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What a writers' strike means for your TV habit
The Writers Guild of America's contract with movie and TV producers expires at midnight Oct. 31, and barring a last-minute breakthrough in what have been singularly unproductive negotiations so far, a strike is a very real possibility.
Hollywood hasn't endured a writers strike in close to 20 years; the last one, in the spring summer of 1988, dragged on for five months and delayed the start of the 1988-89 TV season by several weeks.
The big sticking points this year are guild demands for an increase in residuals for home video and new media, and jurisdiction over work done specifically for non-traditional media (webisodes, cell-phone content and the like). The guild lays out its case here and here, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers offers up reasons why it's not willing to do those things here. You can get blow-by-blow coverage of the negotiations in this LA Times archive.
If a strike happens -- it could come as early as Thursday or a week to 10 days after that, according to various news reports -- production on most scripted TV series would probably shut down soon afterward. The flow of movies into theaters wouldn't be affected as much, as they have a longer lead time.
So, what does all this mean for you, the TV watcher? Probably something like this:
Right away: The first casualties would probably be late-night shows, ranging from Saturday Night Live to The Late Show to The Colbert Report. Since they rely on fresh material each day, there's no way those shows could function if its writers -- which usually include the host -- aren't working. Daytime soaps could also get hit relatively quickly if they run out of already-written scripts.
Primetime: In most cases, network shows have enough episodes finished to run through November sweeps and possibly a week or two into December, when they'd be going into holiday reruns anyway. That means serial shows like Heroes and Prison Break will likely reach the conclusion of their first story arcs. Most shows also have a couple of scripts in the bank -- strike fears are partly what prompted the rash of extra-script orders for new shows this fall -- but if they go into production, writers won't be around to make changes on the fly.
After that: Everyone has been predicting a schedule full of unscripted shows and newsmagazines if there's a prolonged strike -- writers for those shows aren't covered by the Writers Guild -- and that's probably what's going to happen. The CW has about a half-dozen shows in the pipeline, and everyone else has game shows or other reality ideas in development too. FOX, of course, has the biggest hammer in American Idol, which will be back in January as planned.
What about Lost and 24? Hard to say. Both series, which are scheduled to return early next year, have been in production for some time and will have several episodes ready to air, strike or no strike. But the whole reason they're held back until midseason is so they can air without interruption, and that'd be all but impossible if writers are out for more than a couple of weeks.
Announcer: Are you tired of reruns?
Letterman: We're not just tired of 'em! We're out of 'em!
--1988 promo for "Late Night with David Letterman"
In the shows produced during the 1988 strike, Letterman's Top Ten Lists usually included an item such as "Number six: No number six due to writers' strike." One programming solution the television industry came up with was to import shows produced overseas; another was to use old scripts. The "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "The Child" was adapted from a script written for the unrealized series "Star Trek: Phase II" and the 1988-1990 "Mission Impossible" series was, at first, intended to consist entirely of remakes of episodes of the original series.
Mike K. | Nov 1, 2007 1:27:53 AM | #haha writers. You go on strike and I go buy a bunch of tv shows on dvd, for which you get only a few cents!
kirrra | Nov 1, 2007 7:02:47 AM | #All I have to say is that my DVD Player will get a workout because Netflix doesn't strike. I love the idea of getting to watch my TV on DVD and some shows that I never saw before. I could use a break from the horrendousness that is Thursday night.
Buffybot | Nov 1, 2007 8:05:36 AM | #I also recall a 1988 episode of MOONLIGHTING, where David (Bruce Willis) and Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) filled the last 10 minutes of the show with singning and dancing because they ran out of script, as the writers were on strike! It was a classy way to make fun of a bad situation!
Michael | Nov 1, 2007 8:37:31 AM | #I cannot live without 24.
CW | Nov 1, 2007 9:06:17 AM | #At this point it doesn't matter whos right - the writers have lost the PR war here - maybe they are getting shorted but they are looking like a bunch of whiners. Like someone said - Netflix, Blockbuster - they won't be on strike and theres my TBR pile - the authors arent on strike...and if this TV season is any indication of the talent pool, maybe its time they get drained!
Barb L | Nov 1, 2007 9:36:46 AM | #What about cable shows like The Closer, Saving Grace, Kyle XY, Burn Notice, Mad Men, and Entourage!!! Will they be affected by the srike as well?!?
Chris | Nov 1, 2007 10:05:46 AM | #Don't the "reality" shows have writers too?
amanda Black | Nov 1, 2007 10:09:44 AM | #If this had been a couple of years ago, I'd really be worrying.
But now there are so few shows on that I care about that I'm not sure a strike will really bother me. I watch SVU and Ugly Betty/Grey's and those are the only shows I look forward to all week, so the only thing a strike will do for me is cause me to put in more DVDs and do a lot less channel surfing.
Jan | Nov 1, 2007 10:14:33 AM | #Writers on cable shows are guild members, so they'd stop working as well. Not sure if any of the shows Chris mentioned are in production at the moment, but if they are, they'd stop. "Nip/Tuck" has a number of its episodes in the bank, so it's OK for a while, and "The Wire" has finished shooting its season.
Reality shows do have writers (sometimes they're called "story producers"), but they're not covered by the guild. That was one of the issues in the negotiations, but a lot of things I read said the WGA was willing to let that one go if it meant movement on the home-video and Internet fronts.
Rick | Nov 1, 2007 10:27:13 AM | #basically, depending on when/if the strike starts and how long it lasts, we're all screwed until it's over and then some to provide for the writing and shooting of the new episodes.
we can hold our breath and cross our fingers but i think at this point it's prolly just a matter of time. the writers have dropped the ball with PR and are either going to suck it up and renegoitate quickly or strike and it take forever to get things going again.
ave | Nov 1, 2007 10:38:49 AM | #I think the writers could be cutting their own throats if they strike. I think what they are asking for is completely reasonable. The problem for them is, it's not 1988. TV has lost viewers like crazy, the number of people going to the box office is way down (the money still being made is from outrageously high ticket prices, not # of tickets sold), and people are finding their entertainment elsewhere. The Hollywood establishment complained for the last few years about how many jobs were being lost to reality shows, and a strike would bring on more reality shows that could cost them spots for years if they catch on. I hope this can be resolved in a way that is fair to everyone, but I don't have much hope. I'll actually be glad for time to get caught up on back episodes and dvd sets I haven't had time to watch.
Julie | Nov 1, 2007 11:03:08 AM | #And there is the whole ripple effect with those of us selling commercial time having so few rating points to sell in these reruns, thereby having us and tv stations make less money along with the writers.
adgirl007 | Nov 1, 2007 11:07:17 AM | #lovely. i don't know which is worse, these crappy game shows or reality tv... and now there might be more of it? ugh.
Buffybot, I totally agree! I would actually love a break to catch up on some tv on dvd. For example, I decided I wanted to watch season 2 of Heroes b/c of David Anders and Kristin Bell, but have yet to finish season 1 on dvd. And trying some new shows would be fun! Let 'em strike! They'll eventually work it out - they have to, otherwise both would lose too much money!
Andrea | Nov 1, 2007 12:41:30 PM | #adgirl007 is right, this strike will have a trickle down effect for anyone who works for a station. shows are already underdelivering and more reruns will hurt "the little people" all over the country.
Nel | Nov 1, 2007 2:02:17 PM | #I'd be happy to be a scab writer. I think many fans would make better writers than the current ones!
Lisa | Nov 1, 2007 2:20:18 PM | #Anyone here who is trying to say that a strike is O.K. didn't live through the 1988 writer's strike.
In a time when all the shows, new or returning, premiered in mid-September, not a single show was seen until November or later. Not only is this bad for viewers, but it can be disasterous for the fate of some shows. What if the audience doesn't come back for Pushing Daisies after the strike? Or any of the shows on air? Believe me, this is bad for everyone.
Eric | Nov 1, 2007 2:46:05 PM | #It's a bad situation. The writers are completely and totally in the right in what they're asking for; that's what so sad. They'll end up getting screwed anyway because the networks know they can outlast them. The networks have the finances of the huge corporations that own them to carry them through (unlike in 1988). Also, even more significantly, the networks [i]know[/i] that the public will flock to American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, Big Brother, Survivor, The Amazing Race, and other reality tripe like lemmings. The alternative programming is cheaper to produce, as are the newsmagazines that will be flooding the air. The networks will survive even though they don't have the moral high ground and the writers will be hurt because there will be less work available when it's all said and done. Several new shows this season will also be casualities.
You have a Nielsen box? You watch American Idol? You're helping the studios. The studios blame it all on the writers and then sit back and wait for financial despair to kick in.
galveston | Nov 1, 2007 5:03:31 PM | #If the writers strike goes into next spring and summer it could be the longest writer's strike ever. and during the strike if reality shows are on the air which is non-union, viewers will turn away from reality shows and ratings will decline from there.
and reality could suffer if ratings decline during the strike.
Back in the Norma Rae days the strikers were noble sufferers and the big, bad corporations finally caved because they needed the workers to put out the product. But since 1988 the corporations have figured that they dont have to negotiate - they can just go overseas where a lot of TV shows and movies are already being produced. For a few more crumbs on dvd sales the writers are willing to take work away from all of the people whose income depends on film and tv production - any many of them are in their own community. I live in a suburb of philadelphia and we lived thru the baseball strike of '94 - by the time it was resolved the ticket buyers were so mad they didnt go to the games and tickets were being passed out for free and the teams were begging for fans - took them years to get back. Whats to keep the studios from just hiring a new bunch of writers?
Amy | Nov 2, 2007 4:17:45 AM | #Strike or no strike, it does not bother me. I watch very little television, as well new release movies. On the other hand, my wife is a little different. She will miss new episodes.
If I also remember, the last time they had a strike, they just run re-runs. Even David Letterman and other commendies ran re-runs.
Terry L. S. | Nov 2, 2007 10:01:55 AM | #Don't worry America! Just look north. There are many excellent Canadian writers. Sure some shows have a distinct Cdn flavor but so
what that could be a good thing. Maybe we'll discover
some new talent and Tv we will come to like.
Now I don't feel so bad that I had to take an extra night job for the holidays.
Dolores | Nov 3, 2007 8:14:20 AM | #We have a 4-DVR-recording-with-external-hard-drive-storage-apability which we use to create a "Summer Season supplement" and a "rerun cycle supplement." So, as they run out of episodes due to the strike we'll fill in with unwatched episodes of:
5 Days
Cane
Damages
Dexter
K-Ville
L&O: SVU
Lincoln Heights
Prison Break
Tell Me You Love Me
The Unit
While our household is unusual now, this is the wave of the future, along with VOD, DVD's and the web. Of course, we may have to find some other stuff for the Summer Season supplement.
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