TV Potpourri: "Top Chef Masters", "House" suicide and "Kings"

Good news for "Top Chef" fans: They're baaaaaaaack. OK, so it's not the "Top Chef" we know and love here at Channel Surfing, but it's exciting news nonetheless. Bravo will premiere "Top Chef Masters" on June 10 -- a spinoff where 24 actual chefs compete against each other. The list includes several former judges such as Wylie Dufresne (the crazy guy who loves molecular gastronomy). The format, too, will be a little different, as explained here:

"In each episode, money will be at stake for the chefs, with the winners of eliminations being awarded cash donations for their charities. The first six episodes will consist of four chefs competing against each other to name one winner. The six winners of each episode will then meet up for the final four weeks when one person will get eliminated each episode until the finale. The winning chef will receive $100,000 for the charity of their choice."

Sooo, basically it's the NCAA bracket of "Top Chef?" Cool. Maybe I can do better on this than I did in the office pool.

The other difference? No Padma, no Tom and no Gail, although we're assured they'll make "appearances." Instead the guest stars and judges include: Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel, "Lost" writers and executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof and all former "Top Chef" winners. The show will be hosted by Kelly Choi, a New York-area TV personality who could totally take on Padma in the who-is-skinnier showdown.

From "House" to the White House: Seriously, this news was totally made for this cheesy headline. I don't watch "House" with any regularity anymore, but I've been following (thanks to Michael Ausiello at EW) the big news about a character death. Well, last night, the big surprise was revealed -- Kal Penn's Dr. Lawrence Kutner committs suicide -- and it turns out this seemingly hasty exit for a fairly stable character is because the actor has decided to take a job with the Obama administration as a "liasion."

Before you go screaming "Oh My God, They Killed Kutner!," though, consider this -- will this newest opening on House's team be replaced or simply overlooked? And if he is replaced, will they find another Indian-American actor because a hospital without a doctor of Indian descent is like, well, "ER" for about 10 seasons. Too bad Aziz Ansari is already busy on "Parks & Recreation" -- he'd be perfect for the role with all that medical experience from "Scrubs."

I can't comment on the episode because I was too busy watching North Carolina trounce Michigan State, but if you did, let us know what you think.

Read Ausiello's interview with Penn and "House" producers for more insight.

"Kings" moved to Saturday: Uh oh. Start ringing those death knells. No good show ever survives the Saturday spot. Entertainment Weekly is reporting that NBC will be moving the poorly rated drama to Saturdays at 10 p.m. starting on April 18 for its remaining eight episodes.

--Malavika Jagannathan, mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com