It’s coming to an end, everyone. Seriously. No lie this time. According to a variety of industry sources, the WGA and the AMPTP are set to finalize a deal this weekend that would effectively end the months-long strike and have the writers head back to work in the very near future. Nothing is official just yet, but given all the buzz about different shows returning to production, which series will return and how many episodes they’ll attempt to finish by season’s end, it’s hard to believe that a deal isn’t imminent. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Perhaps the most overt indication of a deal being close to official came Thursday afternoon, when ex-Disney head Michale Eisner plainly and clearly declared the writers’ strike finished. Speaking about the deal, Eisner stated “They’ve made a deal, they shook hands on a deal [and it] is going on Saturday to the constituents. It’s impossible that [the writers] turn it down. A deal has been made and they will be back to work reasonably soon.”
This is a bold statement from a man who no longer runs a studio, but it’s not like Eisner is known for making bold claims. All the evidence points to him being correct, and let’s hope for everyone’s sake that it is. With this being what it is, the question on every television fan’s mind is “What does this mean for my favorite shows?” Well, it depends on the show.
Right now, the word is that popular and established series will ramp up production and attempt to film anywhere between five to ten more episodes that should air beginning in April. Lost, for instance, might be able to finish it’s entire sixteen episode season. More likely, they’ll get 4-6 extra episodes complete to air before summer. It’s being said that all of the new series (Chuck, Pushing Daisies, etc.) will hold off on production and just re-boot come next Fall.
I’m just going to cross my fingers and hope that all the rumblings are true and that the writers return to work and start cranking out new episodes of all our favorite shows.
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: TVGuide
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
