The saga of Jon & Kate Plus Eight has ended, having survived only a few months longer than the Gosselin marriage itself. TLC announced Tuesday that the seminal big family show is being revamped into Kate Plus Eight, which will follow the now school-age sextuplets, their older twin sisters, and mom Kate Gosselin's "journey as a single mother building the next chapter in her life." The switchover will occur on November 2.

Ratings for Jon & Kate Plus Eight hit new heights earlier in the season, as the increasing strain in the marriage and subsequent announcement of a divorce became unavoidable tabloid fodder. But numbers for the series have subsided of late, coinciding with news of Jon's post-marital adventures with a series of younger women. Jon, always the less outgoing member of the couple, had become more open about his irritation with the demands of the show and his desire for a normal life, and his recent low-energy visits with his children have reflected that. TLC has now granted him his wish.

However, Jon is not gone for good. While the announcement is hard to spin as anything other than Jon being fired, the TLC statement promised that he will still appear on Kate Plus Eight, but only on an occasional basis -- more like the wacky neighbor than the daddy. The channel also mentioned that it is working with Kate on another project that will be unveiled in 2010, so those hoping that today's news marks the beginning of the end of the Gosselin fifteen minutes are likely to be disappointed.

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