http://community.tvguide.com/blog/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/700000049

Scary Scoop: Writers Strike Could Come ASAP

Surprised? Hollywood will be, too, and, according to my source, the Writers Guild of America is counting on it.

Here's the deal: TV and movie scribes are already up in arms over issues such as compensation for new media (translation: Internet downloads) and they're primed to strike. But the suits have been content to reassure themselves that it won't happen any sooner than spring, when the Screen Actors Guild contract is up as well and both groups can walk picket lines together.

Instead of waiting, however, WGA members received an e-mail just moments ago announcing a strike authorization vote — the results of which could be revealed in the next 10 days. If they vote to strike, the group could pack up their laptops when its contract expires on Nov. 1.

This would majorly tighten the noose around the necks of the guys holding the purse strings, because movie studios won't have had time to fast-track blockbusters to see them through a strike, and most fall TV shows will only have 10 or 11 episodes in the can at that point.

So what do you think? Will it happen? Should the networks and studios just pony up already? Or will this finally be what brings to the googleplex "Paradise Hotel: The Movie?" — Additional reporting by Ben Katner

Another strike? I think we've heard about this before. I hope they vote against it, whether it's true or not. There are a few good shows this season, and I don't wanna have to wait 3 months to see new episodes.

I read something about that the production companies stocked up on scripts in preperation so they could continue the shows, so it doesn't end up like 1988.

I'm glad the companies stocked up. It would be rather unfortunate to go nearly a whole season without new episodes.

So if the writers strike goes ahead, even with episodes in the can, how can the shows continue? Wouldn't the showrunner and exec producers be on strike, the majority are writers after all ...

Imagine a schedule of just reality TV from November - yikes.

If the writers strike I wouldn't notice. What is really being written these days that is worth fighting for? :confused:

^^^^^ to true! I don't watch any 'current' shows now that Reba and That 70's Show are no longer being filmed. *sniff*

Maybe if people don't have any new shows to watch they'll turn to the classics and see what garbage is really being shown on TV today.

...wishful thinking, I know.

If the writers strike I wouldn't notice. What is really being written these days that is worth fighting for? :confused:Amen! There is not a single show on this season I even care to see, on broadcast television. Give me my pre-2000s shows anyday.

why would they Strike during November Ratings Sweeps Period when was the last Writer Strike.

I imagine striking during the sweeps would be a deliberate ploy to hurt the networks and production companies more ... those pesky writers :p

They got enough episodes to last until about Christmas anyway. Nobody would probably notice much until February......January they have a bunch of repeats on anyway.

why are they striking? there are only a few good shows worth tuning into these days and tv is so bad right now that no wonder that many of us are turning to the internet and their dvd sets of their favourite classic shows. they should address this problem by hiring more and more excellent writers and produce and make more and more decent shows that we want to watch. the sitcom genre in particular is in such a dire state right now with only 'back to you' being the only recently new hit from fox

why would they Strike during November Ratings Sweeps Period when was the last Writer Strike.

1988, and it lasted 5 months! :eek:

No fall shows premiered until very late in October or November and the Fall season months earlier ended early.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/news2001/jan01/jan15/3_wed/news3wednesday.html

It should be noted that there have been strike threats before that haven't happened, and it may not happen in November, it may happen in the summer which seems to be the more likely time.

I hope that they do not go out on Strick.

LOS ANGELES - Hollywood edged closer to possible labor unrest on Friday after film and TV writers overwhelmingly authorized their union to call a strike if no contract deal is reached with the studios by month’s end.

Over 90 percent of the Writers Guild of America members taking part in the authorization vote backed the union’s request for advance approval to declare a walkout should negotiators fail to conclude a settlement once the current contract expires.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21386389/

You know they're starting to get on my nerves. In years past I hated strikes but if they want to go on one this time , go ahead...I'll catch up on my DVDS. I watch too much tv anyhow.

if there is a Writte Strick will the TV Season be Suspended.

if there is a Writte Strick will the TV Season be Suspended.

Well you'll probably see a lot of reality and game shows, like Power of 10, Deal or No Deal, 5th Grader etc. I know some shows have stockpiled scripts so they MAY be able to film as long as there are scripts, but it may not apply to all shows.

Most scripted shows probably have enough episodes for the rest of the year ready, and that could be stretched out into January I would think since December is mostly repeats.

Pav, do you have any more info about this? Does ABC or the other networks have a plan?

Well you'll probably see a lot of reality and game shows, like Power of 10, Deal or No Deal, 5th Grader etc. I know some shows have stockpiled scripts so they MAY be able to film as long as there are scripts, but it may not apply to all shows.

Most scripted shows probably have enough episodes for the rest of the year ready, and that could be stretched out into January I would think since December is mostly repeats.

Pav, do you have any more info about this? Does ABC or the other networks have a plan?
Probably in February is when people will really notice it.

well we just have to pray that they do not strick

An interesting prediction about it here:
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2007/10/20/what-happens-if-the-writers-strike/

Looks like most drama's will be OK, reality will dominate and animated shows might just survive a strike with no additional reruns.

The writers of new sitcoms must surely understand striking now would hurt their shows and its chances, if its already losing audiences then the last thing you'd want to do is take it off air for a month.

Do individual writers even have a choice? Is it one of these where a union votes and you have to strike because you're part of the union?

An interesting prediction about it here:
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2007/10/20/what-happens-if-the-writers-strike/

Looks like most drama's will be OK, reality will dominate and animated shows might just survive a strike with no additional reruns.

The writers of new sitcoms must surely understand striking now would hurt their shows and its chances, if its already losing audiences then the last thing you'd want to do is take it off air for a month.

Do individual writers even have a choice? Is it one of these where a union votes and you have to strike because you're part of the union?

Yes, unfortunately.

I said earlier that they were stocking up on scripts, but apperently they only have scripts for half a season in the newer reports. If the Networks have to, they're thinking about showing Canadian and British shows, which I have no problem with. I think the American audience could use a little culture and highbrow humor.

I'm already excited to think that one network may be showing Corner Gas in primetime, instead of midnight like they are on WGN right now.

Another thing I'm hoping for if this strike happens is a total TV network renaissance. Maybe this strike will cancel a lot of the useless, hollow scripted shows that have been dangling with non-existant ratings and will be replaced by better stuff next season.

New article and a breakdown of the type of shows and the different effects on each.

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 19 — During the last Hollywood writers strike, in 1988, David Letterman gave a blunt assessment of the quality of his show.

“We have nothing to do, the writers aren’t here,” he intoned at the opening of one show. “So a guy’s gonna come in and shave me. Fifty-five minutes, ladies and gentlemen! Fifty-five minutes to go!”

Viewers may want to brace themselves for a lot of similarly jury-rigged entertainment if writers and producers do not come to an agreement on a new contract by the end of the month.

A strike by the Writers Guild of America, which could begin as soon as Nov. 1, would cut a ragged edge across the entertainment industry, with television and movies affected in different ways. Depending on the timing and length of a strike, some television shows would grind along just fine, while others would jerk to a halt. “The Simpsons” is safe, for instance, but light a candle for “Lost.” And reality shows, whose writers are nonunion, will become even more of a television staple than they are now.

Meanwhile, moviegoers would not feel any immediate impact, because studios work a year or more in advance and have been stockpiling scripts to shoot in case writers walk the picket line. But some big franchise films, like the “Transformers” sequel, are likely to be delayed. And fans could suffer later on, as films pushed earlier into production surface with poor results in 2009.

“Any time you rush movies, you disrupt the rhythm, and I can promise you the result isn’t as good,” said John Davis, a producer of “Norbit,” “I, Robot” and other movies.

If a work stoppage lasts for just a few days or even a few weeks, there would be relatively little impact on the overall entertainment pipeline, producers say. Networks have between four and five episodes for many prime-time shows ready to go, while studios are wrapping and rushing into production already written movies that are not scheduled to arrive in theaters until the end of 2008 and into 2009.

But one sliver of the business in particular faces immediate disruption. Late-night shows from “Late Show With David Letterman” on CBS to “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central are produced daily, with writers massaging the news of the day into comedic segments and monologues.

For a time, fans should expect to see repeat episodes, as if the hosts had departed on some kind of joint vacation, networks say. In the longer term, hosts like Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show” could just wing it, as Mr. Letterman and Johnny Carson did after several months of reruns in 1988. (At one point during that five-month industrywide strike, Mr. Carson filled time by looking at snapshots brought in by Ed McMahon.)

Networks say some late-night hosts could return to work without violating guild strike rules: while contracts vary, a performer writing for himself is covered by a separate agreement with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. A spokeswoman for the Writers Guild of America East said hosts could not write any more material than they personally handled pre-strike.

Daytime shows would suffer next. Soap operas like “The Young and the Restless,” viewed by some six million people a day, typically have a monthlong backlog of episodes. Because of their serial nature, soap operas do not perform well in repeats. Networks say they would try to maintain ratings during the day in the event of a strike by substituting more news and sports programming.

The rest of daytime is a jumble. News writers are represented by a different union, so “Today” on NBC and the cable news channels will be unaffected — except for the bags that will form under the eyes of anchors as they are pressed to fill more airtime. But talk shows are all over the map: “The View,” which uses union writers, would be thrown into more chaos than normal, while “The Martha Stewart Show” would continue cooking right along.

Of course, most viewers care about prime time. Although each network is different — with only two hours to program each night, and “American Idol,” which would be unaffected, on the way, Fox is sitting pretty — network executives say a couple of general rules apply.

Long-running shows like NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” are likely to stay in original episodes longer because they are further ahead in production than new programs like ABC’s “Pushing Daisies.” And the so-called sweeps periods in November and February, when advertising rates are set for local stations, still matter. So networks will keep what originals they have for those months and leave December and January more barren than usual.

Genre matters, too. Animated series like “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy,” completed up to a year in advance, are strike-proof for this season at least. Much more problematic are complicated serial dramas like “Lost,” which networks typically broadcast without repeats. With the next season of “Lost” (which begins in February) only half finished, ABC has a big decision to make: Should it show the episodes that are done? Or delay the program’s return until all episodes can be completed?

Of course, reality shows are not affected at all. Networks have been stockpiling reality material in the event of a strike. The CW network alone has five completed reality series ready to go: the returning shows “America’s Next Top Model,” “Beauty and the Geek” and “Pussycat Dolls Present,” and the new entries “Farmer Wants a Wife” and “Crowned,” about beauty pageants.

Warren Littlefield, an independent producer and the former president of NBC, who was that network’s executive vice president of programming during the last writers strike, said the news divisions would be pushed to deliver spicy specials to plug holes. He noted that the CBS newsmagazine “48 Hours” rose to prominence in 1988. Sports, concerts and shows produced in Britain and Australia are also likely to pop up in prime time, depending on the length of a strike. NBC is already looking at the possibility of broadcasting the British version of “The Office.”

The lack of a clear road map for consumers is a worry for entertainment executives. After all, movie and television fans, their allegiance already weakening as video games and the Internet eat up more leisure time, don’t need additional prodding to find something else to do.

“There is tremendous fear in the industry about breaking a habit,” Mr. Littlefield said. “During the last strike, the audience wandered and a lot of people didn’t quite come back.”

On the bright side, the 1988 strike played a big role in introducing at least one guilty pleasure to a national audience. Desperate for programming, Fox plucked “Cops” from a local station and placed it on Saturday night, where it continues to run.