In one of the more surprising renewals of late, ABC has ordered a second season of “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.”

The first season of the Ryan Seacrest-produced reality show found the host fighting nearly impossible odds to improve a West Virginia school’s lunch program. It was one of those rare reality shows that didn’t present its star as invincible (think anything with Gordon Ramsay). I’m not a big fan of Oliver, but you had to feel for the guy as he went up against lunkheaded kids, obtuse administrators and dismissive parents as he simply tried to introduce fresh foods into their diets. (We really are a McNation, aren’t we?)

While the show was no ratings gangbuster, ABC was impressed enough by critical reaction to renew it, according to the Hollywood Reporter. In the new season, Oliver will be shifting to Los Angeles and trying to help people of all ages improve their eating habits. The show probably won’t return until next summer, which just might give it the breathing room to find an audience.

After the 62nd Primetime Emmys ended, the commercial networks allegedly started badgering the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to split up the awards show into two separate shows.

One would concentrate on regular series and reality programming; the other would concentrate on longform miniseries and made-for-TV films - you know, the kind of programming that the commercial networks gave up on years ago. The cable nets, however, excel in this arena, as the wins for HBO’s superb miniseries “The Pacific” and the telefilm “Temple Grandin” demonstrate.

Allow me to translate: Because they’re not winning in those categories, the networks want them removed from their telecasts.

Oh, boo hoo. If they’re that freaked out over the wins from premium cable, then instead of trying to sideline them to another show, how about dropping some of the reality trash for quality programming? Viewers hunger for quality scripted shows (including miniseries), but the networks just don’t want to invest in that direction.

That’s their right. But to segregate the awards because they won’t compete in those categories is stupid and the Academy should reject the whole idea immediately.

Given that the networks, which rotate the telecast of the show among themselves, are naturally concerned about ratings, they might want to rethink that plan if only because the star power would not be on the same level. If it had had its way this year, such people as Tom Hanks, Al Pacino, Claire Danes and Susan Sarandon would have been absent from the show. Do people tune into awards shows to star watch? Some do.

Apple announced today a redesign of its Apple TV set box, a product which has yet to catch on with the masses.

The new box will retail for $99 and allow customers to rent high-def films on the day of their DVD release for $4.99 and TV shows for 99 cents.

Fox and ABC are the first networks to make programs available for rentals.

I can’t see anyone in this area rushing out to buy one. If you have Comcast, for example, you can get most films through the On Demand service for similar prices and you don’t need a special box for it. Likewise, you can DVR your favorite shows.

I’m thinking this will be a bust for Apple. What do you think?

ABC has released the list of “stars” for the upcoming season of “Dancing with the Stars” - last season’s No. 1 show in prime time.

As suspected, Bristol Palin - whose celebrity emanates solely from her mother and her just-a-little-too-late abstinence program - is among the dancers. “Jersey Shore’s” Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino also will be competing. But will he still have time for GTL - gym, tanning and laundry?

The rest of the cast: singer Michael Bolton (wow, things must be bad on the road), unrecognizable actress Jennifer Grey (“Dirty Dancing”), Brandy (OK, now I just feel sad), comedian Margaret Cho, ex-basketball star Rick Fox, Kyle Massey (some Disney Channel star I don’t recognize), ex-NFL star Kurt Warner, Florence Henderson, Audrina Patridge (”The Hills”) and David Hasselhoff.

I am not expecting great things from this cast. What do you think? Is the crew that will keep ABC on top? Or is a fatal misstep on ABC’s part? Who are you rooting for here?

Conan O’Brien was shut out. The “Glee” love train hit a Sue Sylvester-like roadblock and was derailed. And in one of the biggest upsets of the night at the 62nd Primetime Emmys, Kyra Sedgwick won her first Emmy on her fifth nomination for TNT’s “The Closer.”

I’m a Sedgwick fan and think she deserves an Emmy, but not for the last season of basic cable’s most popular show. But you have to marvel at the win - after five seasons, most stars are lucky just to get the invite, much less the win. Sedgwick beat out, among others, two-time winner Glenn Close (who had her best season ever on FX’s “Damages” - if only someone watched it) and favorite Julianna Margulies (”The Good Wife”).

Eric Stonestreet’s win as best supporting actor in a comedy is all the more impressive in that he managed to overcome an expected split of the vote - two of his “Modern Family” co-stars were up for the same Emmy. In the pre-show, Stonestreet said he bases his portrayal of the flamboyant gay dad on his mother (who just happened to be standing next to him).

In hindsight, “Modern Family’s” win over “Glee” makes sense. The Academy did parcel out some Emmy glory to the show, but the series skews too young for most of the voters to appreciate. “Modern,” a more traditional sitcom, was an easier pick.

Somebody has to explain Bryan Cranston’s three-peat win for “Breaking Bad.” Does he have pictures of the Academy honchos with farm animals? It’s the biggest mystery of the night to me.

You can read my Emmy report here.  What did you think of the night? What were the highlights of the night for you? Who do you think got robbed?

Several news agencies are reporting that Bristol Palin, daughter of ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, will join the cast of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

Refresh my memory again: How is this teenager a star by any stretch of the imagination? She acted once (and poorly) on ABC Family’s wretched “Secret Life of an American Teenager.” At least Kate Gosselin had been a reality star for several years when she signed up - and polarized the viewership.

Wouldn’t it be a riot if Bristol hooked up with the other bad boy who is also rumored to be joining the show - “Jersey Shore” cast member The Situation? Imagine the family dinners in Alaska then. Hide the cutlery, please.

We’ll know Monday night, when ABC confirms the lineup during its awful “Bachelor Pad.”

You make the call. We want to hear from you as to who you hope will go home with the gold Sunday night at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards. Is “Modern Family” your kind of comedy clan? Is this the year “Dexter” slashes a path to the podium for outstanding drama? Go here to vote and check back Sunday for results!

If you haven’t already voted, go here to select your picks for Sunday’s big Emmy show. It’s your chance to be heard in all the major categories -drama, comedy, actors and actresses - and we’ll tally up the results for Sunday!

Not content with wrecking the Gosselin family, TLC has ordered eight episodes of a new series, “Sextuplets Take New York.”

The series will focus on a family being promoted as the first Latino sextuplets. Victor and Digna Carpio have four boys and two girls, 22 months old, and live in Queens, according to the Associated Press.

Each episode will deal with the daily tests of raising the sextuplets - from helping them walk to diaper changes (50 a day). TLC spokeswoman Nancy Daniels said, “We fell in love with them.”

Then leave them alone already. Haven’t we learned anything from the Gosselin debacle? Those kids are going to need therapy for the rest of their lives. There ought to be a law preventing - or at least regulating - the exploitation of minors on reality TV.

What do you think? Will you tune in to watch yet another show of adorable children? Or do you fear, as I do, that the camera attention will warp the family beyond redemption?

Caroline Manzo vs. Danielle Staub! The “Sopranos”-style matriarch vs. the Psycho with pistol-packing bodyguards! It was the showdown we’ve anticipated all season long on Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.”

“I just want her out of our lives for good,” Caroline reasoned earlier in the show. An admirable idea, but the execution was lacking.

The conversation between the two women - who have avoided each other all season - began frosty. “Everyone here is trying to be a winner in a losing game,” Caroline said. Danielle seemed poised to pounce at any second. Unsurprisingly, the conversation deteriorated. “Amazingly, I don’t need you to validate my life,” Danielle said.

Caroline: “You’re a clown. Your whole life is a joke.”

Well. So much for the great Jersey Peace Pact of 2010. Caroline couldn’t resist calling her “garbage” one last time.

Big surprise. Next week’s reunion show looks heated, even by “Housewives” standards. Teresa Guiduce pushes host Andy Cohen back into his chair. Give the bankrupt lady a break. If she could afford a table to flip, I’m sure she’d do it.