Hook of the skein has the women gathering for a Tuesday book club, but the show won't concern itself with literary matters. Instead, producers will focus on the women's struggles with what the Eye calls "the day-to-day pressures of raising children and maintaining households, not to mention satisfying their husbands and concealing their indiscretions and infidelities."

CBS Entertainment prexy Nina Tassler announced the project Thursday at the Eye's pre-upfront presentation to advertisers in Gotham.

"Book Club" has been given an order for multiple episodes and could be on the air as soon as this summer, though Tassler didn't specify any timetable. Skein would make a good companion to the net's "Big Brother" or a possible telenovela project.

It's the first time CBS has ventured into the docu-soap space, which has exploded since MTV's "Laguna" showed the potential of the format. Bravo this week bowed the similar-sounding "Real Housewives of Orange County."

Blumenfield and Marsh will exec produce via their Jay and Tony Show shingle, in association with Pottle Prods. Duo's past credits include the never-aired "Welcome to the Neighborhood," "R U the Girl" for UPN and "Family Business" for Showtime.

Tassler also announced a pair of reality pilots in the works at CBS:

Endemol USA and exec producer Mike Nichols are producing "Guess Who's Coming Over," in which people from different walks of lives are put together in an attempt to see if they can get along.
"Joke's on You," from Hallock and Healey Entertainment and Pottle Prods., is a half-hour hidden camera skein in which people are recruited to play practical jokes on their friends and family -- only to find out later that they're the actual marks. Wayne Brady has signed on to host.