When will our TV Shows be back? It depends

dirty

EOG Master
When Do We Get Our Post-Strike TV Shows?

By FRAZIER MOORE
AP Television Writer
<!--endtext--><script language="JavaScript"> <!-- Begin function popUp(URL) { day = new Date(); id = day.getTime(); if (URL.match(/qtplayer/)) { eval("page" + id + " = window.open(URL, '" + id + "', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=1,location=0,statusbar=1,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=440,height=300,left = 300,top = 200');"); } else { eval("page" + id + " = window.open(URL, '" + id + "', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=1,location=0,statusbar=1,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=440,height=220,left = 300,top = 200');"); } } // End --> </script><script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript"> <!-- function openMP(the_url) { the_url = "http://" + document.domain + "/" + the_url; var the_height_width = "height=600,width=890" + ",menubar=no,location=no,toolbar=no,resizable=no,scrollbars=no,status=no"; if (navigator.appName.indexOf("Microsoft") != -1) { the_height_width += ",left=" + ((screen.availWidth - 890) *.5) + ",top=" + ((screen.availHeight - 600) *.5); } else if (navigator.appName.indexOf("Netscape") != -1) { the_height_width += ",screenX=" + ((screen.availWidth - 890) *.5) + ",screenY=" + ((screen.availHeight - 600) *.5); } window.open(the_url,"_blank",the_height_width); } // --> </script> <!--begintext-->NEW YORK ? No more writers on picket lines. No more network TV bosses scrambling for replacement shows.
But enough about them. What about us?
<!--endtext--><!--startclickprintexclude--><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" width="170"><tbody><tr><td class="enhance"> (enlarge photo)
Members of the Writers Guild of America walk on the picket line at NBC Studios in Burbank, Calif., Feb. 8, 2008. TV producers say they expect writers to return to work as early as Wednesday, Feb. 13, now that the Writers Guild of America has moved to end its three-month-old strike. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

<!--startclickprintexclude--><script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/coxnet/js/daytonbreadcrumb.js"></script><!--endclickprintexclude--></td></tr></tbody></table> <!--begintext--><!--endclickprintexclude--><!--begintext--> Two simple questions prey on every viewer's mind: When will my favorite scripted programs be back with new episodes? And, WILL my favorite shows be back?
Here are the short-and-sweet answers from industry insiders after the three-month Hollywood writers' strike:
_ Many hit series (such as ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy," as well as CBS' "CSI" trio) will be back this spring for what's left of the current season, with anywhere from four to seven new episodes. But don't bet on weaker, "on-the-bubble" shows (NBC's "Bionic Woman" and CBS' "Moonlight," for example) returning until fall, if then.
_ And be prepared to muster a little more patience. A minimum of four weeks will be needed for producers to get the first post-strike episode of comedies (such as CBS' "Two and a Half Men" and NBC's "My Name Is Earl") started from scratch and back on the air; a drama will require six to eight weeks from concept to broadcast.
But there's no simple rule of thumb, added these TV execs, most of whom agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media. Every show is its own special case.
If a series had a script near completion when the strike was called in November, it's got a head start resuming production now.
For example, CBS' "Criminal Minds" had one script in progress and a network-approved outline for another, said co-executive producer Chris Mundy, who cited something else that gives his show an advantage: "We didn't have to break down our sets. We're luckier than most."
Meanwhile, a complicated serial drama with vast technical demands ? notably the NBC hit "Heroes" ? may not be deemed worth returning this season at all. The cost of ramping up for such a production may not justify that expense when only a handful of episodes are being ordered.
Other shows, including ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" and NBC's "Chuck," also aren't expected until fall. And Fox's "24" is unlikely to be back until early 2009.
Adding to this vexing calculus, each network will have to integrate its returning series into a prime-time schedule that, during the strike, has adapted to the absence of those shows with substitute fare.
Networks will also continue rolling out new series that were in the can before the strike. A CBS sitcom, "Welcome to the Captain," debuted just last week, as did NBC's dramedy "Lipstick Jungle." Fox has no fewer than four new dramas and comedies on tap.
No wonder if, amid all this turmoil, the networks will be rationing their new, post-strike product. They say they don't want to put fresh episodes at risk of getting lost in the shuffle.
"The networks will have to decide the tipping point: How many new shows is too many?" said Katherine Pope, president of Universal Media Studios, which, like NBC, is part of NBC Universal.
But a potential game-changer could be in the cards: One or more networks might elect to extend the season beyond May, which, of course, would call for even more new episodes. The chances of that happening aren't great. Viewership traditionally dips during summer months, and networks don't like running their best stuff when viewers aren't watching. But the post-strike landscape may not bow to tradition any more than the season has thus far.
Next season, too, is already being shaped by the strike.
NBC wants us to know it's been planning ahead. It recently announced a series pickup for the American adaptation of "Kath & Kim," a comedy hit in Australia. Likely to premiere this fall, it was a straight-to-series order that required no pilot.
But overall, the so-called development process for next fall has been delayed by the strike. Don't expect the usual crush of freshman shows right after Labor Day. And that looming void could have an impact on what we see (or don't see) this spring. In some cases, a network will opt to bank a series' remaining episodes to help fill the autumn programming gap.
These are decisions that must be made quickly, and industry execs say they prepared for numerous contingencies as the strike wore on.
"But until the studio and network and show runner for each series can get in a room together and talk, we don't have answers," said a studio executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media. Many such meetings were expected to take place Monday.
Damon Lindelof is eager for some answers. An executive producer of ABC's mystery serial "Lost," he should learn this week what his show's future holds as it closes out its fourth season.
"Lost" has been back on the air just two weeks. But the strike meant a planned 16-episode shooting schedule was halted after just eight episodes were shot. Fans braced themselves for no more this season.
"But we very much want to come back and do as many episodes as possible," said Lindelof, who then listed a few issues that first need to be settled.
"How many episodes can best serve our story? And what are the production realities?" He noted that the shooting facility in Hawaii, 2,500 miles from his Los Angeles office, had been shuttered since Thanksgiving. The crew has dispersed, the huge cast has scattered.
The first new post-strike episode of "Lost" could possibly be ready for broadcast the week after episode eight appears, he said. There likely would be three or four more after that.
Could there be even more?
"I'd be surprised if the network wanted to air episodes deep into the summer," he said. But if all the pieces fell into place, "Lost" fans would be blessed: "I don't see why we couldn't deliver all eight remaining episodes."
That kind of zeal should warm viewers' hearts. Lindelof and the rest of TV's creative community seem delighted to be back.
Almost as delighted as we are.
___
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'); } else { timeZone = date.toString(); tzLength = timeZone.length; tzOffset = tzLength - 8; civilianTimeZone = timeZone.substr(tzOffset, 3); if (civilianTimeZone.match(reg)) { document.writeln(civilianTimeZone, '</p>'); } } //--> </script>February 11, 2008 - 5:00 p.m. Copyright 2008, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.


When Do We Get Our Post-Strike TV Shows? | AccessAtlanta
 

Bucsfan67

EOG Master
Re: When will our TV Shows be back? It depends

sounds awfully complicated...just bring back our fukkin shows, and quick.:finger004
 

pvcpipe

EOG Master
Re: When will our TV Shows be back? It depends

I hope "Big Bang Theory" comes back. Best new sitcom of the year. K-Ville already got cancelled from what I hear, although I thought it was a pretty good show.
 

dirty

EOG Master
Re: When will our TV Shows be back? It depends

Yes...just a formality to get in written Votes over the Next 2 weeks. They all have given the go ahead verbally
 

Bucsfan67

EOG Master
Re: When will our TV Shows be back? It depends

I hope "Big Bang Theory" comes back. Best new sitcom of the year. K-Ville already got cancelled from what I hear, although I thought it was a pretty good show.

I said same thing in a thread earlier this year...best new sitcom on tv....very funny every week....it has already been picked up for another season though, i read earlier this year..
 

roach23

Banned
Re: When will our TV Shows be back? It depends

Strike over, Hollywood writers head back to work

* Story Highlights
* More than 92 percent of writers vote to end 100-day walkout and return to work
* Writers Guild of America strike began November 5
* Issues in walkout included handling of writers' work for new media such as Internet
* Report: February 24 Oscar show will go on as usual
* Next Article in Entertainment ?

* Read
* VIDEO

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Striking Hollywood writers will be back at their keyboards Wednesday after voting overwhelmingly to end a 100-day walkout that essentially shut down the entertainment industry.
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Writers Guild of America member Steven Binder shows his approval as he votes Tuesday in Beverly Hills, California.

More than 92 percent of the Writers Guild of America members who cast ballots Tuesday in Los Angeles and New York voted to end their work stoppage over residuals for writing in the digital age, including new media and the Internet. The new deal is for three years.

"The strike is over. Our membership has voted, and writers can go back to work," said Patric Verrone, president of the WGA's West chapter.

Michael Winship, president of WGA's East guild, said, "The success of this strike is a significant achievement not only for ourselves but the entire creative community, now and in the future."

WGA members walked off the job November 5 after talks broke down over how writers are paid for the use of their material on the Internet and DVDs, among other issues.

"It is not all that we hoped for, and it is not all we deserve," Verrone said when a tentative deal was announced Saturday.
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But he added, "This is the best deal this guild has bargained for in 30 years."

Leslie Moonves, chief executive officer of CBS Corp., told The Associated Press, "At the end of the day, everybody won.

"It was a fair deal and one that the companies can live with, and it recognizes the large contribution that writers have made to the industry."

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents production companies and media conglomerates, has had no comment on the agreement.

The vote meant that the Academy Awards ceremony on February 24 will be the usual scripted gala, the AP reported.

"I am ecstatic that the 80th Academy Awards presentation can now proceed full steam ahead," without "hesitation or discomfort" for the nominees, Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which stages the Oscars, told the AP.

As long as the strike continued, the traditional Oscars spectacular was in doubt since many Hollywood stars would not cross WGA picket lines.

It's unclear how soon new episodes of scripted programs will start appearing, because production won't begin until scripts are completed, the AP reported.

It will take at least four weeks for producers to get the first post-strike episodes of comedies back on the air; dramas will take six to eight weeks, the AP said.

Verrone said the WGA achieved two of three goals through negotiations with the studios. Video Watch Verrone explain what he thinks the strike accomplished ?

The first goal relates to writers' "jurisdiction" in new media, Verrone said, meaning that any content written by guild members specifically for new media, such as the Internet or cell phones, will be covered by their contract.

The second goal relates to reuse of content in new media, Verrone said.

The agreement bases payment for reuses on a distributor's gross formula for residuals, "so that when they get paid, we get paid," he said.

It is the "first time in our history that a new delivery system pays on a residual formula superior to the prior existing system," Verrone said.
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The third goal, which Verrone said the guild did not achieve, was to shore up writers' shares of the revenue from animation and reality television.

"Giving up animation and reality was a heartbreaking thing for me personally," he said. "But it was more important that we make a deal that benefited the membership, the town as a whole, that got people back to work and that solved the biggest problems in new media." E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend
 

pvcpipe

EOG Master
Re: When will our TV Shows be back? It depends

roach are they cashing your prop or are they going to hose you on some technicality?
 

roach23

Banned
Re: When will our TV Shows be back? It depends

roach are they cashing your prop or are they going to hose you on some technicality?

they haven't given me my loot yet pvc. i'll give them a couple days before i call the DOJ on them.
 

Tuckman

Uh Poster
Re: When will our TV Shows be back? It depends

FOX 24 - Will resume production for 2008-09 season


does any other show matter? :cheers
 
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