"Peter Chernin, president and COO of News Corp. said today that labor talks with the Screen Actors Guild are going 'horribly' and that if SAG called for a strike the results would be "devastating to the creative community."
Mr. Chernin's remarks may carry more weight than most as it was he, along with Walt Disney Co. CEO Robert Iger, who are credited as being the two major forces on the studio side that helped hammer out an agreement with the Writers Guild after the WGA struck for 14 weeks starting at the end of last year."
-TV Week

We don’t know about you, but ever since the writers strike began, we’ve spent our entire weekend refreshing Deadline Hollywood Daily, hoping for news of a resolution. And finally our hours in front of the computer have paid off. The strike was sort of resolved this weekend. Now we can finally do our laundry!

We say sort of because the Writers Guild still needs to vote to approve the settlement, which they will likely do on Tuesday. As requested, writers will get a percentage of internet revenue. But does this have to do with the price of tea in China?

Well, for one, the Oscars will go on as scheduled on February 24. The TV season is still a bit screwed, though.

CONTINUED »

Over the past week, there’s been a lot of talk about the writers strike being nearly over. Which would be great, because people like scripted television and honestly, American Gladiators is kind of retarded.

But before we count our chickens before they’re hatched or reprogram our DVRs, let’s keep it real with ourselves: an agreement hasn’t been made yet.

If you read past the first few graphs of excitement about a renewed TV seasons, you get the facts:

But interviews with more than a dozen people involved in the possible settlement described a process so fragile that many still think that Saturday’s meetings could derail it.

As recently as last Friday, producers were preparing a “doomsday scenario,” in which they were ready to declare that the talks had failed, opening the possibility of an extended strike.

And even if the strike is resolved this weekend, the networks can’t afford to pretend the last three months of canceled programming didn’t happen:

"It's not just flipping a switch and having everything come right back on," said Barry Jossen, executive vice president of production for ABC Studios. "There are a lot of factors and considerations that go into these decisions. We are trying to determine the amount of material that was finished before the strike started, the creative status of the show and the broadcast schedule needs."

So even if the writers strike ends this week, which it may not, the search for the next American Gladiator is sadly not over.

BELIEVE IN MAKE BELIEVE? The writers strike could be resolved by the end of the next week. Could this annoying predicament really be over? Well, the WGA is presenting new terms to the producers this weekend and word on the street is that producers are going to accept. Getting new episodes of the ever culturally important Grey’s Anatomy could take up to eight weeks. Henry Ford was right: Unionization is bad for this country. [AdAge]

First they were closer. Then they were further. Now they’re closer again.

The WGA and the producers had “a good day” on Friday, which means … well, who the fuck knows? It seems like everyone involved in reaching this agreement is a writer on Lost because every time they approach a resolution, someone runs their mouth and we’re right back where we started.

Of course, with the writers strike, people complain that there’s nothing on their DVR. But just a few months ago, everyone was complaining that there was too much on their DVR. It’s such a tough life for the premium cable inclined.

Anyway, if the strike is resolved that means the Oscars. Other than the fashion round-ups, the Oscars are pretty inane. So instead of the awards, how about this:

Congratulations everyone who works in Hollywood. You're great. If your parents don't respect you, they really should. You're creating fine art. Well done.

FURTHER Despite recent reports that the WGA and the producers were getting closer to reaching a deal, things have slowed down recently. A bunch of petty crap, like the director of the WGA West calling for a toughened bargaining position publicly, means we might never know how Ted met our mother. But on the bright side, the Oscars are still possibly a no-go. [NYT]

It took three months, but the public has grown tired of reality TV. Year-to-year ratings comparisons are beginning to reflect the ongoing writers strike. The CW lost 50% of its 18-49 audience from a year ago, ABC slipped by 23%, CBS by 26% and Fox by 15%.

Meanwhile, at the National Association of Television Program Executives conference in Las Vegas, Jeff Zucker called for a change in network programming. With insights like that, we could be CEO of NBC Universal.

CLOSER The writers and studios are talking and have settled on some aspects of online distribution. Each side still hates the other and everything could fall apart like it did in December. But for now, things are going in the right direction. Or if you’re like us and hope the Oscars will get cancelled, the wrong direction. [LAT]

Jon Stewart will do a lot of things for his career, like star as the third leading male in Death To Smoochy. But crossing the picket line, that is too much.

In a turn that would make the Oscars even more unwatchable, Stewart has told insiders that he won't host the event if the producers and the WGA don't work this whole strike thing out.

Ugh, we're as tired about writing on the strike as Americans are tired of watching American Gladiators. Please producers and writers, just end this story now and we'll never make fun of Desperate Housewives again.

NEXT SEASON WILL SUCK, TOO Due to the writers strike, CBS has cut 20 projects from development for next season. ABC, Fox and NBC are probably doing the same thing, though they haven’t admitted it. The only way we’ll forgive the writers for ruining next season is if they cancel the Oscars. The Oscars are the lamest. [Hollywood Reporter]

• Devo from Saturday Night Live. No, not "Whip It."

• The Directors Guild, not the Writers Guild, reaches an agreement with the alliance the producers. Does this mean we'll find out what happens on Desperate Housewives?

• Winner of the Someone Haiku from Mollygood:

Tom Cruises By Puke:
Don’t Cry Over Spilled Thetans,
They Go To Venus.

CONTINUED »

So far the writers strike hasn't really affected ratings at all. January is the first month when the networks were supposed to feel it or whatever, but people like reality TV and football, so people are over how everyone ended up on that island in Lost.

Writers Guild, we're all mixed up about this. On the one hand, you effectively canceled the Golden Globes and might do the same for the Oscars, which is awesome. We'd rather stab ourselves in the eye than watch those shows. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but we'd definitely rather get something caught in our eye, like an eyelash or something, than sit through them.

But now people are having conversations about American Gladiators like it's the second coming of 24. 24 was populist and a bit racist, but compared with Aggro Crag or The Eliminator or whatever it is, it's like Flaubert. So just figure out your shit with the producers so we can stop thinking about ratings and go back to just judging people for watching TV at all.

Remember what happened to the Golden Globes? How the writers threatened to boycott and SAG actors would feel crazy awk crossing picket lines? So instead we got the bootest awards show ever and no one watched? Yeah, but the Golden Globes are like preview award shows, the same thing couldn't possibly happen to the Oscars, where the awards are given by the Academy and it's crazy important, right? Right?!

Well, set your DVR to this: The Writers Guild does not anticipate giving the Academy Awards a waiver, so the exact same thing could, and probably will happen unless an agreement is reached.