SHOWS ON STRIKE: DAY 1 UPDATES & RECOMMENDED READING
Recognize the
names below? You should. They are just a few of the more popular and successful writers/creators/show-runners among the 12,000 members of the
Writers Guild of America who are currently picketing in Los Angeles and New York due to unfair compensation (little to no residuals for their work on DVD and when watched or downloaded online).
This should give
you an idea about the scope of this strike and the status of your
favorite shows.
- Greg Berlanti (Brothers and Sisters, Dirty Sexy Money)
- Jenny Bicks (Men in Trees)
- Daniel Cerone (Dexter)
- Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives)
- Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof (Lost)
- Greg Daniels (The Office)
- Tina Fey (30 Rock)
- Greg Garcia (My Name is Earl)
- Matt Groening (The Simpsons)
- Hart Hanson (Bones)
- Silvio Horta & Marco Pennette (Ugly Betty)
- Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights)
- David E. Kelley (Boston Legal)
- Tim Kring (Heroes)
- Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men)
- Seth McFarlane (Family Guy)
- Carol Mendelsohn (CSI)
- Marti Noxon (Private Practice)
- Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice)
- Shawn Ryan (The Shield, The Unit)
- Josh Schwartz (Chuck, Gossip Girl)
- David Shore (House)
- David Simon (The Wire)
- Matt Weiner (Mad Men)
- John Wells (ER)
- Craig Wright (Dirty Sexy Money)
For a more comprehensive look, here is the ad that the WGA placed in Variety.
Complicating matters more is the fact that many actors are also active members of the WGA. While they are contractually obligated to show up for work by the network and their contracts, they may also be obligated to adhere to WGA strike guidelines and picket the very shows they star in. The obvious case in point would be The Office; cast members Steve Carrell (Michael Scott), Mindy Kaling (Kelly), Paul Lieberstein (Toby) and BJ Novak (Ryan) have all written episodes of the show. It will be very interesting to see how that plays out.
Most of the major talk shows have already halted production, as they require daily scripts. Apparently, Ellen DeGeneres did not show up to film her show today, in a show of solidarity for her writing staff. Conan, Kimmel and Leno will air repeats beginning this evening (which, on a personal note, is very disappointing and bad timing; my friend Matt was slated to perform on Kimmel tonight). I believe that The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report are also a no-go.
Several WGA members have created a great blog called United Hollywood. If you really want to follow the strike from the inside, that is your best bet.
In addition to industry sites with updates, there are plenty of blogs from show writers and producers who might offer their perspective throughout the strike. Or not. As far as I know, the strike rules do not prevent them from blogging on their own.
Here are a few I recommend:
The Artful Writer (screenwriter Craig Mazin; Scary Movie 3, 4, 5)
BKV.tv (comic book/Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan)
Bloggers and Sisters (behind the scenes of Brothers and Sisters)
Grey Matter (Grey’s Anatomy writers blog)
James Gunn (screenwriter; Dawn of the Dead, Slither)
Jane Espenson (writer & co-exec producer, Battlestar Galactica)
John August (screenwriter; Go, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Ken Levine (sitcom writer; Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons, etc.)
There are plenty that I have not listed but please feel free to recommend some in the comments section. This is exhausting just to follow from the outskirts.
By the way, I found it fascinating that 90% of the people I talked to today at work and beyond had no idea that there was a writers strike going on. Granted, none of us are in the industry or located near the picket lines. But something tells me that the eyes and ears of the nation will perk up once their beloved shows begin to run out of fresh episodes and they face the deluge of repeats…