Preview: The Osbournes Part Deux

Here's some good #@$%ing news for fans of The Osbournes. MTV president Brian Graden tells TV Guide Online that, despite the ongoing cancer battle being fought by family matriarch Sharon Osbourne, the show's eagerly anticipated second season is still expected to kick off on schedule next month. "We're on track to debut in November," he says. "We're fully in their home and we have enough material for the first four or five episodes. So far, all systems are go."

Still, the network reportedly is keeping a January start date open as a back-up — should Sharon's recovery delay production. Whenever Season Two gets underway, Graden says viewers shouldn't expect the same-old same-old. "They're all famous in a different way now," he explains. "Kelly has her own music career, Ozzy was out on tour, and of course, Sharon got sick — and we have been there for that entire experience, at her request. So, it's a very different season already; there's a whole new set of emotions."

But that doesn't mean the new batch of episodes will be downers, Graden insists. "The word that comes to mind actually is poignant," he says. "They refuse to allow themselves to give up their sense of humor. [Sharon] remains funny and very strong and, actually, the family leader through this entire process. So, you watch it and you can be crying, yet also be fully inspired and laughing at the same time. It's a powerful commentary on how to deal with that phase of somebody's life."

Speaking of powerful, poignant and funny (not!), we just had to ask Graden what he thought of E!'s answer to The Osbournes, The Anna Nicole Smith Show. "The beat didn't really change over time," he says of the series, which has been on rapid decline ever since its highly rated summer launch. "With The Osbournes, I'm constantly surprised — of course I have a bias in saying that. But with Anna Nicole, it feels like every scene is, 'I'm going to push you to the dentist! I'm going to push you to play go-carts!'

"She's still a fascinating character," he concludes. "It's just not as surprising as I thought it would be."