Book? What book? That would seem to be the bone of contention, if you will. Ben Karlin, former headwriter for The Daily Show, has filed a lawsuit against TV chef Mario Batali and actress Gwyneth Paltrow claiming they did not pay him for work he did for a book on which they were collaborating. Karlin, who shared authorship of America (The Book) with Jon Stewart, says he was assigned to "conceptualize and oversee" a book to compliment a PBS series starring Mario and Gwyneth in which the stars take a cultural and gastronomic tour of Spain. The series, which may be called Spain...on the Road Again, will premiere this fall.

Former Daily Show and Colbert Report producer/writer Ben Karlin has signed a major deal with HBO to create TV shows, specials, and movies for the network. He's also working on a big screen comedy for HBO.

Karlin, a former editor at The Onion (wow, some nice gigs under his belt, eh?), left the two Comedy Central shows last year so he could spend more time with his family and because it was interfering with the quality of his work. He has now formed a production company that will be run by producer Will Reiser.

Karlin says that when his reps asked him what he wanted to do next, he said "not TV. They said 'HBO,' and I had to admit, they had me there."

He also has a book coming out in February 2008 titled Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me.

As word leaked out that Ben Karlin was going to leave his post as executive producer of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, speculation started swirling. Did Karlin have a fallout from Jon Stewart? Was he suffering from burnout? Was he stepping aside so the show wouldn't lose its valued head writer, David Javerbaum? Since Karlin, Stewart, or Colbert weren't talking, speculation only grew over the weekend.

According to Karlin, who along with Stewart spoke to Jacques Steinberg of The New York Times, burnout was one factor; helming both shows was an all-consuming job. But his departure came more from a desire to work on other projects, such as a book of essays he's editing called Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me.

The Apiary, a blog about the New York comedy scene, is reporting that Ben Karlin (pictured), executive producer of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, has announced his resignation. Karlin, along with Jon Stewart, has been a driving creative force behind TDS (and later, Colbert) for many years, so his alleged departure is a significant change. (UPDATE: Comedy Central confirmed the change to Broadcasting & Cable magazine)

If he leaves, head writer David Javerbaum is set to take his place. Rachel Sklar over at Huffington Post's Eat The Press reports that Javerbaum himself was set to leave the show to pursue a career writing lyrics for Broadway musicals. No word from either source on a) why Karlin is leaving and b) who will replace Javerbaum as head writer. ETP does go on to mention that TDS has hired some new producers, including Daniel Sterling, a former writer and producer for Kitchen Confidential and King of the Hill.

(By the way, on the rare occasion I write something over at Huffington, Rachel edits my stuff. Just wanted to give you full disclosure.)