The Strike: Day 1
Well, it's official. Last night's final attempt to achieve labor peace between the producers and writers has failed and as of about 12:30 Monday morning, the Associated Press reports that the writers are on strike:
Writers and studios broke off talks late Sunday after East Coast members of the writers union declared they were officially on strike, the group representing producers said.
Last-ditch negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers ended after about 11 hours.
Producers said writers refused a request to "stop the clock" on a planned strike while talks continued.
As to how this is going to affect your immediate television watching routine:
The first casualty of the strike would be late-night talk shows, which are dependent on current events to fuel monologues and other entertainment.
Daytime TV, including live talk shows such as "The View" and soap operas, which typically tape about a week's worth of shows in advance, would be next to feel the impact.
The strike will not immediately impact production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.
