Jon Gosselin being dealt out of series

Looks like reality TV star-turned-tabloid punching bag Jon Gosselin got his wish, after all.

For long months, Jon Gosselin has complained about all the attention as the tabloid press chased down rumors he was cheating on wife Kate Gosselin, threatening the marriage at the center of their popular TLC unscripted series about raising eight kids, Jon & Kate Plus 8.

Eventually, in a widely watched June episode, the pair admitted they were separating; that same day, news broke they were seeking a divorce.

On Tuesday, TLC and Jon Gosselin's soon-to-be-ex solved the publicity problem for him, announcing plans to cut the Jon out of Jon & Kate Plus 8 and refocus the show on Kate Gosselin's work to build a new life as a single mom. The revamped show — which TLC says will still include Jon in a reduced role — will be titled Kate Plus 8, returning Nov. 2.

(Looks like Jon may be reconsidering; In Touch Weekly reported Tuesday he filed paperwork to delay their divorce by 90 days, saying he wanted "to regain control over the future of our family.")

No doubt, TLC's actions were, um, encouraged by the death spiral in ratings for Jon & Kate Plus 8 after the couple's marital woes were confirmed on camera, turning the once-heartwarming show into a clumsy, uncomfortably close look at a painfully public breakup.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the show lost 62 percent of its viewers during the last two months — falling from 4.2 million viewers on Aug. 3 to 1.7 million viewers Sept. 21. In June, the show's biggest episode drew over 10 million viewers.

Of course, Kate Gosselin is busy becoming a media star, co-hosting The View during Elisabeth Hasslebeck's maternity leave and taping a pilot for a View-style chat show of her own, featuring Food Network star Paula Deen, former Early Show co-host Rene Syler and Lee Woodruff, wife of ABC anchor Bob Woodruff.

Kinda makes you wonder what those eight kids will do, now that daddy's mostly out of the TV show and mommy's busy becoming the next Barbara Walters.