Be honest ... do you tune into American Idol to see Clay, Ruben, Kelly, Frenchie, Simon ... or to see host Ryan Seacrest? In an apparent new update on a story that we first reported on a couple of months back, Fox apparently hopes that some people really do tune in to see Ryan. E! Online reports that Fox's Twentieth Television production arm has cast Ryan in a new daytime show that will begin airing in January 2004.

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Fox calls it "a different kind of syndicated strip." How different? Here's Ryan's description: "We're marrying the news magazine and variety show to bring a hybrid of entertainment and information to America." Huh? Infotainment, which has been around since Entertainment Tonight, doesn't sound very different to us. Ryan seems as unclear about the show's direction as he was about the final vote difference between Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken.

We wish Ryan at least more success in this venture than his former co-host Brian Dunkleman has found post-Idol. Of course, merely getting the show on the air will give Ryan more success than Brian has had.

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