NBC's Bionic Woman and the SciFi Channel's Battlestar Galactica have become the latest victims of the writers' strike. The Hollywood Reporter says production of Bionic Woman, which has struggled in the ratings, ended last Friday. Battlestar Galactica reportedly was expected to close up shop today due to a lack of scripts. Both shows are shot in Canada.
The writers began their strike on November 5th, asking for more revenue from online sales and DVD rentals of TV shows and films. They also seek compensation for ad-supported streaming of programs online, an issue that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP, says it won't concede. The AMPTP also stated in newspaper ads yesterday that it has offered writers a share of licensing fees from websites that offer shows. The Writers Guild says it has turned down that proposal because the payments wouldn't kick in until six weeks after a show is posted online.
Your favorite primetime programs may not produce new episodes for a while, but there's hope that some major late-night TV shows will return as early as next month. According to Variety, representatives for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman and other late-night shows have had, quote, "secret back-channel conversations" to discuss when the shows could possibly return. Variety says there are some obstacles to overcome -- for instance, none of the shows wants to be the first one to resume production.
In other developments related to the strike, cast members of Saturday Night Live will perform a live show Saturday night at 11:30 p.m. at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City. The performers will deliver sketches, just like a regular SNL episode, except there won't be any cameras rolling. Superbad star MICHAEL CERA will act as the celebrity host. 30 Rock will follow suit at the same venue Monday night when the cast performs an actual episode, although it's not clear if it will be a rerun or not. Tickets for both shows have been sold out.
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