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Writers Strike Brings Late-Night Reruns, Could Hurt Promising New Shows

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By WALT BELCHER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 6, 2007

We can only hope that the television networks will come up with something better than reality show replacements while the writers are on strike.

That's about as likely as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning the Super Bowl or the Florida Legislature coming up with a solution to the property tax nightmare.

Already waiting in the wings are things such as NBC's remake of "American Gladiators" and "My Dad Is Better than Your Dad."

The CW will bring back another Pussycat Dolls competition, and it has a dating show, "Farmer Wants a Wife."

ABC has "Duel," based on a French game show where contestants bluff their way through trivia questions, and "Wanna Bet?" - a German-inspired contest where people bet on whether they can perform stunts.

CBS is updating "Password" and "Do You Trust Me?" (strangers team up in a bid for cash), as well as "Jingles" (people make up songs for real products).

Fox has "American Idol" and Donald Trump's charm school contest, "Lady or a Tramp," as well as "Smile! You're Under Arrest," a comic take on "Cops."

The writers walked on Monday after last-minute talks between studios and wordsmiths collapsed over a share of the proceeds from DVDs and online distribution of shows.

Writers get only a few pennies if a viewer pays to watch a show online. They get nothing for content created expressly for the Internet. The union wants an increase from 4 cents to 8 cents on every DVD sale.

The last strike in 1988 lasted 22 weeks and cost the networks about $500 million. A 22-week strike would cost them about $1 billion this time.

But what does this mean for the consumers of pop culture?

Late-night: Viewers of late-night TV shows are the first to feel the effects of the strike. Jay Leno, David Letterman, Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien and the rest of the late entertainers are already taking a break, and their shows are in reruns. "Saturday Night Live" and "MADtv" will be in reruns, too.

Daytime soaps: Soap opera producers have been stockpiling enough scripts to last until January. In 1988, the soaps did not go on hiatus and were not in reruns. Inexperienced nonunion writers struggled to drag out story lines. Industry analysts say a long strike might kill off weaker soaps because the format has been steadily declining in popularity anyway.

Game shows: Most game shows and reality competitions are unscripted and taped months in advance. Programs such as "The Price Is Right," "Deal or No Deal" and "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" will keep on trucking.

Talk shows: Because these shows are host-driven and interview-heavy, a lack of writers won't stop the likes of Rachael Ray; Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey and the ladies of "The View."

Movies: For now, movie studios are stocked with new films, written and produced far ahead of their release dates. It would be 2009 before the box office would feel the squeeze.

Newsmagazines: News writers are covered by a different union, and they actually may get more work. NBC's Chris Hansen is probably working overtime on more "To Catch a Predator" reports.

Prime time woes: Producers tried to stockpile enough scripts to get through January, but not every show was able to do it. Some, such as "Grey's Anatomy," will be done after November.

A prolonged strike would mean Fox's "24," due in January, would likely be shelved until next season. ABC's "Lost" would see its planned 16-episode run cut in half.

ABC postponed the Nov. 27 premiere of the drama "Cashmere Mafia," starring Lucy Liu, and NBC has dropped plans for a six-episode "Heroes" prequel ("Origins") that was due in April.

Industry observers say a strike could hurt promising new series such as "Pushing Daisies," "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Samantha Who?" because these programs haven't had much time to connect with viewers and don't have enough repeats to keep a presence on the TV schedule.

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