Here’s a story that’s bound to bring a smile to your face (it did mine). During the protracted, agonizing Writer’s Guild strike, at least one Hollywood scribe chose not to lounge by the pool and wait it out. My Name Is Earl creator, Greg Garcia, decided to “get back in touch” with the TV viewers of …

According to an exposition in the Hollywood Reporter, the cost of the WGA strike on the local Los Angeles economy is estimated at $2 billion. that is four times the number of the 1988 strike, which lasted six weeks longer.

All that info assumes the strike will end Tuesday when the contract terms …

WGA leaders voted unanimously Sunday to endorse the proposed deal with studios, effectively ending the three month writers’ strike that has crippled the television industry. While they do feel that the deal falls short, it still makes key gains in dealing with the new media; remember that it was tha…

Depending on who you want to listen to, or believe, the end of the writers’ strike is a done deal. Michael Eisner, former Disney CEO and current CNBC host, thinks “it’s by,” as he told the network’s Fast Money show. Nikki Finke, in her usual subtle way, takes pains to debunk Eisner’s expertise on th…

As Bob detailed earlier, it looks like there may be an end in sight to the three-month old writers strike. In fact, Variety reports that now it’s just a matter of crossing the T’s, dotting the I’s, and voting on the new contract. As for the rest of that season and next? TV executives had slate…

I guess those casual talks that the WGA and studios had final week paid off: we might have an end to the writers strike as early as next week.

The New York Times is reporting that sources (who want to remain anonymous, for obvious reasons) say that one of the main deals that the WGA was looking f…

A note to TV show crews that are suffering during that writers strike: the shows feel your pain.

Nikki by at Deadline Hollywood Daily has learned that the crew of the CBS comedy The New Adventures of Old Christine got a nice surprise earlier that week: checks for $1000 (to go with the nice ja…

On February 10, the Grammy Awards will be shown on CBS with the benefit of writers. The WGA has agreed to let striking writers work on the awards show.
This year is the 50th telecast of the Grammys and it makes sense that the WGA would permit their members to work on that show. After all, the mus…

In breaking news, movie and television studio Lionsgate has struck a deal with the WGA. In an official statement from the company, the deal was called an “interim agreement.”

With Lionsgate reaching a deal with the writers, it wouldn’t be surprising whether more studios made agreements with them …

Stephen Colbert doesn’t normally get heavy on The Colbert Report, but when he does, boy, does he go all out. In final night’s episode of the Report, Stephen staged one of the most touching displays of love to the picketing writers that I have seen since the start of the strike.
Before introducin…

Yesterday we talked about how the WGA and studios were going to enter casual talks today, and it looks like those talks have actually made some news.

The WGA announced just a short date ago that they have dropped one of their main demands, that reality and animation writers be unionized. The …

If shows that are shown only once a week and have around 22 episodes a year are affected by the strike, thereupon the soaps, which have new shows five days a week, 52 weeks a year must be even more affected, right? Right?

For some reason, not yet. The shows haven’t divulged how many scripts they …

The Writers Guild of America is going to hold an casual assembly with studios that week in what looks like a first step in getting back to the bargaining table with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (I’m certain that the deal the Director’s Guild of America made on Thursd…

Author and television writer Peter David offered his own take on the DGA deal with the AMPTP (see his January 18th post) and what it means tor the WGA. Fundamentally, Mr. David believes the the hesitancy of the AMPTP to give World Wide Web residuals was a smokescreen to prevent the WGA from unioni…

At 8, CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer, followed by new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
NBC has a new 1 vs. 100 at 8, soon after new episodes of Friday Night Lights and Las Vegas.
The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
PBS has a new NOW at 8, followed by new episodes of Washington Week and Bill…

We told you the other day about the studios ending the contracts of several writers and producers. And since it’s tough to keep track of who is and and who is out when it comes to their TV deals, The Futon Critic has the scoop on which citizens still have deals at the networks, along with updates …

The DGA has accomplished what the WGA has not thus far. It has negotiated a new contract with the AMPTP.
The new contract does include a residual payment formula for new media including the Net. Both the DGA and the AMPTP seem convinced with the arrangement, based on statements by both sides.
Co…

Don’t nag, all you fans out there who throw Oscar night parties and love the 8 hour faraway red carpet specials: the show is a go.
For a while there, it looked like the Oscars might be in danger of going the route of the Golden Globes (ugh), particularly since the Writers Guild of America wasn’t …

I think that when writers went on strike in Hollywood, they assumed that the networks would be in trouble at some point and want to construct a deal, and while that may still happen down the road, right now the networks actually have more new stuff ready to go than you might think.
Continue readi…