Season 4 Sans The Gunn?

Ever since Maureen Ryan from the Chicago Tribune broke the story about Tim Gunn not yet being under contract for S4, others have piled on. Entertainment Weekly picked up on the story here, we've seen it on other websites, and we keep getting e-mails asking the same question: can it be true?

Here are the salient pieces from Mo's interview:

Ever the modest one, he would only say he "makes no assumptions," but he would come back "in a heartbeat" if asked.

If asked? But wait, there's more:

"Parsons pays my bills," said Gunn, who is chair of the school's fashion department. If the show wanted to start up before then, "Good luck to you," was Gunn's reaction. He also noted that the school just wouldn't have room for "Runway" filming until the academic year was over.

Clearly, negotiations for Season 4 are going hot and heavy as we speak. Sponsors are being signed, contracts are being negotiated, Andy Cohen's catering preferences are being tended to, among other details. The above statement however tells us that there is some effort on behalf of Weinstein/NBCUniversal/Bravo to roll out S4 before next summer. But it can't be filmed at Parson's until May at the earliest with a likely July 2007 premiere.

Unless they choose to go elsewhere. Unless they choose to leave Tim behind. Dare they?