Writers Guild of America Strike

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WGA Strike: How It Will Affect You.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA), the union representing nearly all TV and movie writers in America, has decided to strike after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), an organisation that represents American film and television producers. The strike, happening from 12:01am on Monday 5th November American time, will mean the total freeze in the writing of scripts and will affect a large number of TV shows, some immediately, others over the next few months.

The strike is occurring due to the expiration of the old contract and the breakdown of talks between the WGA and the AMPTP over a new contract that would deal with writers wanting a sharp increase in DVD residuals and for the distribution of their work over new media like the Internet and cellphones. This issue is also causing problems between the AMPTP and the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, both guilds planning on joining the WGA on strike in June of next year should the matter not be resolved.

Late night shows like The David Letterman Show and the Daily Show would be affect immediately as most of the show is scripted by writers and most likely would lead to repeats or the show becoming unscripted. Other shows like Heroes and Prison Break would have enough episodes to run until the end of the year but may not be able to continue into the midseason. This will lead networks to screen reality television and repeats as they struggle to show new material from their fledging stock.

For us, the viewers, this essentially means that we won't see the end of some storylines and our viewing experiences will be severely disrupted as channels struggle to fill time slots. It will also mean a change of lifestyles for some as they will spend more time away from the TV due to the lack of programs to watch and blogs such as this will be in a semi-active state.
The following list is of the known status of shows and how they are likely to be affected. The shows are organised by network.

ABC
Brothers and Sisters Expected to have either 11 or 12 episodes completed
Cashmere Mafia Expected to have 7 of 13 episodes completed
Cavemen Expected to have 12 of 13 episodes completed, no order for a full season
Dirty Sexy Money Expected to have between 11 and 13 episodes completed Eli Stone Will have 13 episodes ordered, premiere midseason
Jimmy Kimmel Live Either repeats or Kimmel will do the show himself
Lost Expected to have 8 of 16 episodes completed, premiere midseason
Men in Trees 5 episodes from last season, 10 new episodes shot, 4 scripts finished, overall 19 of 27 episodes completed
The View Expected to continue uninterrupted
CBS
Cane Expected all 13 episodes completed
Jericho All 7 episodes completed
Moonlight Expected to have 11 of 12 episodes completed
COMEDY CENTRAL
The Daily Show/The Colbert Report Expected to go into repeats immediately
THE CW
America's Next Top Model Reality show, not affected
Beauty and the Geek Reality show, not affected
Everybody Hates Chris Expected to have 22 of 22 episodes completed
Gossip Girl Expected to have 13 of 22 episodes completed
Supernatural Expected to have between 15 to 17 episodes completed
FOX
24 Expected to have 9 of 24 episodes completed, premiere midseason
FX
Damages Unknown if ordered
Dirt Production started, affected
Nip/Tuck Expected to have 14 of 22 episodes completed
Rescue Me Production starts early 2008, affected
The Riches Production started, affected
The Shield Final season written, not likely to be affected
Thirty Days Completed
NBC
Friday Night Lights Expected to have 15 of 22 episodes completed
Heroes Expected to have 11 of 13 episodes completed
Heroes: Origins Cancelled
Journeyman Expected all 13 episodes completed, no order for a full season
Scrubs Expected to have 12 of 18 episodes completed
SCI-FI
Battlestar Galactica Expected to have 10 episodes completed, two hour movie screened
Stargate Atlantis No likely to be affected
Eureka Production started, affected
USA NETWORK
Burn Notice Production starts early 2008, affected
In Plain Sight Expected all episodes completed
Law and Order: Criminal Intent Expected to have 10 of 22 episodes completed
Psych Expected all episodes completed
Monk Expected all episodes completed
Starter Wife Production starts early 2008, affected

The above list and the following list is a sample of shows with WGA writers and may be affected by the strike, depending on whether there are other writers on the team not part of the WGA
  • 30 Rock
  • According to Jim
  • Aliens in America
  • American Dad
  • Army Wives
  • Back to You
  • Battlestar Galatica
  • Big Love
  • Bionic Woman
  • Bones
  • Boston Legal
  • Brothers and Sisters
  • Burn Notice
  • Canterbury's Law
  • Carpoolers
  • Cavemen
  • The Closer
  • The Colbert Report
  • Cold Case
  • Cory in the House
  • CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
  • CSI: NY
  • The Daily Show
  • Desperate Housewives
  • Dexter
  • Dirty Sexy money
  • ER
  • Eureka
  • Everybody Hates Chris
  • Family Guy
  • Frank TV
  • Friday Night Lights
  • Greek
  • Grey's Anatomy
  • Hannah Montana
  • Heroes
  • House
  • How I Met Your Mother
  • It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
  • Jericho
  • Just Jordan
  • King of the Hill
  • Kill Stone
  • K-Ville
  • Kyle XY
  • Law & Order
  • Law & Order: Crimnal Intent
  • Law & Order: SVU
  • Lincoln Heights
  • Lost
  • Mad Men
  • Miss/Guided
  • Monk
  • M.O.N.Y., The Philanthropist
 
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Really rooting for the writers in this case. It's their work and they do deserved more for the distribution of their work over other mediums but i still going to hate the cuts on Heroes and the lack of Daily Show and Colbert Report. :'(
 
Ugh I understand that the writers should get what they deserve, but this is like the apocalypse for TV as we know it. It means a complete freeze... no more episodes from any of the TV shows listed. Most have enough to last to mid-season thankfully, but still this hurt a lot of people. I really hope an agreement is reached before this gets out of hand.
 
well it wont really get to THAT point until the end of the year and while that's not THAT far away, perhaps the studios and execs will get a clue and pay these people what they are due. without the writing...there's no show/script and we've all seen what happens when BAD WRITING infects a show/movie.
 
The so called "people in charge" have a choose give the writers what they want or do what will get them more cash the odds of them getting a clue don't seem too good.
 
I'm glad the writers are striking. Without them, there would be no 'good television'. It's not just the people in front of the camera, it's WHAT those people are given to say and do.

But, unfortunately for me, I also heard that soaps will be the first to be effected by the strike. And if that's the case, the likelyhood of soaps surviving [if taken off the air if they can't find scab writers] is grim. :(
 
I see this as a two-edged issue. I support anyone getting paid for what they produce in revenue, and I hope they win that fight.

However, I am concerned that this will also mean a loss of a LOT of shows. With the cost to make shows rising, you will see networks stick with either old formulas, give extremely short leashes to programs, or maybe even go WAY closer to all-reality TV. In the long run, that will REALLY hurt writers overall.

Oh, and I would bet anything that this will be the death knell for a FEW soaps at least. With writers being paid more and their already cast-heavy payrolls, only the biggest ones would be profitable. Look for more judge shows or small scandalous talk shows.
 
Strike is Over!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/business/media/12cnd-strike.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

LOS ANGELES — Hollywood’s writers made it official on Tuesday night, ending their bitterly fought strike at the 100-day mark by an overwhelming margin. Of 3,775 writers who cast ballots, 92.5 percent voted in favor of ending the strike. Officials of the Writers Guild of America West and the Writers Guild of America East disclosed results of the tally an hour after voting had closed at 6 p.m. here.

“The strike is over,” Patric M. Verrone, president of the West Coast guild, said in a statement.

“Our membership has voted, and writers can go back to work.”

The decision to end the strike became all but inevitable after the guilds’ governing boards on Sunday unanimously approved the tentative three-year agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, following strong expressions of support at at mass meetings on both coasts.

Union members must still decide whether to ratify the contract in coming days. But Tuesday’s vote to end the strike brought relief to an entertainment industry that wants to get its television productions and future movie schedules back in order.

Wednesday morning will bring a rush to the office by television writers who are especially eager to get existing series like the CBS comedy “Two and a Half Men” and the ABC drama “Grey’s Anatomy” quickly up to speed. Television writers will also move quickly to salvage as much as possible of a pilot season that has been disrupted by the strike.

The strike upended the television viewing habits of millions of Americans by shutting down production on most dramas and comedies and forced movie studios to halt some big-budget films. It also dried up the livelihoods of not just the 12,000 guild members but tens of thousands of people who rely on such productions for work.

But how much economic damage was wrought by the walkout has been subject to debate. Writers predicted that the strike would cause $2.5 billion in economic losses if it continued to the five-month mark, as did their 1988 strike. But a report from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, reckoned losses for a strike of that length at only about $380 million, because companies had already spent heavily to stockpile programs and other factors.As of Tuesday afternoon, a running tally by the producers’ alliance estimated that the walkout had cost writers abut $285 million in lost wages, and had cost workers in other film unions nearly $500 million. The strike’s end appeared to make a walkout by Hollywood’s actors less likely when their contract expires on June 30. The actors’ unions have not yet opened negotiations; but the road map for digital media compensation laid out in recent agreements with both writers and directors raised the prospect that similar solutions could work with actors.

The writers’ strike followed a 19-year period in which Hollywood experienced no major strikes, after weathering a series of walkouts in the 1980s.

The latest dispute was finally settled when company executives — notably Peter Chernin, the News Corporation president, and Robert A. Iger the Walt Disney chief executive — opened direct talks with Mr. Verrone, along with David J. Young, executive director of the West Coast guild, and John Bowman, who headed the unions’ negotiating committee. A crucial break came when the two sides crafted a provision that provides the guilds a gain in the payment for digital distribution of entertainment beyond the terms of a recent deal between Hollywood producers and the Directors Guild of America.

Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS, said Hollywood executives might do well to spend more time with Guild leaders in coming months, if peace is to prevail in the long term. “The lesson is, we shouldn’t meet every three years,” said Mr. Moonves.
Click to expand...
 
Good, i'm glad it's finally over. There's only so much reality tv I can take lol. Although i've read somewhere that some television shows are opting to wait until the fall season to put out new episodes. :(
 
Hers hoping a few shows bring out their pre-strike scripts and do a few summer season episodes
 
I think that there's room to film three or four episodes, so the more established shows will probably air some but the new shows will most likely relaunch in the fall.

:)
 
I got good news and bad news

* 24 - Season 7 postponed until January '09.
* 30 Rock - Expected to shoot 5 or 6 new episodes to air in April/May.
* Aliens in America - Eight pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.
* Back to You - Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future TBD*.
* Battlestar Galactica - Returns April 4 with first half of 20-episode final season. Production on second half could start as early as March. Airdate for those TBD.
* The Big Bang Theory - Expected to shoot 9 new episodes to begin airing on March 17.
* Big Love - Expected to go into production on Season 3 in the spring. Airdate info is TBD.
* Big Shots - No new episodes expected. Ever.
* Bionic Woman - No new episodes expected. Ever.
* Bones - Four pre-strike episodes left. Unclear whether additional episodes will be produced for this season.
* Boston Legal - One pre-strike episode remains. Expected to shoot 6 to 8 additional episodes to air in April/May.
* Brothers & Sisters - One pre-strike episode remains. Expected to shoot 4 or 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.
* Burn Notice - Production on Season 2 expected to get under way in late April. New episodes could start airing as early as July.
* Cane - No additional episodes expected this season. Future beyond that TBD.
* Chuck - No new episodes until fall.
* The Closer - Expected to kick off its fourth season this summer.
* Cold Case - Expected to shoot 5 new episodes to begin airing on March 30.
* Criminal Minds - Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to begin airing on April 2.
* CSI - Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 3.
* CSI: Miami - Expected to shoot 8 new episodes to begin airing on March 24.
* CSI: NY - Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to begin airing on April 7.
* Desperate Housewives - Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.
* Dirty Sexy Money - No new episodes planned until fall; three remaining pre-strike episodes will undergo some tweaking and kick off fall run.
* ER - Expected to shoot 4 to 6 new episodes to air in April/May.
* Everybody Hates Chris - Twelve pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.
* Friday Night Lights - No new episodes expected for this season. Future TBD.
* The Game - Four pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 8 or 9 additional episodes to air in March/April/May.
* Ghost Whisperer - Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 4.
* Girlfriends - No new episodes expected this season, although a special one-hour series finale is being discussed.
* Gossip Girl - Expected to shoot 5 or 6 episodes to air in April/May.
* Greek - Kicks off second half of Season 1 on March 24. Still awaiting Season 2 pickup.
* Grey's Anatomy - Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May
* Heroes - No new episodes expected until fall.
* House - Expected to shoot 4 to 6 new episodes to air in April/May.
* How I Met Your Mother - Expected to shoot 9 new episodes to begin airing on March 17.
* Jericho - Seven episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.
* Journeyman - No new episodes expected. Ever.
* Las Vegas - Two pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.
* Law & Order - Expected to shoot an indeterminate number of episodes to air in spring.
* Law & Order: CI - Expected to shoot an indeterminate number of episodes to air in spring.
* Law & Order: SVU - Expected to shoot an indeterminate number of episodes to air in spring.
* Life - No new episodes expected until fall.
* Life Is Wild - No new episodes expected. Ever.
* Lost - Six pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot five additional episodes to air in April/May.
* Medium - Six pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot additional episodes for this season.
* Men in Trees - Eleven pre-strike episodes remain, the first of which airs Feb. 27. No additional episodes expected this season.
* Moonlight - Expected to shoot 4 new episodes to begin airing on April 11.
* My Name Is Earl - Expected to shoot 8 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.
* NCIS - Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to begin airing on April 8.
* The New Adventures of Old Christine - Seven pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected this season.
* Nip/Tuck - Season 5 concludes Feb. 19. Production on the show's eight-episode sixth season expected to start up this summer. Airdate TBD.
* Numbers - Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 4.
* October Road - Four pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.
* The Office - Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to air in April/May.
* One Tree Hill - Five pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 or 6 additional episodes to air in April/May.
* Prison Break - Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.
* Private Practice - Slim chance it could return with 4 or 5 new episodes this season. Either way, it'll be back in the fall.
* Pushing Daisies - No new episodes until fall.
* Reaper - Three pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 or 6 additional episodes to air in April/May.
* The Riches - Seven-episode second season kicks off March 18.
* Rules of Engagement - Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 14.
* Samantha Who? - Three pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot an additional 3 episodes to air this spring, likely after Dancing with the Stars.
* Saturday Night Live - Returns Feb. 23.
* Scrubs - Four pre-strike episodes remain. Four additional episodes will likely be shot; unclear whether they'll air on NBC or go straight to DVD.
* Shark - Expected to shoot 4 new episodes. Airdate TBD.
* The Shield - Final season already shot. Airdate TBD.
* Smallville - Four pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.
* Supernatural - Two pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 4 or 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.
* Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Four pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.
* Two and a Half Men - Expected to shoot 9 new episodes to begin airing on March 17.
* Ugly Betty - Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.
* The Unit - No additional episodes expected this season. Future beyond that TBD.
* Without a Trace - Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 3.
* Women's Murder Club - No new episodes expected this season. Future beyond that TBD.
 
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