Minus Jon, Kate is a plus

You might say our national nightmare is over. Or is it just a TV series?

In any case, TLC’s reality show “Jon & Kate Plus 8” ends its spectacular but stormy run tonight at 9 (cable channel 38 in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene).

Jon and Kate Gosselin, the estranged parents of young twins and sextuplets, will venture on separate outings with the kids.

Jon takes them to a fire station near the family home in Pennsylvania. With Kate, they visit a dairy farm.

Individually, each newly single parent will reflect on what the past has meant and what the future might hold.

And that will be that, according to TLC.

When the pair made their separation official on a “Jon & Kate” episode in June, it was seen by a remarkable 10.6 million viewers. After that, production of the series lurched in fits and starts to accommodate the Gosselins’ unraveling home life.

It was all quite a change from 2007, when the series first clicked with viewers for its heartwarming look at a devoted couple and the challenges they faced rearing eight young children.

“Jon & Kate Plus 8” was meant to segue smoothly into “Kate Plus Eight” this month, concentrating on the kids and their mom.

But that plan was apparently torpedoed by Jon’s objections to having the kids displayed any longer on TV. He recently filed a lawsuit claiming TLC was violating child labor laws.

A TLC spokesman said the network is instead focusing on a new show starring Kate that will air next spring, but gave no further details.

The birthday bunch

Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (“Basic Instinct,” “Showgirls”) is 65. Actor Steve Landesberg is 64. Comedy writer Bruce Vilanch is 62. Singer Bruce Hornsby is 55. “Good Morning America” co-host Robin Roberts is 49. Actor Lucas Grabeel (“High School Musical”) is 25. Singer-actress Miley Cyrus is 17. Actor Austin Majors (“NYPD Blue”) is 14.