TVSquad

For four seasons on Bravo, Kathy Griffin has been trying to crawl her way off of what she called "The D-List," taking humiliating gigs and opening up a lot of her personal life to the cameras to try to get some attention. Truthfully, though, Griffin has been off of the D-List for quite some time, which makes tonight's season five premiere of My Life on the D-List (8 PM, Bravo) a bit puzzling. What list is she on now?

Griffin has now won two Emmys for the D-List, had a string of popular stand-up specials on Bravo, and her comedy album For Your Consideration, was nominated for a Grammy this year (she lost to George Carlin's It's Bad For Ya). And this season features appearances by Paris Hilton, Rosie O'Donnell, T.I., Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, and Christina Aguilera - quite a cast for someone supposedly fighting obscurity. Plus, her book Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin, hits stores in September on Ballantine Books.

Then again, Griffin faced a similar problem last year, and the season was still entertaining. But she'll have to fight even harder to convince us she's still on the mythical D-List this season. She may not be at a level of superstardom, but really, once you've gotten to a certain point of notoriety, how far are the gradations between these stratospheres? What I'm looking forward to is the day Griffin gets so big that she has to deal with the next Kathy Griffin, thus locking the world in a celebrity-knocking vortex that may very well destroy the world. Or something.

Here's an interview with Griffin at the 2009 Grammy Awards, from Chicago's Q101.1. You can see her spinning the D-List defense at one point, talking about some Playboy Bunnies.