead Diva and our top-rated original movies. Weinstein also added the following: “We’re thrilled to be launching our relationship with Lifetime with this groundbreaking cable deal that includes the next 5 years of ‘Project Runway,’ our new spin-off show ‘Models of the Runway’ and the development of ‘Project Pygmalion,’ along with a package of our movies. With these upcoming shows and the success of our new series ‘The No. 1Ladies Detective Agency’ on HBO, we are very excited about the continued growth of The Weinstein Co’s television division. We are also looking forward to working with NBC Universal on the upcoming theatrical release of ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and the continued development of other projects together.”

YIPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! BEST.NEWS.EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOT!

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Sad news for fans of the NBC shows Lipstick Jungle and My Own Worst Enemy … it is being reported that both shows have been given the axe and will be yanked off the air post haste due to poor ratings. While I doubt many people will shed a tear for Enemy (except for the 7 Christian Slater fans out there somewhere), I imagine that there are quite a few fans of Jungle (like my boo David and my friend Darion) who will be lamenting the demise of their show. It’s dunzo, y’all:

NBC has pulled the plug on freshman tentpole drama “My Own Worst Enemy” and returning sophomore series “Lipstick Jungle,” sources said Wednesday. The cancellations come after both shows dropped to new ratings lows in recent weeks, with the Christian Slater action series sinking to a 1.8 among adults 18-49 (4.3 million viewers) on Monday and “Jungle” falling to a 1.2 (3.3 million viewers) on Friday. Although the “Jungle” number was an improvement on the previous week, the show’s ratings have been below the line for a while and sunk into the red zone after being moved to Fridays. NBC’s expectation for the return of “Jungle” was modest, but “Enemy” was considered an important show. A spy thriller with a grown-up budget inspired by the “Bourne” movies, “Enemy” received NBC’s coveted post-”Heroes” time period. That valuable Monday hour of scheduling real estate has become less worthwhile in recent weeks, however, as “Heroes” shed viewers — weakening the lead-in for “Enemy” and hastening its decline. No word whether Monday’s episode will be yanked from the schedule, if the show will solider on for a few more weeks or what program will take its place. “Enemy” is now shooting its ninth — and final — episode. “Lipstick” has shot all 13 of its initial order.

Damn! It’s scary to think that Heroes‘ coattails are not what they used to be and the show’s sagging popularity is part of the reason Enemy was canceled. If Heroes doesn’t shape up and start pulling in better ratings, can its demise be that far off? While I didn’t pay any attention to the Christian Slater show, I did hear great things about Lipstick Jungle. Both David and Darion are big fans of the show and would sing its praises to me very often … especially when it came to Robert Buckley’s character Kirby:

I may not have been watching the show but I have been paying attention to the filming of the show. Do y’all remember THIS post that featured sweaty, shirtless pics of Robert Buckley and Kim Raver filming a scene in NYC early this past Summer? I’m very bummed that Robert will no longer be required to film scenes like this any longer :( Do Did any of y’all watch either of these shows? What’re y’all’s thoughts?

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