The US writers’ strike is over:
What does it means for hit TV shows?

When the writers went on strike in November a lot of the top US shows were half way through filming the latest series.
Now that the writers are back at work, there will be on average five new episodes of each programme filmed. This means that Channel 4 can start slotting the shows back into the schedule. But please note dates can and will change.

Several shows are already on air:
ER series 14 (C4, More 4), The Big Bang Theory series 1 (C4, E4) and Reaper series 1 (E4), pictured right.

Current plans have other shows returning:
March 2008 (late): Desperate Housewives series 4 (C4 & E4).
April 2008: Scrubs series 7 (E4), One Tree Hill series 5 (E4) and Brothers & Sisters series 2 (E4).
Spring 2008: My Name is Earl series 3 (C4).
May 2008: Without a Trace series 6 (More 4).
Summer 2008: Smallville series 7 (E4).
Autumn 2008: Ugly Betty series 2 (C4, E4).

Check back here for further news.

Fans desperate for news on strike-hit US shows
Update: The writer's strike is over! 14-02-08

The US writers have voted overwhelmingly in favor of ending the 100-day strike. 92.5 percent of the 3,775 writers that turned out voted in favor of going back to work. The official release is here.
We have yet to hear from the US studios what this means for those shows where filming stopped abruptly mid-series, but fingers-crossed it'll soon be business as usual.

Fans desperate for news on strike-hit US shows
Update: will writers vote to end strike on Tuesday? 11-02-08

We all wait with baited breath as hopefully the US writers vote this week to end the 14-week-old strike that has brought the US TV and film production to a standstill. The vote takes place on Tuesday 12 February.
The Writers Guild of America wrote to its members over the weekend to inform them that the negotiating committee had given its backing to a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
The contract still needs to be ratified by the WGA’s 10,500 members, which will take place by postal vote over the next few weeks. Then hopefully they can all get back to the important business of making new episodes of Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives and other hit US series.

In the News:
Sunday Herald asks if a writers’ strike is likely in the UK.

Could an end be in sight for the three-month old writers' strike that has kept the top US shows off the small screen?
According to reports in The Los Angeles Times, the recent informal discussions between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have reached a provisional agreement that should become the basis for a formal contract.
While optimists suggest the strike could be over within a week, nothing will happen until the WGA puts the terms of the deal to its members this weekend. Until then writers are encouraged to continue their pickets, according to The Hollywood Insider.

Fans desperate for news on strike-hit US shows
Update: is no news good news? 30-01-08

The US writers' strike is now in its 13th week, but things look quietly optimistic according to Variety.
Last week the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced plans to discuss if there is a basis for both parties to return to formal negotiations. Both parties agreed to a news blackout while the informal discussions continue.
So no news suggests good news.

Programme update:
The new series (14) of ER has kicked of on Thursdays on More4.

Fans desperate for news on strike-hit US shows
Posted: 09-01-2008

With fans of Desperate Housewives and other US series keen to know when their favourite shows are due to return to the screen, the Viewers' Editor goes hunting for the latest news and asks for your views. Are there are any more shows you'd like her to find out about?

Channel 4 has been contacted by fans of Desperate Housewives and other hit US series, such as Ugly Betty, eager to find out when their favourite shows will be back on air. It’s clear from the forums that these fans are not alone.

So I tracked down Channel 4’s Director of Acquisitions, Jeff Ford, to find out the latest on the writers’ strike in the US and how the 2008 schedules might be affected.

The writers of all the US hit shows – including Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty – have been locked into a dispute with the US studios since November over how much they are paid when their work is re-shown online or as downloads, Jeff explained.

So when's the strike likely to end? Well no-one knows for sure. Jeff suspects that the writers are likely to dig their heels in – the last strike in the US back in 1988 lasted six months! And the recent cancellation of the Golden Globes awards is a pretty good indication that the parties are still in deadlock.

As a fan myself, I was relieved to hear that 10 new episodes of the eagerly-awaited Desperate Housewives Series 4 had been produced before the strike kicked in. You should expect to see these on Channel 4 from late March. Hopefully by the time all ten have been shown, the strike will have been resolved and the remaining 13 will be available.

One of series hardest hit by the strike is Ugly Betty. Unluckily, just 13 episodes of Ugly Betty Series 2 had been produced when the strike was called, and 10 of these have already been broadcast on Channel 4, with the last just before Christmas. Jeff expects the remaining three to be aired in the US in January, but it's not clear yet when Ugly Betty will be back on screen over here.

Other hit US shows struck by the writers' strike include Big Bang Theory, Brothers and Sisters, Scrubs, Dirty Sexy Money, ER, My Name is Earl, One Tree Hill, Smallville and Without a Trace.

It is good news for fans of The Daily Show though, as the Emmy award-winning programme is back on More 4 this week after a two-month absence, somehow making do without the chief writers.

With no sign that the strike is any closer to being resolved, the people in charge of commissioning at Channel 4 have been busily hunting around for new series from home-grown talent, while the overseas acquisitions folks are concentrating their search for ready-made series on countries outside the US to ensure that the US dispute will leave no gaps in the schedule.

Do you sympathise with the writers of your favourite US shows?
Or just wish the parties would get back to the table?
Are you worried that your favourite show may be affected by the strike?
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