Writers strike is over?

[Minsk1]

That was my conclusion after watching 30 mins of democrat's debate on CNN HD in LA tonight

 

[iceturkee]

actually, there was a note in michael ausiello's wednesday tvguide.com column that unconfirmed rumors have been circulating of a tentative agreement with an announcement due any day. but that's all i've read in the past few days.

 

[Grandpa J]

My contacts say -
The Directors (DGA) settled and Actors (SAG) are willing to accept the same deal. That would leave the WGA all by its self. The general opinion in the industry is the new WGA's exec director overplayed the guilds hand. It's hurting the writers the below the line craft workers and the industry in general. There is real pressure on the WGA to settle now.

I retired from a sr. exec position in industry 12 years ago but my contacts remain good.

 

[Derwin0]

With it being February, is there even time to crank out new scripts and film new episodes for this season?

 

[Ramy]

With it being February, is there even time to crank out new scripts and film new episodes for this season?

Probably not.

 

[jbcheshire]

Man that sucks... I am so tired of nothing on tv... I rarely ever do reruns since I have watched almost all of my shows from day 1 and have not missed any episodes... (thanks to Tivo and DVR)...

That means that we only have Jericho and 24 to look forward to with new episodes...

 

[iceturkee]

actually, i've read that if the strike were over in the next week or so, a few shows might be able to get another 5 episodes made in time for may sweeps. but more than likely, the rest of the season is a wash.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

actually, i've read that if the strike were over in the next week or so, a few shows might be able to get another 5 episodes made in time for may sweeps. but more than likely, the rest of the season is a wash.

Five episodes would be huge for shows like LOST, which have 8 more to go; that would actually be a decent run. And for shows like CHUCK, 5 would be quite welcome, and could help ensure a second season.

Alas, Heroes probably wouldn't run with 5 episodes..

 

[Peter Parker]

Five episodes would be huge for shows like LOST, which have 8 more to go; that would actually be a decent run. And for shows like CHUCK, 5 would be quite welcome, and could help ensure a second season.

Alas, Heroes probably wouldn't run with 5 episodes..

I doubt that there are many shows in that position. A few mid season replacements and Men In trees come to mind. But little else would have s many as 8 shows yet unshown.

 

[iceturkee]

AP reporting sunday morning that a major breathrough in negotiations was reached and a tentative deal could be announced this week.

 

[Paul Wozniak]

I wonder how much of the season can be salvaged?

 

[KE4EST]

I wouldn't think much.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I suspect they will do their best to bring back as many shows as they can for the May sweeps. And with the strike ending now, and not later, it saves the fall...

 

[Grandpa J]

IMHO not much of the 07/08 remaining TV season will be saved. While scripts will be turned in (writers do write during strike but can not turn them in until the strike is over) getting shows back up on their feet (aka restarted) is more problematic. Most 07/08 shows would normally end their shooting schedule at end of Feb to mid Mar. editing goes on for 2 to 4 weeks after. Pilots are normally preped and shoot starting Mar to April so they can be picked in May for the next season. Some Actors and Directors have commitments for Long Forms (MOWs) and Features during series hiatus time (Mar to July) so pushing series end dates also is problematic. There are shows that had delayed air dates (e.g. 24) which will be aired.

 

[iceturkee]

I suspect they will do their best to bring back as many shows as they can for the May sweeps. And with the strike ending now, and not later, it saves the fall...

its also saves the summer season too. anyhow, according to a NYT story this morning, if the two sides can iron out the language, an announcement that a tentative deal is reached could come this friday or saturday.

 

[iceturkee]

UPDATE: just read this at tvguide.com like 5 minutes ago. sounds like the agreement reached by both parties over the weekend will go to the WGA board saturday. if they are happy, they are expected to lift the strike before formal ratification. stay tuned, the news continues to be positive!