LOS ANGELES - An end to Hollywood's long and bitter writers' strike appeared close Saturday, as union leaders representing 12,000 movie and television writers said they had reached a tentative deal with production companies.
The strike, which began Nov. 5, remains in effect until the governing boards of the two writers guilds gauge the sense of their membership this weekend and decide whether to end the walkout. The boards are expected to meet as early as today, and the strike could be over by Monday morning.
A memorandum sent to some writers' guild members summarized a four-hour meeting Friday in which union leaders briefed a group of 300 strike captains. According to the memorandum, the guild boards and negotiating committee are expected to recommend the tentative deal unanimously, but they are withholding action to end the walkout until after Saturday's scheduled meetings.
Late-night talk shows that have operated without writers would benefit immediately. Shows like NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" are already inviting writers back to work Monday, assuming the strike ends.
Television series likely would take weeks to get back in production. Weaker shows might not return at all, and shake-ups in network planning might delay the return of some shows, even though production would soon be possible.
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