Ellen DeGeneres went back on the air this week after honoring only one day of the writers strike. In anticipation of her plans to tape shows in New York City on November 19th and 20th, the Writers Guild of America, East is extremely disappointed to see that Ellen has chosen not to stand with writers during the strike. Ellen's peers who host comedy/variety shows have chosen to support the writers and help them get a fair contract, Ellen has not. On her first show back, Ellen said she loves and supports her writers, but her actions prove otherwise.

Ellen has also been performing comedy on her show. Even if Ellen is writing those segments herself, since those segments would normally be written by the writers on strike, she's performing "struck work". Ellen is violating the strike rules that were clearly explained to all of the comedy/variety shows.

We certainly intend to let Ellen know our dissatisfaction in person if she decides to proceed with the shows she has scheduled in New York on November 19th and 20th. We will also make our voices heard the preceding week if she tries to pre-tape comedy segments on location.

We find it sad that Ellen spent an entire week crying and fighting for a dog that she gave away, yet she couldn't even stand by writers for more than one day - writers who have helped make her extremely successful.

Every show and film set has a production staff and crew that is beloved by their writers. Ellen's staff is no more important than the rest of the industry. When shows refuse to stand with us they create huge revenue streams for the companies and that prolongs the strike for the thousands of staff and crew members who are noble enough to honor our picket lines. We find this situation hurtful to those people and extremely unfortunate.

The writers did not cause this strike. The companies' greed caused this strike and it could end tomorrow if they were finally willing to negotiate a fair deal. We ask Ellen to cease doing shows immediately. She should stand by all writers and help us bring this strike to a quick conclusion. We owe that to the thousands of people who are caught in the middle.

If you agree that Ellen should stand with the writers on strike, please contact her and tell her so at: ellen.warnerbros.com/show/dearellen/. Or, contact the show's production office at (818) 260-5600.

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Patrick Dempsey and Ellen Pompeo Support the Writers' Strike

Patrick Dempsey and Ellen Pompeo of Gray's Anatomy talk about the writers' strike and why they fully support it in this short video. You can find breaking news, updates, links and explanations of what the strike is all about at our sister site Writerswrite.com's special Writers' Strike section.



Posted on November 8, 2007
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Heroes May Shoot Alternative Ending For December 3rd Episode

New York Magazine's Vulture blog and TV Guide are reporting that an alternative ending will be shot for the December 3rd episode of Heroes. This alternative ending could be used as a finale in case the writers' strike prevents new episodes from being shot.

TV Guide reports that the struggling Heroes is planning to shoot an alternate ending for its December 3 episode, which would serve as a season finale in case the writers strike scuttles further production. We have to say that this sounds like the smartest idea Heroes has had in a while; offering actual story closure where other shows are going to be stuck in the middle of their seasons might make the show satisfying again.

It is sad that there may not be as many Heroes episodes but at least watchers won't be left hanging. Unlike some people, we think Heroes has been great this year.

Posted on November 5, 2007
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Writers Strike Will Cripple Hollywood

The Writers Guild goes on strike this Monday, November 5th at 12:01 a.m. Hollywood will be crippled by the strike. All writing for television and film projects will stop. The talk shows will go into reruns. The soap operas, and scripted dramas and comedies will stop after producers air the finished episodes that they have. Generally, it means we'll have good tv until December, then it's going to be a virtual wasteland.

Reality shows will be unaffected, as will news. Film projects without a completed script will grind to a halt. One bright spot in February will be Lost. The producers have been shooting until June, and they already have 14 episodes in the can. So that's one bright spot. But some of our favorite shows -- Ugly Betty, Chuck, 24, Grey's Anatomy, Eureka, Psych -- will all stop production.

Unless there's a last minute deal this weekend, the strike is on. You can find out more about the strike and what it all means on Writers Write's Writers' Strike resource.

Posted on November 2, 2007
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Heroes: Origins Cancelled

The planned Heroes spinoff mini-series called Origins has been shelved.

NBC has shelved plans for Heroes: Origins, a spinoff series of its hit show, and the possibility of a writers' strike contributed to the decision, Variety reported. Production has been halted indefinitely on the planned six-episode spinoff. It had attracted such talent as feature directors Eli Roth and Kevin Smith and writer Michael Dougherty (Superman Returns). NBC had planned to debut the show while Heroes was on hiatus.

Heroes also has been facing sophomore growing pains, losing some key staff members, the trade paper reported. Insiders told Variety that Heroes: Origins isn't completely dead and could very well be revived at a later date, perhaps as soon as next season.

The Writers Guild is meeting tonight to decide whether to call a strike. Heroes: Origins is just the first casualty in what could be a protracted war between the WGA and the producers.

Posted on November 1, 2007
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Writers' Strike Would Cause Major TV Programming Changes

With the Writers Guild poised to go on strike on November 1st if they don't reach a deal with the producers, things are looking a bit grim for television viewers. If the writers go on strike, there won't be anyone to work on new episodes of The Bionic Woman, My Name is Earl or any comedy, thriller or drama. That means lots of reality TV and news programs in our future. But it also may mean some Sci Fi channel favorites like Battlestar Galactica will air from the beginning on NBC.

[I]t's a different world in television than it was in 1988 when writers struck for 22 weeks, causing many shows to bring down their tents midway through the season. Even "Star Trek: The Next Generation" tried to get around it all by digging up old scripts from "Star Trek: Phase II," but most shows don't have those kinds of luxuries.

Today, however, many networks own multiple cable channels, and nearly all of those have some kind of original programming or another. So don't be surprised if "Heroes" gets replaced by NBCU's SciFi Channel programming like "Battlestar Galactica," or even a watered down "Nip/Tuck" joining reality programming on Fox.

NBC Universal probably has the biggest library of cable programming to pull from thanks to owning both SciFi Channel and USA Network where they could easily start adding previously aired shows like "Psych," "Monk" and "The 4400" to the main network schedule. TNT isn't owned by a company that also owns a major network, but Time Warner officials reportedly are offering "The Closer" to networks ... for a price, of course.

"Battlestar Galactica" could be the biggest beneficiary. Although it's clear that a strike would delay production on the show's final season (and likely ensuring that the last 10 episodes will air in 2009), NBC could opt to start the entire show from the beginning or even start picking and choosing episodes it feels will draw viewers when they run out of existing scripted programs. "The 4400" -- which is possibly facing cancellation after a not-so-stellar fourth season -- may get new life with a run on NBC as well.

A writers' strike will be a disaster for everyone, including the writers who mostly live from paycheck to paycheck. Everyone's rushing to get scripts locked down for upcoming features films, as well. But if the writers do strike, look for the worst film year ever in 2008.

Posted on October 24, 2007
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