We laugh and we cry. We repeat lines and we discuss plots. We take it personally when our fave primetime characters make poor decisions. Now it is the writers themselves of the Writer’s Guild of America who are taking things personally. The Problem: Writers want their dues from the media mediums of the future. The Real Problem: What will we watch?! Well that depends on who you are…Here is the breakdown:
The first to suffer are all of the night owls whose favorite shows like Connan and Colbert depend on daily scripts. Although these funny-men were once the genius behind the jokes they told, legally hosts can only contribute to as much of the script as they did pre-strike. Get ready for re-runs and some stretched-out improvising like what was seen in the 1988 five month strike. Animated shows with productions a year in advance such as Family Guy and The Simpsons are in the clear for now. Soap operas generally have a month long episode back-up. And then there is prime time. Most long running shows have four to five episodes hidden up their sleeves, while some newer shows have had to put a halt on productions. So what will happen with Serena and Blair?!? What lies in the fate of Lost? Only time will tell. Until then – and it pains us to say – you may have to rely on reality TV, which remains completely unaffected.