Originally posted by weaklink75: Oh well, at least The Amazing Race is coming back Sunday, and this probably means it will get a quick pickup for a spring run as well (I feel for the writers striking of course, but TAR is my favorite program)
"Amazing Race" can't be turned around that quickly. Applications just went up Thursday for the next run.
The tentative taping dates are April/May 2008 which means it couldn't air again (if greenlit) till summer 2008 at the earliest.
Posts: 198 | Location: Fort Washington, MD | Registered: 15 May 2007
Guys, read this, it talks about the effect of a writers strike on tv shows:
While the networks have been repeating the mantra that "screens will not go black," it won't take long for TV viewers to see the impact of a Writers Guild of America strike.
The canaries in TV's creative coal mine are latenight hosts such as David Letterman and Jay Leno, whose monologues and sketches are dependent on union writers. If history is any guide, both shows will almost instantly go dark, as would "Saturday Night Live." Comedy Central's latenight stalwarts "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" would also likely switch to repeats in the immediate aftermath of a strike.
"Boom -- our show just shuts down," said "SNL" vet Amy Poehler. "It's just done. There is no backlog of scripts." (For more on latenight and the strike, click here.)
Primetime comedy and drama series will feel the pinch immediately, though the on-air effect will be delayed at least a few weeks for most shows as they air completed segs. Cruelest blows will hit the frosh crop of shows that are just starting to get a toehold with viewers, including ABC's "Private Practice," "Pushing Daisies" and "Samantha Who" and CBS' "The Big Bang Theory."
The repercussions of scribes going out will surely be felt at Hollywood's major talent agencies. It's widely expected that a prolonged strike would result in serious layoffs; some agencies have already sketched out strike contingency plans involving salary deferments and other cost-cutting moves.
In general, most nets will have four or five filmed episodes of most of their shows on hand as of Thursday. In addition, most shows have anywhere from one to five scripts that have been written but not yet shot.
Just when repeats will begin popping up "depends on whether we can shoot these other episodes," one insider said. Even if actors agree to film those episodes, scribes won't be available to do rewrites or make changes based on network notes.
Most likely, original episodes will start disappearing by early December or January. And it's no mystery what will fill those timeslots.
"The most likely outcome is more news and more reality," said NBC U entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman.
Real question mark, then, is just how nets will sked all the reality and news programs they've been bulking up on during the past year.
"Do we have a schedule, per se? No," said one webhead. "Do we have a lot of options? Yes."
Of all the webs, Fox is sitting pretty with "American Idol" slated to return for the second half of the season, ensuring at least one net will have the lights fully turned on in the event of a work stoppage. ABC, meanwhile, can crank up "Dancing With the Stars"--and maybe even revive "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."
Suits said they can't make final calls on how to spread out their programming resources until a strike is actually called. What's more, scenarios will change depending on whether the work stoppage looks to be a short-lived event or a months-long ordeal.
With sweeps far less important than they used to be, some networks could air a few repeats of shows in November to keep a reservoir of originals until late January or February.
Some shows are better off than others.
CW laffer "Everybody Hates Chris," for example, has actually wrapped production on a full 22-episode season. Other CW Monday comedies are also far ahead in production, which means the net could keep originals on the air through February.
Most nets have multiple schedules at the ready: one in case of a two-month strike, another in the event of a four-month strike and so on.
"Those decisions are ready to go," one webhead said. "It's so much more manageable this time around. In 1988, everything was scripted programming. But now there's so much alternative programming, at least we have a pad."
And in many cases, writers were looking to add a bit of a cliffhanger, tie up some loose ends or at least make a big splash in that seg, in case it turns into a de facto season ender.
On "Pushing Daisies," for example, exec producer Bryan Fuller said he was racing to finish the show's ninth episode, which winds down a major character arc that threads through episodes seven and eight as well. "There's such a scramble to get as much work as possible done," Fuller said.
They're breathing a little easier on "Prison Break," the Fox drama that traditionally splits its seasons in half, with a midyear cliffhanger that helps bridge the gap between January (when the show takes a break) and April, when it returns.
In case there is a strike, that midyear cliffhanger could easily double as a season finale if need be, said exec producer Matt Olmstead.
"We have our episodes through 13 written," Olmstead said. "That's our traditional break, anyway. So at least we won't be cutting out mid-storyline if a strike happens."
Then there's "Lost." Fans have been waiting patiently for the ABC show's February launch and the promise of 16 uninterrupted episodes. That pledge, of course, will be partly kept if only eight episodes are ready to go this year. But rather than wait to pair them with the other eight, ABC will still air what it has, as scheduled.
"It's better to come on with some season than no season," one insider said. "If there's a strike, we'll need scripted programming."
Fox will face a similar decision with "24," which usually is far ahead of schedule but this year is playing catch-up due to creative problems early in the season.
Some shows are so far ahead of production, they would seemingly be less impacted immediately. Such is the case with animated series -- a genre not on the air during the 1988 strike -- which, due to the production process, is written as much as a year ahead. But "The Simpsons" exec producer Al Jean said his show may still be hampered by a strike.
"The Simpsons" has recorded 21 of 22 episodes for this year's batch, but "recorded doesn't mean they're done," he said. "They still need rewriting."
While the last strike helped birth unscripted skeins such as "Cops" and "America's Most Wanted," 20 years later the reality genre has fully matured. Webheads have been stockpiling reality shows like crazy and will be ready to go with literally dozens of concepts.
A strike will likely help the nets put several bubble shows out of their misery. ABC's "Cavemen," Fox's "K-Ville" and the CW's "Life Is Wild," among other frosh, may be among the first casualties, as nets and studios decide to simply shut shows down for good.
The threat of a strike has also kept some nets from making full-season orders on certain shows. The philosophy varies from net to net -- some have ordered a bunch of back nines, figuring they can always force mejeure their way out of the order should a strike shut things down, while others are waiting, not wanting to deal with the question of who still needs to be paid if a show is picked up for a full year but doesn't produce a full season's worth of segs.
ABC, for example, picked up the back nine of "Samantha Who?" on Tuesday. NBC, on the other hand, is waiting before officially ordering more segs of successful shows like "Chuck."
Of course, in some cases, the strike talk has helped underperforming skeins stay on the air longer. Insiders believe "Cavemen" would have otherwise been yanked weeks ago, but no one's eager to dump original scripted fare right now (with a few exceptions), since there may be a need for it later on.
The strike talk -- and the nets' need for original fare -- has also particularly motivated lower-performing (or untested) shows to churn out as many scripts as possible (under the idea that the nets will more likely stick with a scripted show during a strike, even if it's stumbling in the ratings). ABC's "October Road," for example, already has 13 scripts in the can.
With a strike looking to be pretty much a fait accompli at this point, network execs are resigned to the fact that things are about to get hairy -- and no one knows how it'll shake out.
"We are as prepared as anyone, but that's really only good for so much," one broadcast topper said.
From a financial standpoint, network execs are at least in a better position than their studio counterparts. The nets may see their ratings and revenue go south as they replace scripted fare with repeats and reality shows, but their costs will decline, too. Sliding in a reality show that costs $900,000 per episode in place of a $3 million-per-seg drama will help soothe the sting of a strike.
That said, "We really don't want this to happen because of the macroeconomic issues facing our community," NBC U's Silverman said. "It's disturbing and upsetting that it seems to be becoming a foregone conclusion."
Originally posted by Devilz_0: Primetime comedy and drama series will feel the pinch immediately, though the on-air effect will be delayed at least a few weeks for most shows as they air completed segs. Cruelest blows will hit the frosh crop of shows that are just starting to get a toehold with viewers, including ABC's "Private Practice," "Pushing Daisies" and "Samantha Who" and CBS' "The Big Bang Theory."
This sort of reflects that FOX and NBC had no new hits to speak of anyway.
quote:
CW laffer "Everybody Hates Chris," for example, has actually wrapped production on a full 22-episode season. Other CW Monday comedies are also far ahead in production, which means the net could keep originals on the air through February.
I hope when the reruns start flowing on the other Monday shows that people will finally give the CW comedies a look. Aliens in America deserves a real audience. Meanwhile, I'm glad that Girlfriends did such a good 'final episode' last season since the writer's strike may cut them just short of being able to do anything this season.
quote:
A strike will likely help the nets put several bubble shows out of their misery. ABC's "Cavemen," Fox's "K-Ville" and the CW's "Life Is Wild," among other frosh, may be among the first casualties, as nets and studios decide to simply shut shows down for good.
Those three shows certainly deserve to be on the list. It is scary not to see similar reports for a few of the NBC laggards, though. I wonder if this means that NBC is thinking of renewing all their junk again?
In regards to Chris and the other Cdub comedies, I would think this will finally be the chance for some of them to air in other slots. The Game and Girlfriends could air after Top Model with Chris and Aliens perhaps getting a Tuesday night shot after reality or something. At the very least give them some extra airings on other nights in place of low rated stuff like Gossip Girl.
I understand that I have these questions because I know little of how TV works, and it is asked in this spirit.
Why is that necessary to change scripts acc. to network notes? Why is that so important? Why not just trust creative vision of writers if that's what it takes not to show all repeats all the time? And why is that so increadibly hard to do, to make those changes. You don't need to be a genius to correct lines of dialogue. Also, is that out of question to hire some non TV writers for some shows? Illegal or something? Some procedurals could use couple of episodes done by new writers, ditto monstrosities like Bionic Woman. I get that those are stupid questions, but I am really curious how it all works.
Originally posted by Cruella: I understand that I have these questions because I know little of how TV works, and it is asked in this spirit.
Why is that necessary to change scripts acc. to network notes? Why is that so important? Why not just trust creative vision of writers if that's what it takes not to show all repeats all the time? And why is that so increadibly hard to do, to make those changes. You don't need to be a genius to correct lines of dialogue. Also, is that out of question to hire some non TV writers for some shows? Illegal or something? Some procedurals could use couple of episodes done by new writers, ditto monstrosities like Bionic Woman. I get that those are stupid questions, but I am really curious how it all works.
Not sure to the answer of your first question about having to change scripts. But for your second question: asking non TV writers to write for TV would be like hiring "scabs". This has been done before in sports, such as when the NFL players went on strike and management put together teams with "scabs", or replacement players. The union would obviously frown on this, and these new TV writers would really have a mark on their head for the rest of their careers.
I understand that I have these questions because I know little of how TV works, and it is asked in this spirit.
Why is that necessary to change scripts acc. to network notes? Why is that so important? Why not just trust creative vision of writers if that's what it takes not to show all repeats all the time? And why is that so increadibly hard to do, to make those changes. You don't need to be a genius to correct lines of dialogue. Also, is that out of question to hire some non TV writers for some shows? Illegal or something? Some procedurals could use couple of episodes done by new writers, ditto monstrosities like Bionic Woman. I get that those are stupid questions, but I am really curious how it all works.
I agree with everything you just said, I mean it doesnt take a lot to change the script a little, and why cant they just hire new non union writers, I mean to actually stop producing shows just because writers dont want to work, why cant they just hire new ones?
-Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (11/02/06): Fox: +104, CBS: - 5, CW: -10, ABC: -16, NBC: -32
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Note: The fast national results for Thursday will be posted at PIFeedback by 12 p.m. ET. Go to the website, click on Ratings Box (the first category), then Last Night’s Results, and Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007.
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-Yesterday’s Winners: Survivor: China (CBS), CSI (CBS), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), Without a Trace (CBS)
-Honorable Mention: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Fox)
-Yesterday’s Losers: Big Shots (ABC)
Note: The listing of winners and losers are subject to change after the fast affiliate ratings are posted at PIFeedback.
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-Ratings Breakdown: CBS opened the Nov. 2007 sweeps on a winning note in the overnights, with an average 22 percent advantage over second-place ABC. Next was Fox, which posted hefty year-to-year gains as a result of back-to-back episodes of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, followed by NBC and the CW. As I say every week, NBC’s strength on Thursday falls within the young adult demographics -- adults 18-49, in particular. With that in mind, I will wait to see if Scrubs is worthy of a loser’s listing.
CBS’ veteran Survivor: China opened the evening on a winning note, with an 8.2 rating/13 share in the overnights. Next was ABC’s Ugly Betty (7.3/12), which dipped by a hefty 27 percent from one year earlier (10.1/16 on Nov. 2, 2006). Survivor was down by a less extensive 11 percent. Third from 8-9 p.m. was Fox’s Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (5.5/ 9), followed by a one-hour edition of NBC’s My Name is Earl (4.9/ 8), and the CW’s Smallville (3.3/ 5). Comparably, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? built by a whopping 90 percent over year-ago occupants ‘Til Death and Happy Hour.
CBS stayed in the overnight winner’s circle at 9 p.m., with CSI at a 12.4/19. Second was Grey’s Anatomy on ABC (11.6/18), but the medical drama will win the hour among adults 18-49 once the fast affiliate results are posted at PIFeedback. Third was another edition of Fox’s Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (5.5/ 8), followed by NBC’s combination of The Office (5.1/ 7) and Scrubs (4.3/ 6), and Supernatural on the CW (2.3/ 3). Retention for Supernatural out of Smallville was a typical 70 percent last night.
First at 10 p.m., of course, was CBS’ Without a Trace, at a 10.7/18 in the overnights. Second was NBC’s needs-to-be retired ER (6.8/11), followed by Big Shots on ABC at an approximate 6.6/11. I stress approximate because the first four or five minutes of the 10 p.m. half hour included Grey’s Anatomy. With that in mind, look how much Big Shots dropped in the second half-hour:
Not sure to the answer of your first question about having to change scripts. But for your second question: asking non TV writers to write for TV would be like hiring "scabs". This has been done before in sports, such as when the NFL players went on strike and management put together teams with "scabs", or replacement players. The union would obviously frown on this, and these new TV writers would really have a mark on their head for the rest of their careers.
well, there must be some writers who dont give a sh** about what the union thinks, I mean this is hollywood, there has to be some writers who will be begging for a chance to work on tv shows
seriously, anyone can write for most shows, I mean most shows have decent writing at best, I think I can write better than most of the writers on shows like bionic women, moonlight,etc..(not that I will ever become a writer), its just really boggles my mind how they can see this as a threat, tv is a multibillion dollar business, and they will stop production of shows because a union decides to have a strike (Im sorry if this info is wrong, but I am new to the whole tv writers strike thing and dont know how exactly it works)
Originally posted by robert: Thursday 11/01/07 Note: The following results are based on the metered market ratings.
Second was NBC’s needs-to-be retired ER (6.8/11),
marc says this every week. I'd love to see him list all the NBC shows and put them in order from most deserving of another season to least deserving of another season. Is Marc really ready to commit to getting rid of ER if it means renewing a show like Journeyman, Life, Friday Night Lights, Scrubs, 20 Rock, etc...? Exactly how many viewers is he willing to give away in exchange for this quest for preserving legacy?
quote:
Why is still BS aired after GA amazes me
I agree. The only reason Big Shots is still on the air is the impending writer's strike.
Originally posted by Devilz_0: well, there must be some writers who dont give a sh** about what the union thinks, I mean this is hollywood, there has to be some writers who will be begging for a chance to work on tv shows
You should consider the possibility that many actors, directors, etc... don't want to work with scabs. Trying to hire in scab writers would not be a good way to keep everyone else involved with the industry happy. Likely, a large number of other people in the industry would refuse to work with those scab writers during the strike if push came to shove.
quote:
seriously, anyone can write for most shows,
Have you ever seen the fan-fic that gets generated? Most people can't write and even those that can usually don't have the vision to avoid destroying entire shows just to churn out one 'amazing' short term plotline.
