JOB HUNTING

Look for Katherine Helmond to begin her third season as Mona on ABC’s “Who’s the Boss?” with a new job--and a possible series spinoff.

“The producers haven’t decided what the job will be yet,” Helmond told us (Mona’s been a personnel counselor). “It must have inherent in it enough opportunities for comedy. And, initially at least, there would be ‘crossover’ work between the characters from the current series and the spinoff.”

Martin Cohan, co-exec producer (he’d also helm a spinoff), said he’s being careful about moving the character too sharply in a new direction: “Audiences might be rubbed the wrong way if, say, Mona suddenly became the voice of sanity. And if she were to get married and move out of town, that would limit the possibility of visits between her and characters from ‘Who’s the Boss?’ It would also make it hard, if the spinoff fails, to believably get Mona back onto the existing show.”