UPDATE 11/12/2007: Writers Strike Update: Ultimate Guide To How the Strike Will Affect TV Shows
The WGA (Writers Guild of America) strike looks very likely now. Last-ditch efforts to avert the strike will take place Sunday according to TV with MeeVee. If those talks don't go well, the strike will begin Monday.
UPDATE: TALKS ON SUNDAY BROKE DOWN AND THE STRIKE HAS NOW BEGUN.
CONSEQUENCES FOR TV WATCHERS AS SOON AS THIS WEEK
If the strike isn't averted and lingers for very long there will be very real consequences to the television shows you and I watch and those effects could be felt as soon as this week. Here's a quick rundown of how the strike might affect the shows on TV:
HOW WILL THE STRIKE AFFECT TELEVISION?
Plan on very few, new Late Night Talk Shows and Comedy Central Talk Shows. No Soaps (I guess my wife will be unhappy about that), many shows will air the episodes they have written and produced and then run repeats - lots of repeats. You'll also see TONS of reality programming and not-new movies.
TV Shows That would go into immediate repeats:
- The Colbert Report
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
- The Late Show with David Letterman
- The Conan O'Brien Show
- Jimmy Kimmel Live
- Daytime Soaps: (unless the producers write the scripts like they did during the 1988 strike - lets face it it doesn't take a rocket scientist to write that stuff :)
TV Shows Not expected to be affected by the strike this season:
- The View
- Cane
- Jericho: (only had seven episodes planned for season two all of which are complete and ready to go)
- Reality Shows (Survivor, AmericanIdol, Amazing Race, America's Next Top Model, Beauty and the Geek)
- Journeyman
- Everybody Hates Chris
- Psych
- Monk
- Stargate Atlantis
- Battlestar Galactica
- Thirty Days
- The Wire
- The Shield
TV Shows That Will Be Affected - Partial Season Might Be Ready, But Not All:
- Lost
- 24: (only one forth of the shows are written - bad news for 24 fans)
- Heroes: Producers for the hit show Heroes are preparing an alternate ending to the December 3rd episode that would act as a season finale! This is in case the writers strike isn't averted & prevents the remaining season to be finished in time for the remaining episodes (12 - 23) to be written for the Spring. Source: TVGuide Editors Blog
- Moonlight
- Gossip Girl
- Friday Night Lights
- Eureka
- Men In Trees
- Entourage
- Big Love
- Dirty, Sexy, Money
- Brothers and Sisters
- Scrubs
- Law and Order: Criminal Intent
Specific Show Info via LATimes
Lucky for me, I have a bunch of shows saved on my Home Theater PC DVR as well as a large number of movies I have yet to watch. That along with some online media sources such as Netflix, YouTube, Joost and others should save me from reality show overload if the strike happens and lingers for very long. I should note that the strike will eventually affect Movies as well if it lasts very long, but the effects on the big screen wouldn't be felt as quickly as with television.
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