The WGA TV and movie writers’ strike will begin Monday, Variety is reporting.
What happens then? When you turn your TV on Monday, there will be no picture. (You may hear a faint hissing sound from the remaining electrons escaping.) Your cable line will dry out and shrivel, not unlike a newborn’s umbilical stump, and eventually wither away. People will wheel their useless televisions to town squares across the country, where they will be welded together to provide durable, weatherproof shelter for the homeless, while their former owners stage impromptu performances of Shakespeare and debate politics and theology.
No, actually, the drying up of TV will happen quickly for some shows (late-night talk), slowly for others (network, then cable scripted shows) and not at all for some (reality, news). The LA Times has a good partial overview chart.
In the meantime, members of the Guild will likely begin picketing Monday, timing the action, ironically, the better to get it on TV at the beginning of the work week.
And where does it go from there? At Deadline Hollywood Daily, Nikki Finke has been keeping a hawk’s eye on developments, and she’s using her insider-heavy readership to crowdsource their speculation and predictions. Finke says she’s been hearing talk of a six-month strike; a self-identified writer on her site says he’s ready to ride it out for a year and a half[!].
Meanwhile, commenter Michael S. suggests a compromise on the digital-media residuals issue: a reduced rate for a show’s first year, when most shows are not turning a profit and need as much online promo as they can get. “Stop talking sense,” responds a self-identified showrunner. “That is obviously not welcome in this negotiation.”
Ah, professionally written comedy. You’re going to have to get it where you can.