This Just In! Writers’ Strike Amazing News!!

Oh, Please! Say it IS so!!

Here’s what TV spoiler king, Michael Ausiello says in today’s Ask Ausiello:

Question: I hear that the strike is over! Is it true?— Danouk
Ausiello: Nothing’s official, but the buzz is that a tentative agreement has been reached, with an announcement coming as early as tomorrow. But it’s hard to tell what’s solid intel and what’s just spin. To wit: In the past 24 hours, one source close to the negotiations insisted that talk of a resolution was way premature. “There’s no deal,” maintained my spy. “That’s just misinformation put out by the AMPTP to pressure the WGA.” But moments before I put this column to bed, I heard from another very plugged-in source that the deal is done. Short story shorter: There’s cause for optimism, but not celebration. Yet.

Question: If the strike ends in the next week or so, can the current TV season be salvaged? — Donald
Ausiello: Depends on the network and the show. A source at one of the Big 4 tells me that should the strike end by mid-February, one best-case scenario being bandied about has established series going back into production and working through June, making more episodes for this season and some for next. Then they’ll take a summer break before starting regular production on next season. The reason for this is twofold: They don’t want to bail out on this season, but they also don’t want to go to the expense of putting shows back into production for just two or three episodes. One industry observer describes this as “a smart plan,” while acknowledging that there’s another variable in all this: the actors. “The trouble is, a lot of actors schedule hiatus movies, or just elaborate vacations. And if they ask them to work through certain dates, that could trigger some contract issues.”

tv, Television, WGA Writers Strike