Recession hits ‘Housewives,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

The recession has hit Wisteria Lane. “Desperate Housewives” creator Marc Cherry said that losing Nicolette Sheridan, who plays the just-killed-off Edie Britt, was not just a way of trimming the vixen population, but a natural way to cut costs.

Despite the cost claim, tension between Cherry and Sheridan goes back at least two years, when the Housewives’ salaries began to climb and Cherry considered killing off Edie.

“If we threaten one of the characters’ lives, maybe they’ll back off,” he once told his writers.

His strategy may have worked during the last round of contract negotiations, but eliminating Sheridan now will save the show a reported $100,000 to $200,000 per episode.

Over at “Grey’s Anatomy,” one source close to the show says that Katherine Heigl, whose character, Izzie Stephens, just had brain surgery, could suffer a similar fate.

Video   Scoop: No sale of Jackson memorabilia April 15: Courtney Hazlett says hundreds of items from the King of Pop's Neverland Ranch won't be sold, but the public may still get to see the memorabilia. MSNBC

“Katie had no way of knowing that when she initially made it seem like she wanted out of her contract, the economy would be where it is now and they’d be looking to cut costs,” said the source. “It’s no coincidence that now you hear her saying she’s along for as long as they’ll have her.”

Brad Pitt, carpool daddy
Brad Pitt is sitting in the carpool line on the North Shore while Angelina Jolie films “Salt” — and Long Island moms have taken note.

A source told Us Weekly that Pitt’s daddy duty has led them to “fight over who gets to carpool the kids to school.”

Pitt drops the kids off at a private school in the morning and has been seen picking up bagels at local breakfast spots like the Dunkin’ Donuts he took Maddox, 7, and Pax, 5, to on April 8.

Project Maternity for Klum

Slideshow   Celebrity sightings Natalie Portman attends the “Brothers” premiere, Susan Boyle performs on the TODAY show, Katie Holmes and Suri go shopping in New York and more. more photos

If “Project Runway” ever makes it back onto the air, we might see Heidi Klum with another baby bump. A wardrobe gaffe reveals the supermodel looks to be four months pregnant.

“Sketches leaked online of her in redesigned couture gowns to make room for a bump, but were quickly taken down,” an insider told In Touch.

Klum and her husband, Seal, already have three children and may share their happy news soon.

“She plans to announce her pregnancy when she wears the dress (from the leaked photos) to the event,” the source said.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter: @ courtneyatmsnbc.

Don't miss this on msnbc.com Entertainment In the end, ‘Jon & Kate’ too sad even for fans Tim Burton — the artist — is now on display Best bets: ‘Dancing’ to crown winner Tuesday Can word-of-mouth sell ‘The Road’? Fans either love or really hate ‘New Moon’ Oscar season nears, but where's the buzz? Devoted 'Twihards' get their fix online

MORE FROM THE SCOOP

The Scoop Section Front

Give thanks for the end of ‘Jon & Kate’ Pitt passes on millions to trick-or-treat Label didn’t want Lambert to be ‘too gay’ Levi an ‘aspiring porn’ star? Palin thinks so Will Meyer bite into another ‘Twilight’ book? The Scoop Section Front   Add The Scoop headlines to your news reader: